Brief Psychotherapy in an Outpatient Clinic: Evolution and Evaluation
MANUEL STRAKER M.D.1
1 Associate professor of psychiatry, McGill University, and associate psychiatrist, Montreal General Hospital
Following a critical evaluation of the treatment philosophy and services provided at the psychiatric outpatient clinic of a university hospital, a reorganization was undertaken, shifting the emphasis from reconstructive to brief psychotherapy. The results included a decline in the previously high dropout rate and the elimination of clinic congestion and discouraging waiting lists. A subsequent two-year follow-up of clinic intake during a three-month period revealed a remission rate of 84 percent among those patients selected for brief psychotherapy.
