Brief Interventions for Psychosis

Abstract

The ever-growing gap between the psychiatric needs of the clients and the limited resources available to provide evidence-based treatments has inspired many academics and researchers to come up with innovative ways of providing good quality, effi cient care. One such way is to take existing practices and adapt them to be delivered in a brief format. Brief therapeutic interventions differ from other types of psychotherapeutic interventions primarily in two aspects: these interventions emphasize a focus on a specifi c problem and are more targeted, thereby expediting and personalizing care. These interventions are of special relevance for the psychia- trists in their medication monitoring visits, by incorporating psychotherapeutic interventions without the burden of signifi cantly adding to their visit time. Not only psychiatrists but also general physicians can fi nd these interventions handy to incor- porate into their practice. Even though there is controversy about the defi nition of brief therapy based on factors such as duration of sessions, number of sessions, or the focus on interventions, the consensus is that brief interventions are benefi cial and can very well be part of every physician’s repertoire in addressing situational crises and handling both recent onset clinical problems and chronic or long- standing issues. Often, brief and personalized interventions that are timely may have a greater impact on outcomes and experience.