New frontiers in psychotherapy

The author examines new frontiers in psychotherapy from the perspective of four major movements in clinical psychiatry today: (1) the science of psychotherapy, (2) time-limited and tailored treatment, (3) governmental guidelines and public policy-making, and (4) conceptual and clinical rapprochement. Attempts to standardize psychotherapy are evidenced by more refined diagnostic and statistical instruments, operationalized training and treatment manuals, and use of the computer in human simulation. The second movement is manifested by innovative short-term therapies, particularly tailored to depressed populations. The third direction is more extrinsic as cost-effectiveness increasingly becomes the guiding criterion of mental health care. The final frontier reflects attempts to weld various polarities in the field, not only by drawing on a vast psychological armamentarium but by providing new neurobiologic models for complex 'psychological' phenomena, from dreams to dependency.