EMPATHIAN
Continuing Education in Evidence-Based Psychotherapy

Introduction to Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

A Seven-Session Continuing Education Course for Licensed Clinicians

Course Director:  Robert E. Feinstein, MD

Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Northwell/Zucker/Hofstra School of Medicine

7.25 CE Credits  |  Live Online  |  Intermediate Level

Course Overview

Psychodynamic psychotherapy is among the oldest and most extensively studied approaches in the field — and among the most persistently misunderstood. It is not a relic of Freudian determinism or an artifact of the pre-evidence-based era. It is a living clinical tradition, continuously revised by decades of attachment research, neuroscience, and outcome data, that offers something no protocol-driven treatment fully replaces: a disciplined account of the interior life of the patient, the relational processes that shape suffering, and the therapeutic relationship as an instrument of change.

This seven-session course provides licensed mental health clinicians with a working foundation in contemporary psychodynamic psychotherapy — not as intellectual history, but as a clinical discipline they can begin applying immediately. The course moves systematically from core theory through technique, with dedicated sessions for participant case presentations that bring the concepts into direct contact with real clinical material.

The theoretical arc spans five major psychodynamic traditions — Freudian/ego psychology, object relations, self psychology, mentalization-based therapy, and relational psychoanalysis — treated not as competing orthodoxies but as complementary lenses that have each contributed essential clinical tools. The technical arc moves from foundational listening skills through the sophisticated use of transference, countertransference, and interpretation as therapeutic instruments.

Two sessions are structured around participant case presentations. These are not optional add-ons. They are the clinical laboratory of the course — the place where abstract formulations meet actual patients, where theoretical vocabulary is tested against the messy reality of clinical work, and where peer feedback becomes part of the learning. Presenters and discussants alike are expected to engage actively. The cases are the curriculum.

The course is designed for clinicians who are already seeing patients and who want to think more precisely about what they are doing and why it is — or is not — working. Prior psychodynamic training is not required. What is required is a willingness to slow down, look more carefully at the clinical encounter, and take seriously the idea that what happens between two people in a consulting room is complex, meaningful, and amenable to disciplined study.

What Makes Psychodynamic Therapy Distinct

Among the evidence-based psychotherapies, psychodynamic approaches are distinguished by a specific set of clinical commitments: sustained attention to unconscious processes and their influence on present experience; close examination of emotion rather than cognitive reframing of it; careful use of the therapeutic relationship itself — including transference and countertransference — as primary data; attention to recurring relational patterns across contexts; and a developmental framework that takes seriously how early experience shapes current functioning. Shedler (2010) identified these as the defining features of a treatment with robust outcome evidence, particularly for complex presentations, personality pathology, and patients for whom symptom-focused treatments have plateaued.

Target Audience & Prerequisites
  • Licensed mental health clinicians: psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists
  • Clinicians with at least one year of post-licensure clinical experience
  • No prior psychodynamic training required; familiarity with basic psychological concepts assumed

This course is appropriate for clinicians across theoretical orientations who want to deepen their understanding of unconscious processes, relational dynamics, and the use of the therapeutic relationship. It is not designed for pre-licensure trainees.

Overall Course Learning Objectives
  • Define the foundational concepts of psychodynamic theory — including the unconscious, psychic determinism, defense, and the developmental lens — and explain their clinical relevance to formulation and treatment.
  • Compare and contrast the five major psychodynamic theoretical traditions and identify their distinct contributions to clinical technique.
  • Recognize, name, and work clinically with common defense mechanisms, understanding resistance as meaningful communication rather than opposition.
  • Apply Bordin's tripartite model of the therapeutic alliance and demonstrate strategies for building, maintaining, and repairing it.
  • Distinguish classical from relational definitions of transference and countertransference and use both as therapeutic instruments.
  • Differentiate the levels of psychodynamic intervention — clarification, confrontation, and interpretation — and identify appropriate clinical indications for each.
  • Construct a basic psychodynamic case formulation integrating presenting problems, developmental history, dominant defenses, and core relational patterns.
  • Apply psychodynamic concepts to their own clinical material through structured case presentation and peer consultation.
Daily Schedule

