Psycotherapy, managed care, and the economy of interaction.

This paper examines the disclosure over the value of long-term psychotherapy in a managed-care system. Many managed-care companies define extended psychotherapy as superfluous. Those who defend psychotherapy respond that the restrictions imposed by managed care are misguided and potentially harmful. After briefly discussing the relevant literature, the points of contention between psychotherapy and managed care are examined from the perspective of narrative literary theory. The analysis highlights the contrasting narrative assumptions implied about the importance of the clinical interaction. Pointing out each side's use of point-of-view, narrative structure, and informational exchange, it is posited that beneath arguments that often focus on the commodities of time and money lie larger, conceptual differences. These stealthily serve to undermine the possibility of a rational debate. The paper concludes by asserting that psychotherapy and managed care assume incommensurate narratives of interaction when discussing the value of therapy. The terms of discourse must be expanded in order to account for the philosophical differences described. Several ways this might be accomplished are proposed.