Thursday October 2, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new analysis published in the Oct 1, 2008 issue of JAMA indicated that psychodynamic psychotherapy for at least a year is effective and superior to shorter-term therapy for patients with complex mental disorders such as personality and chronic mental disorders.

But the review study also found that short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy is insufficient for a considerable proportion of patients with complex mental disorders, i.e., patients with multiple or chronic mental disorders or personality disorders.

The so called long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (LTPP) emphasized more supportive interventions from the therapist depending on the patient's needs.

The meta-analysis led by Falk Leichsenring, D.Sc., of the University of Giessen, Germany, and Sven Rabung, Ph.D., of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Hamburg, Germany was meant to compare LTPP with shorter psychotherapeutic treatments for complex mental disorders, including personality disorders, chronic mental disorders (defined as lasting at least a year) and multiple mental disorders.

The researchers identified and included 23 studies in their analysis, 11 randomized controlled trials and 12 observational studies, with a total of 1,053 patients treated with LTPP.

They found "LTPP was significantly superior to shorter-term methods of psychotherapy with regard to overall outcome, target problems, and personality functioning. Long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy yielded large and stable effect sizes in the treatment of patients with personality disorders, multiple mental disorders, and chronic mental disorders. The effect sizes for overall outcome increased significantly between end of therapy and follow-up."

In short, LTPP patients with complex mental disorders on average were better off after treatment with LTPP compared to another group without receiving the therapy, the researchers found.