Start time:  8:00 AM
Morning break:  15 minutes (mid-morning)
Lunch break:  45 minutes (between Sessions 4 and 5)
Afternoon break:  15 minutes (mid-afternoon)

Course at a Glance
# Session Title Time Format
1 Foundations: The Psychodynamic Frame 60 min Didactic + Discussion
2 Psychodynamic Theoretical Models 90 min Didactic + Clinical Illustrations
3 Alliance, Defenses & Resistance 60 min Didactic + Vignettes
4 Case Presentation I 45 min Participant-Led
5 Transference & Countertransference 60 min Didactic + Discussion
6 Technique: Listening, Interpreting & Working Through 60 min Didactic + Role Illustration
7 Case Presentation II 60 min Participant-Led + Wrap-Up

Session-by-Session Detail

Session 1

Session 1  |  Foundations: The Psychodynamic Frame
60 minutes  |  Didactic with discussion

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  1. Identify and describe the core characteristics that define psychodynamic psychotherapy, distinguishing them from the emphases of other evidence-based modalities
  2. Explain the clinical relevance of key psychodynamic principles — including affect focus, the therapeutic relationship, defense, and the developmental lens — to the assessment and formulation of complex cases
  3. Articulate how psychodynamic assumptions about the unconscious, psychological conflict, and internal representations inform moment-to-moment clinical listening and intervention

Suggested Readings

  • McWilliams, N. (2011). Psychoanalytic Diagnosis (2nd ed.), Chapters 1–2. Guilford Press.
  • Shedler, J. (2010). The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy. American Psychologist, 65(2), 98–109.
  • Fonagy, P., & Target, M. (2009). Theoretical models of psychodynamic psychotherapy. In G. O. Gabbard (Ed.), Textbook of Psychotherapeutic Treatments (pp. 3–42). American Psychiatric Association.
Session 2

Session 2  |  Psychodynamic Theoretical Models
90 minutes  |  Didactic with clinical illustrations

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  1. Compare and contrast the major psychodynamic theoretical traditions — Freudian/ego psychology, object relations, self psychology, mentalization-based therapy, and relational psychoanalysis — and identify their distinct clinical emphases
  2. Identify the key motivational framework and central clinical concepts specific to each theoretical model
  3. Describe how each model conceptualizes the therapeutic relationship and the primary mechanism of change

Suggested Readings

  • Gabbard, G. O. (2010). Long-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (2nd ed.), Chapters 1–3. American Psychiatric Publishing.
  • Mitchell, S. A., & Black, M. J. (1995). Freud and Beyond, Chapters 1–3. Basic Books.
  • Shedler, J. (2010). The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy. American Psychologist, 65(2), 98–109.
Session 3

Session 3  |  Therapeutic Alliance, Defenses & Resistance
60 minutes  |  Didactic with clinical vignettes

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  1. Identify and clinically recognize at least six defense mechanisms across the primitive-to-mature developmental spectrum and explain the protective function each serves
  2. Distinguish resistance from non-compliance and articulate the psychodynamic rationale for treating resistance as meaningful clinical communication
  3. Apply Bordin's tripartite model of the therapeutic alliance (bond, goals, tasks) to a clinical scenario and identify alliance-strengthening and rupture-repair interventions

Content Outline

  • Defense mechanisms: definition, function, and the primitive-to-mature spectrum
  • Splitting, projective identification, idealization/devaluation, denial; repression, reaction formation, intellectualization; sublimation, humor
  • Resistance: forms, functions, and psychodynamic understanding — resistance as communication
  • The therapeutic alliance: Bordin's tripartite model (bond, goals, tasks)
  • Building the alliance: empathic attunement, collaborative stance, process transparency
  • Alliance ruptures and repair: recognition, acknowledgment, and repair sequence
  • The therapeutic frame: time, space, fees, boundaries, and their symbolic functions

Suggested Readings

  • Vaillant, G. E. (1992). Ego Mechanisms of Defense, Chapter 1. American Psychiatric Press.
  • Bordin, E. S. (1979). The generalizability of the psychoanalytic concept of the working alliance. Psychotherapy, 16(3), 252–260.
  • Safran, J. D., & Muran, J. C. (2000). Negotiating the Therapeutic Alliance, Chapter 3. Guilford Press.
Session 4

