Abstract

GASTAUD, Marina Bento et al. The indication and agreement to initiate treatment during the initial evaluation of psychodynamic psychotherapy. Contextos Clínic [online]. 2015, vol.8, n.1, pp. 02-15. ISSN 1983-3482.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4013/ctc.2015.81.01.

This naturalistic and longitudinal study, following 557 outpatients who sought psychodynamic psychotherapy, aimed to verify factors associated with non-indication for psychodynamic psychotherapy and to establish predictors of non-agreement to initiate treatment for patients indicated for this treatment. It found that patients consulting for somatic or attention problems and/or with a low educational level were less likely to be indicated for psychodynamic psychotherapy; patients perceiving their symptoms as intense were more likely to be indicated for this treatment. The following were the predictors of non-agreement to initiate psychodynamic psychotherapy: low educational level, low family income, diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizotypal or delusional disorders, depressive problems and/or never experiencing psychotherapy. Psychodynamic psychotherapy, as every other treatment, appears to be suitable for a specific group of patients. Unless the technique performed by psychotherapists during psychodynamic psychotherapy's initial stages is improved, the relevance of referring a non-concordant profile to this psychotherapeutic modality is herein discussed.

Keywords : treatment indication; treatment compliance; suitability; premature discontinuation; psychodynamic psychotherapy.

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