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Brief (psycho-) therapy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia And “Brief Therapy Strategies” by George Carpetto
Brief psychotherapy or Brief therapy is an umbrella term for a variety of approaches to psychotherapy.
It differs from other schools of therapy in that it emphasises
(1) a focus on a specific problem and
(2) direct intervention.
In brief therapy, the therapist takes responsibility for working more pro-actively with the client in order to
treat clinical and subjective conditions faster. It also emphasizes precise observation, utilization of natural
resources, and temporary suspension of disbelief to consider new perspectives and multiple viewpoints.
Rather than the formal analysis of historical causes of distress, the primary approach of brief therapy is to
help the client to view the present from a wider context and to utilize more functional understandings (not
necessarily at a conscious level). By becoming aware of these new understandings, successful clients will de
facto undergo spontaneous and generative change.
Brief therapy is often highly strategic, exploratory, and solution-based rather than problem-oriented. It is
less concerned with how a problem arose than with the current factors sustaining it and preventing change.
Brief therapists do not adhere to one "correct" approach, but rather accept that there being many paths, any
of which may or may not in combination turn out to be ultimately beneficial.

Founding proponents of Brief Therapy
Milton Erickson was a master of brief therapy, using clinical hypnosis as his prima