If you are interested in research evidence, this meta-analysis (from the Journal of the American Medical Association) supported the effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapy. Published in 2008, the researchers analysed the outcomes of 23 studies and concluded that ‘long term psychodynamic psychotherapy’ showed significantly higher outcomes in ‘overall effectiveness’ than shorter forms of psychotherapy.
The research was based on a total of 1053 patients spread across 23 studies (11 randomised control trials and 12 observational studies) that used individual psychodynamic psychotherapy lasting for at least a year, or 50 sessions. Some of the studies may have lasted much longer than a year, but this minimum threshold is interesting in itself. Whilst a year of once a week psychotherapy is longer than much current counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy on offer through the NHS, it is still a relatively brief time frame.