This study examined the effectiveness of the Brief Psychodynamic Intervention (BPI). The BPI is a 4-session intervention aiming at (a) developing an optimal plan to resolve the patient's crisis situation through the use of an initial dynamic interpretation and its working through, (b) providing information on indications for further therapeutic interventions, and (c) furthering the development of early alliance. First, a pre-post design indicated that the BPI was effective in reducing symptom impairment with effect sizes of 0.38 for the SCL-90R Global Severity Index, 0.47 for the Hamilton Anxiety scale, 0.69 for the Hamilton Depression scale, and 0.26 for the Social Adjustment Scale Global Adaptation Score. A cross-sectional design comparing 61 patients who had completed the BPI with 61 patients on a waiting-list group indicated that the treatment accounted for (eta superscript 2) 17% of the variance in outcome. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)