Mental health articles

psychodynamic psychotherapy techniques.Psychodynamic psychotherapy has developed from Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis.A central belief is that our early experiences and relationships affect how we function as adults, and that feelings, thoughts and experiences we cannot cope with (that we find unacceptable) we bury in our unconscious. This can result in conflict between the way we consciously try to deal with things and how we actually respond. We may become psychologically troubled and not know why.

psychodynamic psychotherapy techniques.In contrast to behavioural therapies, the aim of psychodynamic psychotherapy is for the client to increase their understanding of the cause of their problems, feelings and responses. For the client ‘to identify and understand what is happening in his inner world, in relation to his background, upbringing, and development’. Change occurs through the person recognising the problems andthe experiences that have contributed to their present state, resolution of issues from the past and the internal conflicts they have caused and reconciliation with the aspects of themselves they had found hard to accept. This happens on two levels.

The client tells the therapist about their problems and experiences and the therapist helps them think what past experiences might be affecting how they respond to situations now, how they feel about these experiences and what they need to do to resolve them.

On another level is the notion of transference, which describes the feelings the patient (unconsciously) transfers onto others, based on values and opinions they have internalised from significant relationships as a child, usually the parental ones.

The client acts towards others as if they were like the parent and interacts with them in a way that gets them to take on these attributes, for example being passive and eliciting dominance. The therapist, as receiver of these transferences, uses them in their work with the client on their client’s current problems with relating: reflecting them back to the client, interpreting, sometimes holding them, until the therapist feels the client is ready to accept them, using them in how she relates to the client.

psychodynamic psychotherapy techniques. For this to work, trust and confidentiality are important. In group therapy, the group dynamic is important as a reflection of clients’ relationships outside. As well as a forum to share problems and experiences with others that can empathise, it can enable clients to test their ways of relating by learning from others’ reactions. Group psychotherapy requires a degree of robustness: the ability to accept feedback and not to worry excessively about the other members.

By its nature of exploration and development of the therapeutic relationship, psychodynamic psychotherapy is usually a long-term intervention; however, it is increasingly adapted for short-term treatment: short-term dynamic therapy (STDP).

Tags: psychodynamic, psychotherapy