© 2002 Oxford University Press
Six Critical Questions for Brief Therapeutic Interventions
From the College of Social Work at the University of Tennessee.
Contact author: Catherine N. Dulmus, PhD, Assistant Professor, The University of Tennessee, College of Social Work, 301 Henson Hall, 1618 West Cumberland, Knoxville, TN 37996. E-mail: cdulmus{at}utk.edu.
Brief therapy strategies and techniques are used by professionals from various disciplines (e.g., nursing, psychiatry, psychology, social work) who use a variety of theoretical approaches to treat numerous mental health problems. Such strategies and techniques are characterized by design to be short term, directive, and change focused in the delivery of mental health treatment. Over the past decade brief therapies have continued to develop rapidly and are currently viewed as state of the art in the field. This article outlines six critical questions related to brief therapeutic interventions that must be considered in treatment planning and subsequent future research. These questions are elucidated as follows: when is a brief therapeutic intervention appropriate, who should deliver the intervention to whom, what brief therapy interventions are most effective with which clients, where and at what setting should the intervention take place, when should the intervention occur and how long should it continue, as well as how is behavior change maintained? Such findings when translated into practice guidelines will enhance practice and move the field of brief therapy forward. [Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 2:279–285 (2002)]
KEY WORDS: brief therapy, managed care, treatment planning, mental health, effective practice, practice guidelines
