Emphasizing the Interpersonal in Psychotherapy: Families and Groups in the Era of Cost Containment

Pressures from government and insurance agencies are forcing major changes in mental health care delivery. The practice of psychotherapy is in transition, with economic factors the likely determinant of the future orientation and delivery of mental health care. In answer to this change, this book guides the mental health professional back to the roots of treatment and a return to the more basic practice patterns. In doing this, the author explores the benefits of interpersonal methods of psychotherapy and focuses on family, conjoint, and group therapies. Short-term interventions are critical in mental health practice and these are most effective when done in group and family settings. The book begins with an overview of the field of psychotherapy, including its evolution, changes, and current practices. The middle of the book concentrates on each approach within the interpersonal nature of psychotherapy with much detail on the interpersonal orientation itself, conjoint therapy, and group approaches.The final section, critical to all mental health professionals, offers applications of the interpersonal orientation. This includes analyses across the life span and within more common personality disorders and other mental health illnesses. Throughout the book, the emphasis is on the humanistic approach to therapy as this is critical in these times of cost containment and short-term psychological practice. Both seasoned mental health professionals and those in the early stages of their work will find this a necessary tool for their therapeutic practice and their own personal approach.

Claude Villeneuve is an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Montreal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada