Brief Dynamic Therapy

History -- Theory -- The therapy process -- Evaluation -- Future developments.

Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT) is a brief psychodynamic psychotherapy developed for the treatment of mood disorders. It is now offered in the UK in NHS for the treatment of depression and has been applied worldwide in public health care settings as well as private settings. This book is a user-friendly, practical guide for the implementation of a brief psychodynamic intervention in routine clinical practice as well as in research protocols. It has been substantially updated since the first edition in 2011 with the addition of 5 new chapters to reflect new applications of the model in complex care, for patients with functional and somatic disorders and for internet delivered DIT and it outlines the changes in the training of DIT practitioners . It sets out clearly the theoretical framework, as well as the rationale and strategies for applying DIT with patients presenting with mood disorders (depression and anxiety). Throughout, it is illustrated with detailed examples that help the reader to implement the approach in their practice. The book will be required reading to support training initiatives in DIT, as well as providing a resource for mental health professionals specialising in psychodynamic psychotherapy and wishing to work within a limited time frame.

This book identifies the core competencies shared by expert therapists and helps clinicians—especially those providing brief dynamic/interpersonal therapy—to develop and apply them in their own work. Rather than being a cookbook of particular techniques, the book richly describes therapists' mental processes and moment-to-moment actions as they engage in effective therapeutic inquiry and improvise to help patients achieve their goals. The author integrates the psychotherapy and cognitive science literatures to provide a unique understanding of therapist expertise. Featuring many illustrative examples, the book offers fresh insights into how learning and interpersonal skills can be enhanced for both therapist and client.

Brevity: rigidity and length of time frame - Treatment focus: the patient in the outside World - Therapist activity: focusing on (or away from) the unconscious - Patient selection: in sickness and in health - Brevity revisited: when less means more.

Presenting a pragmatic, evidence-based approach to conducting psychodynamic therapy, this engaging guide is firmly grounded in contemporary clinical practice and research. The book reflects an openness to new influences on dynamic technique, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and positive psychology. It offers a fresh understanding of the most common problems for which patients seek help -- depression, obsessionality, low self-esteem, fear of abandonment, panic, and trauma -- and shows how to organize and deliver effective psychodynamic interventions. Extensive case material illustrates each stage of therapy, from engagement to termination. Special topics include ways to integrate individual treatment with psychopharmacology and with couple or family work.

Time-limited dynamic psychotherapy provides a state-of-the-art model of treatment that incorporates current developments in psychoanalytic, interpersonal, object-relations, and self psychology theories, as well as cognitive-behavioral and systems approaches. This flexible approach to brief therapy is designed to treat people with long-standing dysfunctional relationships.

This hands-on manual from Leigh McCullough and associates teaches the nuts and bolts of practicing short-term dynamic psychotherapy, the research-supported model first presented in Changing Character, McCullough's foundational text. Reflecting the ongoing evolution of the approach, the manual emphasizes "affect phobia," or conflict about feelings. It shows how such proven behavioral techniques as systemic desensitization can be applied effectively within a psychodynamic framework, and offers clear guidelines for when and how to intervene. Demonstrated are procedures for assessing patients, formulating core conflicts, and restructuring defenses, affects, and relationship to the self and others. In an easy-to-use, large-size format, the book features a wealth of case examples and write-in exercises for building key clinical skills. The companion website (www.affectphobiatherapy.com) offers useful supplemental resources, including Psychotherapy Assessment Checklist (PAC) forms and instructions.

In today's world of managed care -- characterized by limited mental health resources, emphasis on accountability, concerns of third-party payers, and consumer need -- the demand for mental health professionals to use briefer therapeutic approaches is on the rise. Fully 84% of all clinicians are doing some form of planned brief therapy (6-20 sessions per year per patient). Yet despite clinical advances and outcome data that demonstrate the effectiveness of short-term therapy, many therapists -- in fact, 90% of those whose theoretical orientation is psychodynamic rather than cognitive-behavioral -- are reluctant to learn briefer interventions, seeing value only in long-term, depth-oriented work. The second edition of this Concise Guide is intended to help educate both beginning and experienced clinicians in the strategies and techniques of time-attentive models and to foster more positive and optimistic attitudes toward using these important therapies. The seven therapeutic models presented here -- including an entirely new chapter on time-limited group therapy -- highlight the importance of the interpersonal perspective. The seven models, one per chapter, represent well-established short-term approaches to clinical issues that therapists commonly encounter in their clinical practices. These models also have clearly defined intervention techniques and formulation strategies and can be used within the 10- to 20-session time frame of most managed care settings. The first part of each chapter dealing with a therapeutic model lists the various presenting problems the authors deem most suitable for treatment by that particular approach. The authors discuss the overall framework of each model, selection criteria, goals, therapeutic tasks and strategies, empirical support, and relevance for managed care, with clinical cases to illustrate the application of each model. The authors include updated chapters on supportive, time-limited, and interpersonal therapies; time-limited dynamic psychotherapy; short-term dynamic therapy for patients with posttraumatic stress disorder; brief dynamic therapy for patients with substance abuse disorders; an entirely new chapter on time-limited group therapy; and a final chapter on the reciprocal relationship between pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. Meant to complement the more detailed information found in lengthier psychiatric texts, this Concise Guide (it is designed to fit into a jacket or lab coat pocket) is a practical and convenient reference for psychiatrists, psychiatric residents, and medical students working in a variety of treatment settings, such as inpatient psychiatry units, outpatient clinics, consultation-liaison services, and private offices.

This book evolved from the First International Meeting of the Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy Association on intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy. It will help readers to make use of the conscious working alliance with the patient to increase the unconscious part of the working alliance.

This book addresses the essential clinical competencies required to conduct brief dynamic therapy. Authors Jeffrey L. Binder and Ephi J. Betan discuss the conceptual foundation of their treatment model, and the application of this framework in forming and maintaining a therapeutic alliance, assessment, case formulation, implementing a treatment plan, termination, and treatment evaluation. All topics include a multicultural perspective and sensitivity to ethical issues. Binder and Betan attempt to bridge practice and research by consistently incorporating relevant research findings. Graduate students in the mental health fields and beginning therapists will find in this text the basic concepts and principles of brief dynamic psychotherapy presented in a clear and straightforward style, with many clinical examples drawn from detailed patient and therapist interchanges. Seasoned psychotherapists will find in Binder and Betan’s discussions of case formulation and therapeutic discourse a fresh treatment of classic ideas about the therapeutic value of constructing personal narratives. At all times, the authors explicitly tie the components of their approach to the competencies required of the brief dynamic therapist. In the current environment of accountability for results, attention is given to the ongoing assessment of therapeutic progress and ultimate outcomes. This text is a scholarly yet practical guide to the evidence-based practice of brief dynamic psychotherapy.