Brief Prescriptive Therapy in Two-plus-one Sessions: Initial Cases from the Clinic

Abstract

This paper presents the rationale for, and implementation of, a brief form of cognitive-behavioural (termed Prescriptive) therapy based on both behavioural and cognitive traditions. Clients are seen for two sessions 1 week apart followed by a third session 3 months later. The model, termed 2 + 1 Prescriptive psychotherapy, is derived from both clinical and research bases, and is an attempt to implement a planned brief form of therapy in response to service deliver needs. The essential components of the model are presented together with outcome data from three initial clients' treatment in this model. In addition, one of these cases is presented as a clinical case study. The model is evaluated according to criteria of therapeutic effort, research parameters, and clinical mechanisms. The limitations and potenial of the model are presented.