Table Of ContentShort-Term
Dynamic Psychotherapy
Evaluation and Technique
SECOND EDITION
TOPICS IN GENERAL PSYCHIATRY
Series Editor:
John C. Nemiah, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry, Dartmouth Medical School
and Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus, Harvard Medical School
THE FRONTIER OF BRIEF PSYCHOTHERAPY
David H. Malan, D.M., F.R.C. Psych.
HYPNOSIS
Fred H. Frankel, M.B.Ch.B., D.P.M.
THE PRACTITIONER'S GUIDE TO PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS
Second Edition
Ellen L. Bassuk, M.D., Stephen C. Schoonover, M.D., and
Alan J. Gelenberg, M.D.
SHORT-TERM DYNAMIC PSYCHOTHERAPY
Evaluanon and Technique
Second Edition
Peter E. Sifneos, M.D.
SOCIOCULTURAL ROOTS OF MENTAL ILLNESS
John J. Schwab, M.D., and Mary E. Schwab, M.D.
Short-Term
Dynamic Psychotherapy
Evaluation and Technique
SECOND EDITION
Peter Eo Sifneos, MoDo
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts
Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
Library of Congress cataloging in Publication Data
Sifneos, Peter E. (peter Emmanuel), 1920-
Short-term dynamic psychotherapy.
(Topics in general psychiatry)
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Psychotherapy, Brief. 2. Anxiety. I. Title. II. Series. [DNLM: 1. Anxiety. 2. Inter
view, Psychological. 3. Psychotherapy, Brief. WM 420 SS73sb]
RC480.SS.SSS 1987 616.89'14 87-2346
ISBN 978-1-4899-0845-2
First Printing - May 1987
Second Printing-February 1990
ISBN 978-1-4899-0845-2 ISBN 978-1-4899-0843-8 (eBook)
DOl 10.1007/978-1-4899-0843-8
© Springer Science+Business Media New York 1987
Originally published by Plenum Press, New York in 1987
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 2nd edition 1987
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming,
recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher
TO JEANNETTE
Understanding and warm
Tolerant and magnanimous
A tower of strength
A beloved sister
Foreword to the
Second Edition
In the seven years since Dr. Sifneos's Short-Term Dynamic Psychother
apy first appeared, it has become one of the classic works on the
subject. Its publication played a large part in establishing that form
of treatment on a solid foundation. Today, short-term psychother
apy is no longer viewed as a shabby stepsister to psychoanalysis and
long-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy; Cinderella has at last come
of age, decked out in the finery of widespread clinical usage and
celebrated in a literature that now numbers hundreds of papers and
monographs.
The basic principles and techniques of short-term anxiety-pro
voking psychotherapy (ST APP)-the particular form of brief therapy
developed by Dr. Sifneos-remain much as they were presented in
the earlier edition of this book. There have, however, been impor
tant developments over the past decade both in the field and in Dr.
Sifneos's own conceptions. These have mandated a revised and ex
panded edition of the original volume in order to provide the reader
with a review of the recent literature, a reassessment of the effec
tiveness of STAPP, a discussion of its expanded application to pa
tients with somatic symptoms and abnormal grief reactions, and its
usefulness in treating older persons.
A particular virtue of the earlier edition was its presentation of
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viii Foreword to the Second Edition
extensive verbatim material from the author's therapeutic sessions
with his patients. That feature not only has been maintained in this
volume but has been greatly expanded to include new clinical cases
derived from Dr. Sifneos's continued practice and observation. Like
its predecessor, this edition provides an excellent guide for the be
ginning psychiatrist and a reinvigorating inspiration for the sea
soned therapist.
JOHN C. NEMIAH, M.D.
Foreword to the
First Edition
Short-term psychotherapy, although brief, is not ephemeral. In the
decade or two of its existence, it has grown into a sturdy tree, and a
sign of its maturity is the fact that it is now the subject of an increasing
number of overview articles summarizing its literature and findings.
Yet it remains a young and vigorous discipline. Its pioneers have not
been elevated to a pantheon of venerable but mute immortals; on the
contrary, they are to be found at the forefront of the field, actively
contributing to the development of its theory and practice. This
volume is ample testimony to their continued creativity.
Dr. Sifneos has lectured and written extensively about short-term
anxiety-provoking psychotherapy (STAPP). Based on psychoanalytic
princi pIes , STAPP aims to resolve pathological psychic conflicts and
help those suffering from them to learn new ways of being in their
most intimate relationships. It does so by actively focusing the
patients' sights on their Oedipal problems, and its effectiveness
(given a proper selection of subjects by specific criteria) has been
amply documented in controlled clinical studies.
One of the significant virtues of Dr. Sifneos's therapeutic tech
niques is that they can be systematically taught to the aspiring
psychotherapist. Dr. Sifneos has touched briefly on his procedures
here and there throughout his published writings, but detailed
ix
x Foreword to the First Edition
infonnation about his approach has been restricted to those fortunate
enough to have direct viva voce instruction through his didactic
lectures and clinical supervision. Now, in this volume, he devotes his
attention singly and entirely to the practical details of his method of
short-term psychotherapy and does so with a clarity that arises from
the demonstration of actual encounters with patients in therapeutic
interviews. Step by step, Dr. Sifneos takes the reader through the
evolution of the treatment process as this occurs with real individuals
undergoing therapy.
The careful study of his exposition will not in itself make one
an expert psychotherapist; that, of course, can come only from ap
plying one's knowledge in the active, repeated practice of the art.
But the reader can be assu'red of discovering exactly what he needs
to know and do to become proficient in the therapeutic method Dr.
Sifneos describes. That is the first and major step to effective and
lasting learning.
JOHN C. NEMIAH, M.D.
