Towards a Model of Time-Effective Family Psychotherapy

Abstract

Significant numbers of people now receive mental health services in managed health care settings (HMOs). The growth of HMOs, and with them, the need to provide quality cost-efficient mental health treatment have served to challenge the HMO clinician to develop more parsimonious, time-efficient and effective mental health treatment approaches. In the current paper, the author describes the application of a brief therapy model in working with children and families in a HMO. Principles and illustrative case examples are presented and support the idea that the family psychotherapies are especially well-suited for mental health practice in managed care settings. The model discussed is relevant to clinicians in other settings which emphasize time-efficient mental health practice.