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Chapter 7 - Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Technique

from Part 2: - The Model of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy into Practice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 August 2023

Adam Polnay
Affiliation:
The State Hospital, Carstairs and Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh
Victoria Barker
Affiliation:
East London NHS Foundation Trust, London
David Bell
Affiliation:
British Psychoanalytic Society
Allan Beveridge
Affiliation:
Royal College of Psychiatrists, London
Adam Burley
Affiliation:
Rivers Centre, Edinburgh
Allyson Lumsden
Affiliation:
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
C. Susan Mizen
Affiliation:
Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, Exeter
Lauren Wilson
Affiliation:
Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh
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Summary

This chapter describes specific techniques employed in modern day psychodynamic psychotherapy. It commences with a brief outline of the core psychodynamic attitude consisting of relative restraint, ‘anonymity’, and ‘neutrality’ along with helpful tips for the psychotherapist at the start of their career. It then goes on to a section on the importance of unconscious communication which includes a brief instruction on dream interpretation. This is followed by a detailed description on the use of transference and countertransference to elicit relevant object relations; this section includes how to manage ruptures in therapy. There is a description of the spectrum of interventions and techniques used in psychodynamic psychotherapy ranging from the more supportive end of the spectrum through to the more expressive. The chapter concludes with the process of working through and managing resistance. Throughout there are suggestions for how to couch interventions when working with a patient and also clinical vignettes to illustrate key techniques.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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