title: The circumscribed focus in intensive brief dynamic psychotherapy.
abstract: The clinical proposition that an ideal focus for intensive brief dynamic psychotherapy is an intra-psychic conflict rooted in oedipal pathology with circumscribed effects on personality functioning has been widely accepted a priori, without empirical validation. In this study 4 clinical raters assessed the 'degree of circumscribed conflict' and 'hypothesized psychosexual development level' from a dynamic evaluation interview. The variables were only marginally associated with DSM-III diagnoses. Within a subsample of 22 patients treated with intensive psychoanalytic technique, patients with whom a highly circumscribed conflict could be identified had the most favourable dynamic change 4 years after therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Høglend
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Heyerdahl
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009813:Oedipus Complex; D010552:Personality Assessment; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D011606:Psychosexual Development; D011614:Psychotherapy, Brief / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome