The cost-effectiveness of short-term dynamic psychotherapy.

Short-term dynamic psychotherapy is a group of well-researched brief treatments with over 50 published controlled trials testing its effectiveness against a range of treatment and nontreatment controls. Studied samples are often high users of medical services, hospital services, mental health services and disability insurance. If short-term dynamic psychotherapy is effective, it should translate into demonstrable reductions in medical and social system costs. This review examines whether or not short-term dynamic psychotherapy is a cost-effective treatment.