Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

The course provides basic knowledge about psychodynamic psychotherapy and shows how to apply it to clinical practice.

The purpose of the course is to present basic knowledge about

psychodynamic therapy understood as a specific way of thinking about

the patient. Main concepts, phenomena, purposes, and therapeutic

methods will be discussed during the course, with a focus on using the

theory in practice. Therefore, various clinical vignettes and case studies

will be presented and analysed.

1. What is psychodynamic therapy? Introduction.

 Gabbard, G.O. (2010). Long-term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy:

A Basic Text. Washington D.C.: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Chapter 1. “Key concepts” (with “Effectiveness’ research”

skipped).

 McWilliams, N. (2004). Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy: A

practitioner`s guide. The Guilford Press. Chapter 1.”What defines

a psychoanalytic therapy?”.

2. What are the principal psychodynamic conceptions?

 Gabbard, G.O. (2005). Psychodynamic Psychiatry in Clinical

Practice. Washington D.C.: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Chapter 2.“The theoretical basis of dynamic psychiatry”.

 McWilliams, N. (2011). Psychoanalytic diagnosis. Understanding

Personality Structure in the Clinical Process. New York, London:

The Guilford Press. Chapter 2.”Psychoanalytic character

diagnosis”.

3. Who can benefit from psychodynamic therapy? Essentials of

psychodynamic diagnosis.

 Gabbard, G.O. (2010). Long-term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy:

A Basic Text. Washington D.C.: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Chapter 2.”Assessment, indications, and formulation.”

 McWilliams, N. (2011). Psychoanalytic diagnosis. Understanding

Personality Structure in the Clinical Process. The Guilford Press.

Chapter 3.”Developmental levels of personality organization”.

4. What is special about the therapist – patient relationship in

psychodynamic therapy?

 Gabbard, G.O. (2010). Long-term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy:

A Basic Text. Washington D.C.: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Chapter 3.”The nuts and bolts of psychotherapy: getting started”

(up to “Practical issues”). Chapter 4. “Therapeutic interventions:

what does the therapist say and do?”

 McWilliams, N. (2004). Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy: A

Practitioner`s Guide. New York, London: The Guilford Press.

Chapter 6. “Basic Therapy Processes. Power and love”.

5. What are the specific phenomena? Transference,

countertransference, projective identification, resistance.

 Gabbard, G.O. (2010). Long-term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy:

A Basic Text. Washington D.C.: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Chapter 6. “Working with resistance”. Chapter 8. “Identifying and

working with countertransference”.

6. How does the psychodynamic therapist work? Setting, rules and

boundaries, therapeutic interventions, dream analysis etc.

 Gabbard, G.O. (2010). Long-term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy:

A Basic Text. Washington D.C.: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Chapter 3.”The nuts and bolts of psychotherapy: getting started.

Practical issues.”

 McWilliams, N. (2004). Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy: A

Practitioner`s Guide. New York, London: The Guilford Press.

Chapter 6. “Basic Therapy Processes” (up to “Power and love”).

7. What cures in psychodynamic therapy? Is this method effective? The

curative factors, effectiveness` research. Summary of the course so

far in brief presentations.

 Gabbard, G.O. (2010). Long-term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy:

A Basic Text. Washington D.C.: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Chapter 1. “Key concepts. Effectiveness` research”. Chapter 5.

“Goals and therapeutic action.”

 Shedler, J. (2010). The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy.

The American Psychologist, 65(2), 98-109. doi:10.1037/a0018378

 Abbass A.A., Kisely S.R., Town J.M., Leichsenring F., Driessen E.,

De Maat S., Gerber A., Dekker J., Rabung S., Rusalovska S., Crowe

E. Short-term psychodynamic psychotherapies for common

mental disorders. (2014). Cochrane Database of Systematic

Reviews 2014, Issue 7. Art. No.: CD004687. DOI:

10.1002/14651858.CD004687.pub4.

8. Test. What is special about the therapist?

 McWilliams, N. (2004). Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy: A

Practitioner`s Guide. New York, London: The Guilford Press.

Chapter 2. ”The psychoanalytic sensibility” and Chapter 3. “The

Therapist’s Preparation”.

9. Working with depression

 Valerio, R. (2015). Permission to Take a Breath: A Case of

Depression. In: R.F. Summers, J.P. Barber. (eds). Practicing

psychodynamic therapy: a casebook. The Guilford Press: New

York.

10. Working with obsessionality

 Elliott, L. J. (2015). “She’s Just Trying to Help”: A Case of

Obsessionality. In: R.F. Summers, J.P. Barber. (eds). Practicing

psychodynamic therapy: a casebook. The Guilford Press: New

York.

11. Working with fear of abandonment

 Schweitzer, R., & Vann, A. (2015). “I Can’t Leave Him, I Think He

Loves Me”: A Case of Fear of Abandonment. In: R.F. Summers, J.P.

Barber. (eds). Practicing psychodynamic therapy: a casebook. The

Guilford Press: New York

12. Working with low self-esteem

 Collier, S. J. (2015). The Uncertain Father: A Case of Low SelfEsteem.

In: R.F. Summers, J.P. Barber. (eds). Practicing

psychodynamic therapy: a casebook. The Guilford Press: New

York

13. Working with panic anxiety

 Shah, D. (2015). Horrified and Guilty: A Case of Panic Anxiety. In:

R.F. Summers, J.P. Barber. (eds). Practicing psychodynamic

therapy: a casebook. The Guilford Press: New York

14. Working with trauma.

 Campanella, K. (2015). Our Therapeutic Journey: A Case of

Trauma. In: R.F. Summers, J.P. Barber. (eds). Practicing

psychodynamic therapy: a casebook. The Guilford Press: New

York