Short-term psychotherapy, although brief, is not ephemeral. In the decade or two of its existence, it has grown into a sturdy tree, and a sign of its maturity is the fact that it is now the subject of an increasing number of overview articles summarizing its literature and findings. Yet it remains a young and vigorous discipline. Its pioneers have not been elevated to a pantheon of venerable but mute immortals; on the contrary, they are to be found at the forefront of the field, actively contributing to the development of its theory and practice. This volume is ample testimony to their continued creativity. Dr. Sifneos has lectured and written extensively about short-term anxiety-provoking psychotherapy (STAPP). Based on psychoanalytic principles, STAPP aims to resolve pathological psychic conflicts and help those suffering from them to learn new ways of being in their most intimate relationships. It does so by actively focusing the patients' sights on their Oedipal problems, and its effectiveness (given a proper selection of subjects by specific criteria) has been amply documented in controlled clinical studies.

Inhalt
One: The Psychiatric Evaluation.- 1. Certain Common Complaints of Prospective STAPP Patients.- 2. History Taking and Reformulation of the Presenting Complaints.- 3. Criteria for Selection for STAPP.- 4. The Psychological Evaluation Process: Part III.- Two: Technique.- 5. The Opening Phase of STAPP.- 6. Early Therapeutic Considerations.- 7. An Example of an Early STAPP Interview.- 8. The Height of STAPP.- 9. The Height of the Therapy: A Case Example.- 10. The Last Phase of STAPP: An Example of a Typical Interview.- 11. The Terminal Phase.- Three: Results.- 12. Instruction in STAPP.- 13. The Outcome of STAPP.- 14. Epilogue.- Evaluation Interview.- First Therapy Interview.- Second Interview.- Third Interview.- Fourth Interview.- Fifth Interview.- Sixth Interview.- Seventh Interview.- Eighth Interview.- Ninth Interview.- Tenth Interview.- Eleventh Interview.- Follow-Up Interview.- References.