Abstract
ABSTRACT Supportive psychotherapy (SP) continues to be an indispensible psychotherapeutic approach for a range of mental health diagnoses, taught to and practiced by psychiatrists and other mental health professionals. However, confusion abounds when attempting to delineate the boundaries of its intervention strategies, its theoretical foundation, processes of change, and distinct efficacy as compared with other approaches—and even its definition. The primary aims of this paper are three-fold: (1) to review the theoretical foundations of SP, (2) to advance a clearer identity for SP and (3) most importantly, to incorporate contemporary theoretical approaches to inform the practice of SP. The paper argues for a re-visioning of SP, in order that it may endure as a viable and distinct psychotherapeutic approach, in both modern-day practice and research contexts. Such re-visioning includes the incorporation of contemporary relational theory and findings from neuroscience.
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