Contemporary Supportive Therapy: A Review of History, Theory, and Evidence.

Supportive psychotherapy interventions were developed as a part of psychodynamic psychotherapy work, and supportive psychotherapy was historically considered to be the default form of therapy only for lower-functioning patients. These roots unfortunately have resulted in supportive psychotherapy being viewed as an inferior form of treatment. In reality, supportive psychotherapy is a practical and flexible form of psychotherapy that helps patients with a wide range of psychiatric illnesses, including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, eating disorders, body dysmorphic disorder, and substance use disorders. In addition, supportive psychotherapy can be well-suited to higher-functioning patients, as well as to patients who are chronically lower-functioning. There is also evidence to support the use of supportive psychotherapy in patients with certain medical illnesses, including coronary artery disease, some gastrointestinal illnesses, HIV infection, and certain types of cancer. The goals of supportive psychotherapy include helping patients to understand emotional experiences, improving affective regulation and reality-testing, making use of their most effective coping strategies, and engaging in collaborative problem solving to reduce stressors and increase effective engagement with support systems.

Teaching Psychotherapy.

Although there is debate about the importance of a strong foundation in psychotherapy for psychiatrists, the literature provides ample evidence of the positive impact on patient care outcomes when psychiatrists are competent to provide this important form of treatment. Despite financial pressures and increases in managed care posing a threat to the maintenance of psychotherapy as a core skillset for psychiatrists, psychotherapy training should not only be maintained within psychiatry residency training but should in fact be given a renewed focus and priority within training programs.

Supportive Therapy in the Medically Ill: Using Psychiatric Skills to Enhance Primary Care.

Supportive therapy is a practical, flexible, and patient-centered psychosocial intervention that can help improve outcomes for patients struggling with a wide variety of medical illnesses. Due to its highly adaptable nature, brief supportive therapy can be practiced in busy clinical settings by consultation and liaison psychiatrists and primary care providers. In supportive therapy, the patient and provider work collaboratively to reduce distress and enhance functioning. The available evidence supports the use of supportive therapy techniques in managing the mental health consequences of medical conditions. This narrative review helps primary care providers learn and implement the basic goals and interventions of supportive therapy.