Book excerpt: Illustrated throughout with clinical vignettes, this book is a comprehensive guide to psychodynamic brief counselling and psychotherapy. It is ideal for those looking for a practical introduction to the subject. Following a summary of the roots and development of psychoanalytic theory, psychodynamic models of brief, short-term and time-limited work are described. The author describes their differences and similarities in terms of duration, technique and the contexts for which they were developed. Gertrud Mander then examines the basics of brief therapeutic practice from a psychodynamic perspective, starting with assessment, contracting, structuring and focusing. The active stance of the brief therapist is emphasized, and the importance of beginnings and endings, and of supervision and training, are particularly stressed.