Selfobject intervention in brief treatment with patients inappropriate for traditional brief psychotherapy models

This article discusses brief psychodynamic intervention with patients who are likely not to benefit from a primarily verbal, insight-oriented or explorational treatment. The major models of brief psychodynamic psychotherapy and their range of effective applicability are discussed. The function of selfobjects throughout the life-cycle are explored. Interventions designed around these selfobject functions are presented for patients unlikely to benefit from a more traditional approach. These interventions are developed through a thorough assessment of the patient's difficulties and include the setting of time limits for treatment (i.e. both within sessions and for the treatment as a whole). Interventions specifically directed toward reestablishing effective selfobject functioning in the mirroring, idealizing and twinship/alterego spheres are also presented. Vignettes are used to illustrate such interventions.