Brief psychotherapy: a case report illustrating its potential effectiveness.

The advance of industrialization in Mexico and elsewhere has brought about psychosocial problems of aging similar to those encountered in the United States. A case study is presented of a 64-year-old Mexican widow who had suicidal thoughts and feeling of uselessness. External constraints on the therapist dictated that psychotherapy be completed within 15 days. A strategy of brief psychotherapy was adopted. The focus was not on establishing transference, probing the unconscious or reconstructing the patient's personality, but on identifying problems and formulating practical solutions promptly. Four hour-long sessions were sufficient to gather information and to counsel the patient and her family. The diagnosis was depression. Treatment centered around increasing the quality of the patient's activity. The initial success of these measure made for a good prognosis. Both patient and family were advised of the availability of antidepressant drugs, and advised against relocating the patient.