Psychodynamic Therapy Techniques : A Guide to Expressive and Supportive Interventions

Therapists help their patients improve through a combination of words and a therapeutic relationship. To do this effectively, practitioners need to know not only what to intervene on (i.e., how to identify and understand clinical problems) but also how to intervene (viz., what techniques to use). This book teaches therapists how to develop and use the many techniques of psychodynamic psychotherapy. Along with providing step-by-step instructions for techniques, it also describes the characteristics of "good" interventions and provides tips for assessing their effectiveness.

Psychodynamic therapy 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 Therapy 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 Therapy Techniques effectively demystifies this important approach to therapy and helps practitioners more effectively apply them to a wide range of patients and problems.