[The effectiveness of psychodynamic therapy. A review using criteria of evidence-based medicine].

The existing studies on the effectiveness of psychodynamic therapy are reviewed. All studies published between 1960 and 2001 were collected. In the first part of this survey, the focus is on short-term psychodynamic therapy, the second part focuses on longer-term psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapy. The studies are reviewed with regard to forms of disorders. The methodological quality of the studies is judged according to criteria of evidence-based medicine. These criteria themselves are also critically discussed. Although they vary concerning their methodological quality, the studies reveal evidence of the effectiveness of both short-term and long-term psychodynamic therapy. In a meta-analytic evaluation performed by the author, substantial effects were found for psychodynamic therapy of personality disorders, i.e. 1.13 (self-report measures) and 1.57 (observer-rated measures) for short-term psychodynamic therapy and 1.05 (self-report measures) and 2.11 (observer-rated measures) for longer term psychodynamic therapy. Although there is evidence of the effectiveness of psychodynamic therapy, further research of specific forms of psychodynamic therapy in specific disorders is necessary.