What is Brief Therapy?

Brief therapy as the name suggests is a shorter therapeutic time-frame. A short-term limited time-frames, as opposed to often open-ended models of traditional counselling and psychotherapies.

People may make many assumptions about Brief Therapy that may suggest an air of being rushed with less depth. That may be more like coaching. Many people may assume that Solution-focused brief therapists do not focus on the past or that the past has no impact on the present. Most Brief Therapies focus on the present and with a strong orientation towards the future.

Others may see brief therapy as an ideal approach to avoid emotions and psychological conflicts with the focus being on cognitions and strategies as the pathway out of problems.

However, it’s not one size fits all as there are many forms of brief therapies available.
Here is a range of current Brief Therapies.

Types of Brief Therapy

History of Brief Therapy

As you can see the range of Brief Therapies is highly variable. Each arising out of their own psychotherapy philosophy, with their own view of how the mind works, or how human beings operate. This leads to their favoured strategies, techniques and outcomes of their particular brief therapy approaches.

Interestingly most brief therapies are the way they are due to their past. Following pathways from the past to where they are now.

Freud came up with the idea that human beings have a conscious and subconscious mind and believed that the more troubling aspects of life experiences are suppressed in the subconscious mind and are often the basis of mental illnesses. He believed that the answer to healing was to assist his clients to resolve inner conflicts that stem from the subconscious mind. He  wanted to work with the subconscious mind of his patients.

Freud turned to mesmerism or hypnosis as a means to access subconscious materials in his patients, but had to withdraw from this approach as he didn’t have the knowledge to master the skills required.

Instead he developed his psychoanalytic approach to work with the subconscious mind of his patients which was really slow in accessing the subconscious mind. An approach that extended for decades, so was very costly in time and money and only available to the wealthy.

From this past, traditional therapies including Brief therapies and traditional counselling and psychotherapy’s took on the common belief dating back to the 1950-60’s that it’s not possible to access the source of disturbances in the subconscious mind. Particularly in an accurate and efficient and manner.
Of the traditional approaches shown in the table, only Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (STDP) and Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) focus on the bigger picture of the human struggle that includes exploring the past. One of these STDP, shows an expectation stated  of around 20 sessions, while the other didn’t specify a number as these traditional therapies, frequently extend into years.

Read my page on Why isn't Therapy Working?

How I work with Brief Therapy

For these reasons most therapeutic approaches, attempt to stay in the present in focusing on the ‘here and now,’ as to delve into the past, is perceived as too difficult and ‘messy’.

In this they choose to work with the conscious mind with present day emotions, beliefs and problems with problem-solving strategies or tools or talk therapies that often turn away from the imprints from the past.

My reasons for being in this space of Brief psychotherapy is a strongly held desire to find better ways of working with the mind. I come with more than 26 years in private practice where my clients have been my biggest teachers along with the knowledge uncovered by neuroscience and epigenetic research in showing me what goes wrong and what is required for inner healing. I have always had the belief that there is no reason why therapy shouldn’t be brief and deeply effective.

Since the 1960’s up to the present, neuroscience has flourished providing vast amounts of research verifying information that most of our mind is subconscious. The latest findings show that only around 5% is conscious with 95% being subconscious. Neuroscience has further confirmed that memories of painful or troubling experiences are indeed held in the Amygdala in the Limbic system in the subconscious mind and are often the underlying factors for developing mental illness.

What you can expect in a Brief Therapy Session

Imagine if through a combination of the knowledge from neuroscience and epigenetic research and current psychotherapeutic innovation, it was possible to do the following, in 6 steps:

1. Relax the mind so as to gain access to the subconscious within a few minutes (2-3).
2. Trace present-day symptoms of a present day symptom somatically and practically through the nervous system of the client to its source to the amygdala.
3. Have theoretical and most of all the practical knowledge and skills to keep individuals safe throughout the process.
4. Have the theoretical and most of all the practical knowledge and skills to process the disturbing material safely within the session
5. Completing with an integration process.
6. All within a 60 minute session time-frame.

FAQ on Brief Therapy

I wrote these in first person to match your voice, using hedged wording ("may", "in my experience") so the efficacy claims are easier to defend. Items in [brackets] need your details.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is brief therapy?

Brief therapy is a short-term, time-limited approach to counselling and psychotherapy. Instead of the open-ended format of many traditional therapies, it focuses on a specific concern and works toward a defined outcome. There are many forms, including CBT, solution-focused brief therapy, and Rapid Core Healing®.

Is brief therapy shallow or "just coaching"?

Not necessarily. Brief doesn't have to mean superficial. Some brief approaches stay with present-day thoughts and strategies, while others, like short-term dynamic psychotherapy and Rapid Core Healing, work with the deeper roots of a difficulty. The depth depends on the approach, not the length of treatment.

Does brief therapy ignore the past?

