Short-term or Brief Counseling/Therapy: Cognitive-behavioral and Psychodynamic Models for College Counseling Abstract Short-term or Brief Counseling/Therapy and the current mental health system seem to be inexorably linked for at least the foreseeable future. This paper discusses the history, objectives, appropriate clientele, efficacy, and the other benefits, and short comings, of this therapeutic/counseling modality and its relevance to my present career direction, College Counseling. Cognitive-behavioral, Psychodynamic, and Gestalt applications of brief therapy/counseling methods will be addressed.For a working definition of short-term or brief therapy/counseling I would like to quote acouple of authors on the subject. Wells (1982) states that, Short -term treatment, as I shall use theterm, refers to a group (or family) of related interventions in which the helper deliberately andplanfully limits both the goals and duration of contact(p. 2). Nugent (1994) says that, In contrastto traditional therapies, brief counseling and therapies (or time-limited therapies) set specific goalsand specify that the number of sessions will be limited. He then adds that, Counselors using brieftherapy approaches help clients develop coping skills that will enable them to anticipate and managefuture problems more effectively(p. 96). In short, brief counseling/therapy is more directive andtime-limited, regardless of the particular therapeutic theory being employed. The counselor assumesan active instead of a passive role in his relationship with the client. Due to budget constraints, therising cost of mental-health care, and a growing demand for services over the last decade, a largenumber of counselors, in a large variety of different work environments, have been using...
