Single-Session Interventions and Telehealth

Ashley Abrahamson (2022) published “More Growth for Patients in Less Time” in Monitor in Psychology. We have seen many references to a mental health crisis exacerbated by the pandemic, a shortage of psychotherapists, and logistical problems in accessing psychotherapy in a private office. I was drawn to this article as an example of well-researched interventions. 

She begins by addressing the need for single-session interventions (SSIs) and traditional research that, she asserts, “has long shown that it’s possible to facilitate sudden gains – or fast growth – through therapy. SSIs build on that idea by concentrating evidence-based therapy components and psychological principles within a single session, which may help patients manage everyday stressors and mental conditions like anxiety and depression.”

Noting how costly and time-consuming ongoing therapy can be, citing research that, even when therapists propose extended treatment, most patients don’t return after a single appointment. She suggests that SSIs are a form of psychological first aid that “give support to patients who need it, when they need it.” Jessica Schleider at Stony Brook begins by describing an intervention to “increase motivation for treatment while folks were waiting and prevent their conditions from worsening by boosting agency and hope in the meantime. In a single hour, the patient identifies goals and creates an action plan. She published the study in The Behavior Therapist (2021), finding significant pre-post intervention improvement in perceived agency and hopelessness and ratings of the session as highly acceptable and useful.

Shalena Heard reports that she often works with marginalized populations in Maryland, introducing health-supporting resources as well as coping skills for anxiety, depression, and ADHD. Resources include school- and community-based mentorship, group therapy, and apps and podcasts focused on psychoeducation. At UC Santa Barbara, the counseling center offers SSIs on CBT and mindfulness. Schleider and colleagues developed a “self-guided SSI for adolescents, emphasizing CBT skills and empowerment.”

The entire article is well worth reading but what I am most drawn to is the notion that therapists can both support clients who are on waiting lists for more traditional therapy and incorporate SSIs into their existing practices.