It depends on the approach. Solution-focused therapy concentrates mainly on the present and future. Rapid Core Healing works with the past that is relevant to your current symptoms, in a contained and carefully paced way, so that it may stop affecting your present.

What is Rapid Core Healing®?

Rapid Core Healing® is an approach I developed that combines two methods. Emotional Mind Integration® works with personally acquired distress, conflict, and trauma. Family Constellations works with generational patterns and relational stress. Together they aim to address the source of a problem, rather than only managing its symptoms.

What does a session involve?

Sessions are 60 minutes. In my approach, we begin by helping you relax, often through a light trance, so we can access subconscious material. We then trace a present-day symptom to its source and process what we find at a pace that keeps you safe. We finish with an integration process. You stay aware and engaged throughout.

Will I have to relive my trauma?

The aim is to process difficult material, not to re-experience it in full. I use safety-focused techniques throughout, and both of us stay engaged to keep the process contained. You can pause or stop at any time.

How many sessions will I need?

It varies from person to person. In my clinical experience, many concerns can be worked on in 2–3 or 4 sessions per issue for most, though more complex or layered difficulties may take longer. We'll review progress together as we go. There is a follow-up session.

What is it suitable for?

I work with people experiencing depression, trauma, PTSD, anxiety, and long-standing patterns that haven't shifted through other approaches (such as always attraction the same type of partner over and over again). Rapid Core Healing concentrates on specific, recent problems or symptoms rather than rebuilding your whole personality.

Is it evidence-based?

Rapid Core Healing is grounded in findings on neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to rewire itself, and in neuroscience research on emotional memory. I'm currently involved in clinical research on the Family Constellations component "Exploring what 1 session can do?" Therapies differ in how much formal research supports them, and I'm happy to discuss this openly before you book.

Is it safe for everyone?

It isn't suitable for every situation. If you're in crisis, living with severe mental illness, or currently experiencing unsafe circumstances, we'll talk through whether this approach is right for you or whether other support should come first. If you need urgent help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or emergency services on 000.

Do you offer online sessions?

Yes. I see clients in person at Tamborine Mountain in the Gold Coast Hinterland and online across Australia. Online sessions follow the same process as in-person ones. I use secure Zoom for our online sessions.

How much does it cost, and how do I book?

You acn book a 30 minute initial Prep Session which costs $80. Book your breakthrough prep sessions

Can I train in Rapid Core Healing?

Yes. I offer professional online training for practitioners, including international participants. Rapid Core Healing practitioner training -  Professional Online training

How Rapid Core Healing works

This may sound like science fiction but is taking place in the present In Brief Therapy Rapid Core Healing®.

I am the founder of Rapid Core Healing.® Rapid Core Healing is a present day integrative triple modality composed of:

1. Emotional Mind Integration® to access and process personally acquired disturbances, conflict and trauma. Clearing one neural pathway within each session.

2. Family Constellations to work with generational (systemic) patterns and relational stresses and trauma in brief experiential processes. I am currently involved in a clinical research as the practitioner in this modality Details

3. Rapid Core Healing® a combination approach of Emotional Mind Integration and Family Constellations for a holistic approach to present day Brief Solution focused therapy that works with the cause or source of an issue somatically and subconsciousness to process it in a brief experiential approach that encourages neuroplasticity to be activated.

• Both the therapist and client maintain a high level of engagement and focus to ensure safety.
• The Rapid Core Healing process concentrates on circumscribed, recent problems or symptoms rather than comprehensive personality reconstruction

“These are findings about the brain’s innate capacity for neuroplasticity. The ability and natural impulse the brain has in-built for rewiring itself. Neuroplasticity was discovered in 1948 and accepted by credible scientific fields in the late 1960s. This is not new.”

“My experience, learning, and the valuable knowledge from neuroscience and innovation have taught me that when all the important factors are lined up, they slot into place with appropriate interventions, so that inner change may take place immediately. This is backed by Annie Write in Psychology Today online who said “there is no time limit” in neuroplasticity, published April 2024 cited Aug 8 2024. Meaning it may take place in the moment and doesn’t necessarily need to take weeks, months or longer.”

Quoted from my book, Beyond the Symptoms. Rethinking Depression and Trauma Recovery: Brief Neuroplasticity-Based Psychotherapy for Lasting Healing. 2026 Yildiz Sethi. Details

I am offering a present day Brief Solution Focused Therapy, Rapid Core Healing® that is holistic, working with the past that is relevant to presenting client symptoms for safe processing from a personal and generational perspective to allow new perspectives to arise, so that disturbances may lie in the distant past where they belong as they move forward in their life.

I offer sessions and training so that eventually this way of working may be accessible to all who seek 21^stcentury Brief, Experiential, Psychodynamic, Solution-Focused Therapy.

More Details on the psychotherapist  Yildiz Sethi

Sessions In-person Tamborine Mountain, Gold coast Hinterland and online Australia-wide.

Rapid Core Healing practitioner training -  Professional Online training
More details of on my specialist website page Brief Therapy