Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

The history of Psychodynamic psychology originated with Sigmund Freud in the late 19th century. Freud proposed a psychodynamic theory to which personality consists of the id. The Id is present at birth and it resides in the world of unconsciousness. Freud also said that the unconscious is also a place where human instinctual biological drives reside. The drives direct our behaviour towards choices that promise to satisfy our basic human needs. The drives ensure our survival like drinking water and eating food, the desire for reproduction and the necessity for aggression.

Transference is often manifested as an erotic attraction towards a therapist, but can be seen in many other forms such as rage, hatred, mistrust, prettification, extreme dependence, or even placing the therapist in a god-like or guru status. When Freud initially encountered transference in his therapy with clients, he felt it was an obstacle to treatment success. But what he learned was that the analysis of the transference was actually the work that needed to be done. The focus in psychodynamic psychotherapy is, in large part, the therapist and client recognizing the transference relationship and exploring what the meaning of the relationship is. Because the transference between patient and therapist happens on an unconscious level, psychodynamic therapists who are largely concerned with a patient's unconscious material use the transference to reveal unresolved conflicts patients have with figures from their childhoods. Countertransference is defined as redirection of a therapist's feelings toward a client, or more generally as a therapist's emotional entanglement with a client. A therapist's atonement to his own countertransference is nearly as critical as his understanding of the transference. Not only does this help the therapist regulate his or her own emotions in the therapeutic relationship, but it also gives the therapist valuable insight into

ID, ego and superego. He said you were born with ID which was in your

As social workers, it is our responsibility to use the most effective method of practice to engage our clients, assess their situation, and help them create goals that will produce positive outcomes. Every client will present a unique set of challenges; therefore, the social worker must be careful in choosing an approach that will meet the client’s needs, compliment the skills of the therapist and are in line with the agency’s mission. According to Robert and Watkins (2009), psychotherapy is a therapeutic interaction between a trained therapist and a client that is

The foundation of therapy starts by building rapport with the client and applying strategies when necessary to overcome a variety of barriers. It is imperative to have rapport with a client and to be aware of barriers to facilitate a good treatment outcome. This will take practice and the use of methods and strategies ready to be implemented when needed. There are many components to building a good client rapport such as: intimacy, vulnerability, exploration of inner challenges, self-awareness, staying present; inner resiliency, empathy, anxiety management, and self-integration, and relationship acceptance. The two types of barriers are internal and external and this is for both the client and the therapist. The common barriers to rapport are countertransference and transference. Strategies for overcoming barriers are: Pause Moment and self-awareness. It also requires skills such as being genuine, sensitive, open, and

Since adulthood, the structure of the development of personality current is observed under the terms of whether he or she passed with success the different psychosexual stages of childhood, youth and adulthood. Different mental illnesses are the result of a failure in the progression through the early childhood development (for example, - caught up in the “annals “of the stage), which in turn, translate into problems with the balance of the structure of the personality (the ego, the superego and the id). Some of the unconscious reasons for the majority of human behavior are sex and aggression. (Herkov, M. G. (2013, January 30). For example, perhaps the superego is much stronger than it should be and the ego is unable to always counteract its demands for

Therapists basically explore avoidances, thoughts, feelings, relationships and life experiences. A patient sometimes may be aware of his condition but not be able to escape or explain it. Through the analysis of a patient’s early experiences of attachment figures and how they have affect him, he will be able to free himself from the bonds of past. To accomplish that, the psychodynamic therapy, focuses on interpersonal relations, on the affect and expression of emotions helping the patients through discussion to describe feelings which are troubling them and they do not recognise. Patients usually attempt to avoid distressing thoughts and feelings. At some cases, they present avoidance, defence and resistance by missing sessions or change the topic when certain ides arise. They also view the therapist with suspicion because they may have feelings of disapproval, rejection or even abandonment. This kind of therapy based on research has shown that leads to on-going change, even after it has ended.(Jonathan Shedler, American Psychologists;University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine; February–March 2010)

Transference – clients unconscious shifting to the analyst of feelings and fantasies that are reactions to significant others in the client’s past. Involves the unconscious repetition of the past in the present

Intrapersonally, I consider the functionality, effectiveness, and adaptiveness of my client’s thoughts, behaviors, and emotions. I seek to understand the interplay between these intrapersonal dimensions and how they support or hinder the client’s healthy interaction with their

However, counter-transference is caused by the counsellors own limitations which might include the counsellor unresolved emotional issues, but a counsellor can use this to their advantage and draw out information that is important to the clients therapeutic process.

