Frequently Asked Questions:

How long does the strategic therapy take?

The exact duration of therapy vary according to situation. In most of the cases, this kind of intervention induces first changes in the first sessions of treatment. Patients “feel” effective changes in their life (family, work, ecc.) even after 10 sessions. If the psychologist observes during the 10^th session that the problem had not change at all, he decides to interrupt the treatment.

How often does the session take place?

The frequency of brief strategic sessions, in the first phase of treatment, is 7 or 14 days, according to the type of the presented problem and patient’s request. When the problem is unblocked, that means that patient feels the corrective emotional experience (first significant improvement), then sessions are less frequent. The patient need time to experiment in his/her everyday life, the new resources and capacities, which he/she discover (retrieval) in him/herself.
Strategic psychologists don’t want to create dependency with the patient (then sessions take place once a month). Treatment conclude with three follow-ups (after 3, 6 and 12 months from the end of the last session), which verify the maintenance of the results in time.

How long does the one session takes?

Duration of one session is never predetermined, but varies, depending on the request of the patient, on the phase of the treatment and, on a kind of problem which patient brings. So the first sessions can take one hour or more and following ones even 20 minutes (at the end of treatment), according to evaluation of the therapist related to the objectives undertaken.

Do brief strategic interventions bring results maintained in time?

Follow-ups conducted after three, six and twelve months from the end of the therapy, show clearly that the number of relapses is minimal and it doesn’t present the symptom’s transfer. The results of the research conducted by Giorgio Nardone and his collaborators (from the beginning of the 90.s) present the high efficiency of the interventions, but also the maintenance of the results in time. 

Does brief strategic therapy provide the prescription of medications?

Brief strategic Therapy is the psychotherapeutic interventions and do not provide for pharmacological cure. If the patient were taking some drugs before he/she came to the therapist, we suggest continuing the treatment with active collaboration with family doctor or psychiatrist. During the last stages of treatment, together psychologist and psychiatrist (with agreement of the patient) lead to significant reduce of the medication, with the objective to interrupt completely the intakes.

Does brief strategic therapy really help?

My relative has some problems but he/she doesn’t want to go to the specialist. What can I do?

It can happen. For example, family members (who collaborate with psychologist) can take an important role in the treatment of patient.
There are two possible ways of collaboration, which are evaluated during the first session.
-    Psychologist can give indications what to do to persuade the person who presents the symptoms to come to the next session
-    Or psychologist uses the indirect intervention.
Psychologist gives the following indications what to do and how to react with relative who has problem. Member of the family can become real ally of the therapist. It can conduct to the request of patient to participate in the therapy, or if it won’t happen, the psychologist continues the indirect intervention. If You have any other questions, Please Contact Me.