Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T22:32:46.630Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Single-Session Approaches to Therapy: Time to Review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2012

Alistair Campbell
Alistair Campbell*
Affiliation:
Australian Institute of Psychology, Brisbane, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Australian Institute of Psychology, Level 2, 140 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006. Email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

In 2001 Bloom produced a comprehensive review of single-session approaches to therapy (SST). In his paper he outlined the concept of single session therapy and considered the evidence that could be used to support implementation of single session approaches. At the time, Bloom's was probably the most comprehensive review of research on single session therapy available: he considered papers that provided overviews of approaches to developing and delivering single-session treatment, as well as papers that used controlled and uncontrolled methods to evaluate outcomes. What I will do in this paper is to informally review the literature on single session therapy that has been published since Bloom's 2001 paper. The paper is not intended as a formal review or meta-analysis of research data, partly because the field still does not have such methodological rigour.

Keywords

single session therapyresearcheffectivenessreview
Type
Articles
Information
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy , Volume 33 , Issue 1 , March 2012 , pp. 15 - 26
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Basoglu, M., Salcioglu, E., & Livanou, M. (2007). A randomized controlled study of single-session behavioural treatment of earthquake-related post-traumatic stress disorder using an earthquake simulator. Psychological Medicine, 37 (2), 203–213. doi:10.1017/S0033291706009123CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bloom, B. L. (1981). Focused single session therapy: Initial development and evaluation. In Budman, S. H. (Ed.), Forms of brief therapy. London: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Bloom, B. L. (2001). Focused single session psychotherapy: A Review of the clinical and research literature. Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention, 1 (1), 75–86. doi:10.1093/brief-treatment/1.1.75CrossRefGoogle Scholar
López, S. S.-G., Scamardo, M., & Solórzano, B. (2008). Single-session/walk-in therapy with Mexican-American clients. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 27 (4), 75–89. doi:10.1521/jsyt.2008.27.4.75Google Scholar
Boyhan, P. A. (1996). Clients' perceptions of single session consultations as an option to waiting for family therapy. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 17 (2), 85–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cameron, C. (2007). Single session and walk-in psychotherapy: A descriptive account of the literature. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 7 (4), 245–249. doi:10.1080/14733140701728403CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Curtis, A., Whittaker, A., Stevens, S., & Lennon, A. (2010). Single session family intervention in a local authority family centre setting. Social Work, 16 (1), 37–41. doi:10.1080/0265053022013474Google Scholar
Duncan, B., & Miller, S. (2000). The heroic client: Doing client-directed, outcome-informed therapy. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Gibbons, J., & Plath, D. (2006). Social work in health care “Everybody puts a lot into it□!” Single session contacts in hospital social work. Social Work in Health Care, 42 (1), 17–34. doi:10.1300/J010v42n01CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibbons, J., & Plath, D. (2009). Single contacts with hospital social workers: The clients' experiences. Social work in health care, 48 (8), 721–735. doi:10.1080/00981380902928935CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibbons, J., & Plath, D. (in press). Single session social work in hospitals. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy.Google Scholar
Harper-Jaques, S., McElheran, N., Slive, A., & Leahey, M. (2008). A comparison of two approaches to the delivery of walk-in single session mental health therapy. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 27 (4), 40–53. doi:10.1521/jsyt.2008.27.4.40CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoyt, M., Rosenbaum, R., & Talmon, M. (1992). Planned single session psychotherapy. In Budman, S. H., Hoyt, M. F., & Friedman, S. (Eds.), The first session in brief therapy. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Hurn, R. (2005). Single-session therapy: Planned success or unplanned failure? Counselling Psychology Review, 20 (4), 33–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iveson, C. (2002). Solution-focused brief therapy. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 8 (2), 149–156. doi:10.1192/apt.8.2.149CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kosoff, S. (2003). Single session groups□: Applications and areas of expertise. Social Work With Groups, 26 (1), 29–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lamprect, H., Laydon, C., McQuillan, C., Wiseman, S., Williams, L., Gash, A., & Reilly, J. (2007). Single-session solution-focused brief therapy and self-harm: A pilot study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 14, 601–602.Google Scholar
Newgent, R., Paladino, D., & Reynolds, C. (2006). Single session treatment of nontraumatic fear of flying with eye movement desensitization reprocessing: Pre and post-September 11. Clinical Case Studies, 5 (1), 25–36. doi:10.1177/1534650103261196CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ollendick, T. H., Ost, L.-G., Reuterskiöld, L., Costa, N., Cederlund, R., Sirbu, C., . . . Jarrett, M. A. (2009). One-session treatment of specific phobias in youth: A randomized clinical trial in the United States and Sweden. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 77 (3), 504–516. doi:10.1037/a0015158CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perkins, R. (2006). The effectiveness of one session of therapy using a single-session therapy approach for children and adolescents with mental health problems. Psychology and psychotherapy, 79 (2), 215–227. doi:10.1348/147608305X60523CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Perkins, R., & Scarlett, G. (2008). The effectiveness of single session therapy in child and adolescent mental health. Part 2: An 18-month follow-up study. Psychology and psychotherapy, 81 (2), 143–156. doi:10.1348/147608308X280995CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Phillips, P. (2002). Chapter 14. Shoulder to shoulder□: A single session success story. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy. doi:10.1300/J035v16n03CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slive, A., McElheran, N., & Lawson, A. (2008). How brief does it get? Walk-in single session therapy. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 27 (4), 5–22. doi:10.1521/jsyt.2008.27.4.5CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slive, A., & Bobele, M. (in press). Walk-in counseling services: Making the most of one hour. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy.Google Scholar
Talmon, M. (1990). Single-session therapy: Maximizing the effect of the first (and often only) therapeutic encounter. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Tolchard, B., Thomas, L., & Battersby, M. (2006). Case reports and single-session exposure therapy for problem gambling□: A single-case experimental design. Behaviour Change, 23 (2), 148–155.Google Scholar
Watzlawick, P., Weakland, J. H., & Fisch, R. (1974). Change: Principles of problem formation and problem resolution. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Young, K. (2008). Narrative practice at a walk-in therapy clinic: Developing children's worry wisdom. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 27 (4), 54–74. doi:10.1521/jsyt.2008.27.4.54CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, K., & Cooper, S. (2008). Toward co-composing an evidence base: The narrative therapy re-visiting project. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 27 (1), 67–83. doi:10.1521/jsyt.2008.27.1.67CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, K., Dick, M., Herring, K., & Lee, J. (2008). From waiting lists to walk-in: Stories from a walk-in therapy clinic. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 27 (4), 23–39. doi:10.1521/jsyt.2008.27.4.23CrossRefGoogle Scholar