Psychodynamic Therapy assisted in discovering what childhood experiences and situations influenced Christina’s personality development. For instance, the client discussed how she grew up in a military family and was required to relocate every two years. The client stated how she felt like the “new kid” at each school she attended during her childhood and adolescent years. In regards to being labeled as the “new kid”, Christina created a “shield” to defend her from her classmates and keep her hidden. Based on being alone most of her childhood and being distant from others, Christina stated how she enjoys being independent and making her own rules. Furthermore, while her father was deployed, her mother was the parent playing the roles of the

Therapeutic relationship is defined as the collaboration and attachment between the client and therapist that focuses on meeting the health care needs of the client (Bordin, 1979). In this relationship, the therapist without prejudice shows Empathy, insight, understanding and acceptance of the client. Duan and Hill (1996) defined Empathy as “feeling into” the experience of the client. Over the years, the research evidence keeps piling up, and indicating a high degree of Empathy in a Therapeutic relationship is possibly one of the most potent factors in bringing about positive outcome in the therapy

In addition, Rizq, R. (2005) defines projective identification as a development within the therapeutic process resulting in feelings and thoughts conceivably affecting someone else and maybe reversed from client to counsellor as well. Alternatively, the counsellor may have unconsciously brought, proactive countertransference, Clarkson, P, (2002) to the process. Proactive countertransference is defined as thoughts, feelings, and the ambience that are introduced into the process by the counsellor. However, in saying this, if the counsellor was consciously aware of this within the process they may effectively be able to develop or could consider using this in helping them understand the client. Additional attributes of the counsellor were wounds that appeared in the counsellor 's thoughts, (a) mistrust of others, and (b) a presumption that relationships fall apart due to hiding their secrets. This also infers by placing trust in a relationship we are likely to be deceived and deserted.

If the client feels “safe” in the session, this can be very powerful for them. As sessions occur, the client will feel more comfortable in trusting the clinician with their feelings, attitudes and emotions. The client is able to present their needs and problems in ways that only they can express. Another factor that may resonate in the sessions may include transference and counter-transference. Transference is when the client’s attitudes, feelings and emotional conflicts from past events begin to be directed to the therapist, while Countertransference is exactly the opposite, when the therapist’s attitudes, feelings, and emotional conflicts from the past are directed towards the client (Transference and Countertransference, 2011). There are not too many positive factors with Countertransference, except being able to recognize it, when it exists, and be able to work out any conflict. A client’s experiences can affect their feelings, emotions, and behaviors towards their therapist. If the therapist remains their professionalism, and sets the proper limits and boundaries, a client can work through past experiences that are affecting their functioning. In a lecture, it is the role of the counselor to recognize the client’s experience; reflect and process the client’s emotional state, as well as process their own emotional reactions to clients and their issues. When clients can work through their problems from past

Since the beginning of this class we have covered some great theories based on psychotherapy, and also the uniqueness of each. The theorist that will be discussed in this paper include, Psychoanalytic, Adlerian, Existential and Persona centered. These approaches to counseling have offered us very similar and contrasting perspectives on the various concepts of psychotherapy. One reason for the trend toward psychotherapy integration is the recognition that no single theory is comprehensive enough to account for the complexities of human behavior, especially when the range of client types and their specific problems are taken into consideration(Corey, n.d, pg. 272). Many of these theories also have concepts which interlink them, which makes