Longer-term treatments may be applied to individual, group, couples or family treatment options. Whereas short-term therapy tends to be very specific in its goals and structure, long-term therapy is less directive in its methods. In this approach, the therapist does not try to steer the client in any one specific direction so much as facilitate a spontaneous exploration of deeper personality issues. This allows the client to examine issues as they arise, without the constraints of a predetermined time table, while providing more opportunity to develop a close relationship with the therapist and establish consistent support.

If short-term therapy is about modifying specific, undesirable behaviors, feelings and thoughts, long-term therapy is about examining and re-defining the deeper personality patterns that underlie those behaviors, feelings and thoughts.

Psychodynamic psychotherapy is particularly well-suited to more ambitious, or long-term goals. In this approach, emphasis is placed on early childhood experience and learning which influenced the development of particular adult beliefs and personality patterns. Although an individual may function quite successfully with a mature exterior, he or she may nonetheless suffer childish fears, insecurities and fantasies "below the surface." These more hidden aspects of the personality effect the individual's ability to fully experience adult feelings, sexuality, independence, self-reliance and virtually every other aspect of mature adult life. The ultimate goal of psychodynamic therapy is to unburden the individual of past conflicts which prohibit him or her from enjoying the integrated, spontaneous experience and expression of the core self.