Psychodynamic Therapies

Cognitive behavioural and psychodynamic approaches to therapy seem to offer contrasting modes of treatment for psychological difficulties, largely due to the fact that they originate from very different theoretical and philosophical frameworks. It seems likely, therefore, that treatment for a woman experiencing depression, anxiety and feelings of inadequacy will proceed along very different lines according to each approach. There do appear to be some features, however, which are common to all effective ‘talking’ therapies, notably rooted in the therapeutic relationship itself and in the qualities and skills of the therapist, whatever their persuasion.

Psychodynamic therapy, as Jacobs (2004) notes, incorporates many different strands, originating
Relationship is central to the therapy in that the client’s personal history is seen as significant for the relationship between client and therapist (Jacobs, 1986; 2004). The client is said to unconsciously ‘transfer’ unacceptable, repressed, elements of her past into her relationship with the therapist. Thus, using our earlier example, the therapist may have noted certain remarks made by the woman suggesting that she may not be able to meet the therapist’s expectations. This would then prompt questions in the therapist’s mind about the woman’s past ‘failures’ to live up to expectations. The task, then, is to identify and work with this transference of feelings of inadequacy, in an attempt to uncover and resolve those earlier conflicted experiences. The client, having gained insight into the origins of her problematic feelings, and brought them to consciousness, is now enabled, through therapy, to resolve those feelings as they impact upon her in the here and
Depressed thinking patterns are seen as learnt, and therefore they can be ‘unlearnt’. The therapist’s task is to try to teach people a variety of new, and more constructive, ways to think and behave. Myers summarises the CBT stance, suggesting that “it seeks to make people aware of their irrational negative thinking, to replace it with new ways of thinking, and to practice the more positive approach in everyday settings” (2004, p.517). This therapeutic approach, then, is essentially a collaborative venture in which the client is assisted in building hypotheses about their cognitions, encouraged to review his or her thinking and to evaluate and test out its validity (Dryden, 1996; Nelson-Jones,