Trans-diagnostic Short-term Psychotherapy for Psychiatric Inpatients

The project aims to investigate the effects of a short-term cbt-based psychotherapy intervention for a diagnostically mixed group of psychiatric inpatients. In a multiple baseline single subject design, 5-10 patients with mixed diagnoses that are treated at any of the inpatient units at the Hospital of Västmanland, Västerås, Sweden, will be offered a short psychotherapeutic intervention. The intervention is cbt based, and consists of focused functional analysis with identification of the main problem to be treated; an experiential exercise called the life line, in which obstacles to living a valued life are investigated, and in which alternative steps to be taken in spite of psychiatric symptoms are formulated; a summary excercise called the pause, in which central principles of the treatment are repeated, and in which a relapse prevention plan is formulated. The intervention will consist of approximately 2-5 sessions. The primary research question is whether such an intervention is effective in terms of causal change in problem areas identified as personally meaningful by the individual patient.