OUTCOMES OF TIME-LIMITED PSYCHOTHERAPY IN APPLIED SETTINGS - REPLICATING THE 2ND SHEFFIELD PSYCHOTHERAPY PROJECT

In a replication and extension of the Second Sheffield Psychotherapy P roject (SPP2), a collaborative psychotherapy project (CPP) was carried out at 3 sites within the National Health Service of the United Kingd om. Clients (N=36) stratified at 3 levels of severity of depression we re randomly assigned to one of 2 treatment approaches ( psychodynamic- interpersonal or cognitive-behavioral) of 2 time-limited durations (8 or 16 sessions). Gains in both treatment approaches were approximately equivalent and were similar for CPP and SPP2 clients when measured at the end of treatment. However, CPP clients did not maintain their gai ns to the extent that the SPP2 clients did at 3-month and 1-year follo w-up assessments. In the CPP clients given 16 sessions showed a statis tically significant advantage over clients given 8 sessions on some me asures at some assessments; in the SPP2, similar effects were noted on ly among some subgroups of clients.