SYMPTOM IMPROVEMENT AND ITS TEMPORAL COURSE IN SHORT-TERM DYNAMIC PSYCHOTHERAPY - A GROWTH CURVE ANALYSIS

Using hierarchical linear model procedures, growth curve analyses were performed to examine the course, rate, and correlates of symptom impr ovement during short-term anxiety-provoking psychotherapy (STAPP) and a 2-year posttermination period. The Symptom Checklist-90 was used to measure general symptomatology. The sample consisted of 15 patients wh o were found suitable for STAPP. Most had a diagnosis of anxiety. Ther apists were in postgraduate manual-guided STAPP training. Results show ed that three of four patients made a reliable and clinically signific ant symptom improvement over the course of treatment. Patients improve d at a steady rate during treatment as well as after treatment. Averag e improvement was large and significant during treatment, while small and marginally significant after treatment. Improvement rates varied s ignificantly over the course of treatment and were faster for patients less rigid in their personality functioning.