Influence of Supervision, Therapist’s Competence, and Patient’s Ego Level on the Effects of Time-Limited Psychotherapy

The effects of time-limited psychotherapy, of the Mann (1973) type, were followed-up in a patient sample during 22 months. The effect ratings were highly reliable and showed a strikingly large variation. A path analysis was performed on the data and a causal model inferred that accounts for over 50% of the effect variation. The effect remained stable over time and was primarily influenced (positively) by patient's ego level and (negatively) by therapist's competence. Supervision had, if anything, a negative influence.