Initial Improvement in Adult Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Abstract

This study aimed to determine predictors of initial improvement regarding quality of life, symptoms, and defensive style of adult patients in psychodynamic psychotherapy. This is a naturalistic quantitative study conducted at a mental health outpatient clinic. Patients were assessed before starting psychotherapy and in the 6th month of treatment using the same instruments. Patients who were still in treatment at the 6th month of psychotherapy reported, in general, better quality of life, less symptoms, reduced severity of symptoms, and changes in some aspects of their defensive style. Those patients who sought treatment because of anxiety problems were associated with higher risk of no initial improvement. Clinicians and researchers find it difficult to predict the outcome of patients starting psychodynamic psychotherapy; other clinical settings should be investigated to enable the understanding of this complex phenomenon. Although psychodynamic psychotherapy is a long-term treatment, patients show evidence of improvement from the beginning of the treatment. Follow-up studies of these patients are needed to monitor the process of improvement after this initial period.