In 5 Year Study, Long-Term Psychotherapy Found Superior to Short-Term Psychotherapy in Producing Personality Changes

In the Journal of Affective Disorders, Researchers Olavi Lindforsa, Paul Knekta, Erkki Heinonena, Tommi Härkänena, and Esa Virtalaa (2015) conducted a randomized trial comparing short- and long-term psychotherapies and their impact on personality functioning (n = 326). All therapy groups showed improved functioning. While short-term therapy at first was more effective in improving self-concept, producing decreases in immature defense style, and reducing interpersonal problems, long-term therapy had the advantage in producing greater changes to self-concept and, in the long-run, outperformed short-term therapy across measures.

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http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Olavi_Lindfors/publication/269312632_The_effectiveness_of_short-_and_long-term_psychotherapy_on_personality_functioning_during_a_5-year_follow-up/links/54891df60cf2ef344790a865.pdf