These sources can neither provide ultimate tests for the hypotheses of psychoanalysis, nor can they define the limits of psychopathology, theory, or technique. However, they are an essential part of the scientific effort to understand the human impact of psychological trauma. Brief psychodynamic psychotherapy involves once or twice a week meetings for an average of 12 to 20 sessions. Supportive psychotherapy typically involves one session per week but more or less frequent sessions may be elected depending on the patient's needs and tolerance. The choice of modality will depend on the patient's attributes, the focality of the problem, and the patient's goals for treatment.
All psychoanalytic psychotherapies combine expressive and supportive elements.
Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is also a primarily expressive technique but it differs from formal psychoanalysis in that it does not aim at fundamental changes in intrapsychic structure. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Press. New York, International Universities Press. A Casebook . Soul Murder .