DEPRESSION AND THE SELF IN SHORT-TERM PSYCHOANALYTIC PSYCHOTHERAPY

In this article we discuss some of the relevant theoretical, technical , and clinical issues in the treatment of depression with short-term p sychoanalytic psychotherapy. When successful, we suggest that such psy chotherapy results in changes involving aspects of the self We believe that this is particularly likely to occur when the technique emphasiz es the interpretation of the nature of the client's relationship to th e therapist. To illustrate this approach, we present the ease of a cli nically depressed woman treated in time-limited, short-term psychoanal ytic psychotherapy. We demonstrate the nature of the therapeutic work typical of this treatment using verbatim vignettes from two sessions. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.