The outcome of psychodynamic psychotherapy for psychological disorders

Notwithstanding a history of over 100 years, psychoanalytically informed psychological therapies have a poor evidence base. This paper provides a selective review of trials of brief psychodynamic psychotherapies and an overview of mostly follow-up or follow-along studies of long-term more intensive psychoanalytic therapy. In relation to the treatment of mood disorders, particularly depression, anorexia nervosa and some personality disorders, there is evidence to suggest that brief psychodynamic psychotherapy is comparable in effectiveness to empirically supported treatments. No trial has shown it to be superior to alternative treatment. Notwithstanding the small number of studies, independent replications of the same version of short-term therapy are totally lacking. This survey of the literature underscores the urgent need for innovative therapeutic interventions based on psychoanalytic models of mental functioning which are specific to the clinical problems they aim to address.