Helsinki Psychotherapy Study

Study designs

Two different study designs were used: a randomized clinical trial and a quasi-experimental study.

Randomized clinical trial

In the randomized clinical trial, which consisted of 326 patients, the eligible patients were randomly assigned to solution-focused therapy (97 patients), short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (101 patients), and long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (128 patients).

Quasi-experimental design

The quasi-experimental design consisted of 169 patients: 128 were patients randomly assigned to long-term psychotherapy and 41 patients were self-selected and assessed to be suitable for psychoanalysis.

Sample size: Intention-to-treat and as treated

Form of therapy Intention-to-treat As treated
Short-term solution-focused therapy 97 93
Short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy 101 98
Long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy 128 102
Psychoanalysis 41 40
Total 367 333

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Helsinki Psychotherapy Study / Presentation / Study Designs