Psychodynamic Therapy Techniques

Psychodynamic therapy is one of the most popular orientations practiced in the world today. It has a growing evidence base, is cost-effective, and may have unique mechanisms of clinical change. However, gaining competence in this approach generally requires extensive training and mastery of a large and complex literature. Integrating clinical theory and research findings, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Techniques provides comprehensive but practical guidance on the main interventions of contemporary psychodynamic practice. Early chapters describe the psychodynamic "stance" and illustrate effective means of identifying and understanding clinical problems. Later, the book describes how to question, clarify, confront, and interpret patient material as well as assess the clinical impacts of interventions. With these foundational tools in place, the book supplements the "classic" psychodynamic therapy techniques with six sets of supportive interventions helpful for lower-functioning patients or those in acute crisis. Complete with step-by-step instructions on how to prepare techniques as well as numerous clinical vignettes to illustrate their use in clinical settings, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Techniques effectively demystifies this important approach to therapy and helps practitioners more effectively apply them to a wide range of patients and problems.

Helping therapists navigate the complexities of emotional interactions with clients, this book provides practical clinical guidelines. Master clinician Karen J. Maroda adds an important dimension to the psychodynamic literature by exploring the role of both clients' and therapists' emotional experiences in the process of therapy. Vivid case examples illustrate specific techniques for becoming more attuned to one's own experience of a client; offering direct feedback and self-disclosure in the service of treatment goals; and managing intense feelings and conflict in the relationship. Maroda clearly distinguishes between therapeutic and nontherapeutic ways to work with emotion in this candid and instructive guide.

Defending theoretical areas may be one way to cope with external impingments on clinical practice, but advancements are needed to enhance and improve the work. This text explores an approach based on applying cognitive-behaviour techniques in psychodynamic clinical practice. It aims to help understand, theoretical and practical, of the strengths and limitations of the approach, as well as how to determine when to combine approaches when treating couples, children, adolescents, older adults, even cases of abuse and chemical dependency.

Presenting a pragmatic, evidence-based approach to conducting psychodynamic therapy, this engaging guide is firmly grounded in contemporary clinical practice and research. The book reflects an openness to new influences on dynamic technique, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and positive psychology. It offers a fresh understanding of the most common problems for which patients seek help -- depression, obsessionality, low self-esteem, fear of abandonment, panic, and trauma -- and shows how to organize and deliver effective psychodynamic interventions. Extensive case material illustrates each stage of therapy, from engagement to termination. Special topics include ways to integrate individual treatment with psychopharmacology and with couple or family work.

For beginning and intermediate graduate-level clinical students of psychotherapy, explains the psychodynamic/psychoanalytical technique. The approach is practical, walking through the stages of therapy, with the theoretical underpinnings mentioned only in passing. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This classic text offers an in-depth examination of major issues in child psychotherapy and highlights frequently encountered challenges in working with children and parents. Basic concepts of adult dynamic psychotherapy - such as the therapeutic alliance, resistance, transference and countertransference, and insight - are redefined and adapted to the special requirements of therapy with 4- to 12-year-olds. Readers are guided through a number of cases as treatment unfolds, gaining insight into all of the attendant problems, strategies, and opportunities. Yielding unique insights into the emotional and cognitive world of the child, the volume presents effective treatment strategies for a wide range of clinical problems. New chapters in the second edition provide step-by-step coverage of two major cases, from intake through termination.

Psychodynamic Interventions in Pregnancy and Infancy builds on Björn Salomonsson’s experiences as a psychoanalytic consultant working with parents and their babies. Emotional problems during the perinatal stages can arise and be observed and addressed by a skilled midwife, nurse or health visitor. Salomonsson has developed a method combining nurse supervision and therapeutic consultations which has lowered the thresholds for parents to come and talk with him. The brief consultations concern pregnant women, mother and baby, husband and wife, toddler and parent. The theoretical framework is psychoanalytic, but the mode of work is eclectic and adapted to the family’s situation and its members’ motivation. This book details such work, which can be applied globally; perinatal psychotherapy integrated with ordinary medical health care. It also explains how psychotherapy can be made more accessible to a larger population. Via detailed case presentations, the author takes the reader through pregnancy, childbirth and the first few years of life. He also brings in research studies emphasizing the importance of early interventions, with the aim of providing therapists with arguments for such work in everyday family health care. To further substantiate such arguments, the book ends with theoretical chapters and, finally, the author’s vision of the future of a perinatal health care that integrates medical and psychological perspectives. Psychodynamic Interventions in Pregnancy and Infancy will appeal to all psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists working in this area, as well as clinical psychologists, clinical social workers and medical personnel working with parents and infants.

This guide demonstrates how, rather than being at odds with psychoanalytic treatments, targeting behavioral change can be part of the development and employment of psychodynamic therapy and can be used to enhance self-understanding.