How Do You Treat Depression: Psychodynamic Therapy Part 2
Until recently, it had usually thought there was little or no evidence to back up the performance of psychodynamic therapy as a treatment for depression. A portion of the explanation was that practitioners of psychodynamic treatments were not as dedicated to doing empirical research as practitioners of other treatments including CBT and IPT. But during the last couple of decades, that changed and many more reports have appeared.
Early in 2010, a report published in the American Psychologist evaluated the data from existing studies of psychodynamic therapies and depression. This writer concluded that not only did the results reveal that psychodynamic treatments was at a minimum as effective as many other evidence-based treatments, but in addition the advantages of psychodynamic therapy seemed to be longer lasting.
What Are the Main Features of Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychodynamic therapy entails an exploration of the total span of a patient’s emotions. With the help of the therapist, the patient realizes approaches to talk about feelings that include contradictory feelings, feelings which might be uncomfortable or frightening, and feelings that the patient may not have recognized or accepted before. This exploration takes place in a perspective that realizes the truth that the ability to clarify the reason behind an emotional dilemma does not mean the person is capable of doing anything about it. The aim then is to foster the internal resources required to handle those problems
Together with a focus on emotions, psychodynamic therapy centers on spotting and addressing defense mechanisms — tendencies and behaviors a client employs in order to avoid distressing thoughts and feelings. As an example, an client might attempt to suppress thoughts of difficult experiences or may repeatedly change the subject when specific matters come up. Other reactions might include things like being late or missing sessions if the topics are becoming too troublesome, or focusing on outward details instead of the person’s own part in something.
As the sessions go on, repeating behaviours in the person’s thinking, feelings, and conduct will emerge. Commonly these routines are nuanced and unknown to the client. The therapist assists the individual realize these patterns and then try to comprehend their significance and the way they impact the person’s mood and reactions. Often, talking about the patterns will result in an examination of prior incidents that will continue to affect the present.
There is also an emphasis in psychodynamic therapy on human relationships, especially the connection amongst the therapist and the patient. Seeing how a patient responds inside that association gives the therapist a suggestion of the way the individual behaves, feels, and interacts in many other relationships. Commonly, psychological troubles stem from problems in the way someone interacts to others that conflict with the ability to have emotional needs fulfilled. An objective in psychodynamic therapy is to recognize those difficulties and find ways to resolve them or cope with them better.
Psychodynamic therapy also requires the exploration of the person’s fantasy life. Because the patient is encouraged to chat openly, he or she is able to explore anything is on his or her mind.
So What Can Someone Expect to Get From Psychodynamic Therapy?
Just like various other therapies for depression, a primary aim of psychodynamic treatment therapy is the elimination of symptoms. Additionally, psychodynamic therapy aims to assist the client acquire internal psychological resources and better ability for managing psychological issues that have caused emotional suffering. The individual does this by facing concerns that have been suppressed but that continue to impact his or her life and discovering more healthy ways to cope with them so they don’t interfere with the effort to live a far more rewarding life.