Session 4  |  Case Presentation I
45 minutes  |  Participant-led with faculty and peer discussion

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  1. Construct a preliminary psychodynamic formulation integrating presenting problems, developmental history, dominant defenses, and core relational patterns
  2. Identify at least two alliance challenges in the presented case and describe the clinical reasoning behind the responses used
  3. Use psychodynamic vocabulary to provide structured, constructive feedback to a peer presenter

Presentation Format

  • Presenter: 15-minute structured case summary
  • Faculty-facilitated discussion: 25 minutes with structured questions
  • Presenter reflections and integration: 5 minutes

Case Presentation Template

  • Identifying information (de-identified): age, gender, setting, duration of treatment
  • Chief complaint and presenting problems
  • Relevant developmental and psychiatric history
  • Initial psychodynamic formulation: dominant defenses, relational templates, core conflicts
  • Therapeutic alliance: quality, ruptures encountered, repair strategies used
  • Questions for discussion
Session 5

Session 5  |  Transference & Countertransference
60 minutes  |  Didactic with clinical vignettes and discussion

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  1. Distinguish classical from contemporary relational definitions of transference and explain how each shapes the clinician's technical approach
  2. Differentiate complementary from concordant countertransference (Racker) and describe how each form can be used as a therapeutic instrument
  3. Identify the defining features of a clinical enactment and outline a step-by-step approach to recognizing and working through it in session

Content Outline

  • Transference: definition, origins, and clinical significance — classical vs. relational views
  • Recognizing transference: affective intensity, displacement, repetition
  • Countertransference: classical (pathological) vs. totalistic (informative) definitions
  • Complementary vs. concordant countertransference (Racker)
  • Using countertransference as a therapeutic instrument; when it becomes an obstacle
  • Enactments: definition, inevitability, clinical use; recognizing, naming, and working through
  • Working in the here-and-now: the transference interpretation

Suggested Readings

  • Gabbard, G. O. (2010). Long-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (2nd ed.), Chapter 4. American Psychiatric Publishing.
  • Racker, H. (1968). Transference and Countertransference, Chapter 1. International Universities Press.
  • Jacobs, T. J. (1986). On countertransference enactments. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 34, 289–307.
Session 6

Session 6  |  Technique: Listening, Interpreting & Working Through
60 minutes  |  Didactic with clinical examples and role illustration

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  1. Distinguish clarification, confrontation, and interpretation as levels of psychodynamic intervention and identify clinical indications and contraindications for each
  2. Formulate a transference interpretation for a brief clinical vignette, demonstrating attention to timing, depth, and wording
  3. Define working through and describe how insight consolidation and character change occur over the course of psychodynamic treatment

Content Outline

  • The psychodynamic listening stance: evenly hovering attention; multiple channels (verbal, affect, body, silence, relationship)
  • Levels of intervention: clarification, confrontation, interpretation — definitions, indications, contraindications
  • The transference interpretation: timing, wording, depth; when to interpret vs. leave implicit
  • Working through: repetition, elaboration, and the consolidation of insight
  • Termination: developmental and psychodynamic meaning; mourning and growth

Suggested Readings

  • Greenson, R. R. (1967). The Technique and Practice of Psychoanalysis, Vol. 1, Chapters 1–2. International Universities Press.
  • Gabbard, G. O. (2010). Long-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Chapters 5–6. American Psychiatric Publishing.
Session 7

Session 7  |  Case Presentation II
60 minutes  |  Participant-led with faculty and peer discussion

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

  1. Apply transference, countertransference, and technique concepts from Sessions 5 and 6 to the integrative analysis of a live clinical case
  2. Articulate the clinical rationale for specific technique decisions — clarification, confrontation, or interpretation — made at key moments in the presented treatment
  3. Identify one specific psychodynamic skill or clinical challenge to prioritize in post-course supervised practice

Presentation Format

  • Presenter: 20-minute structured case summary
  • Faculty-facilitated integrative discussion: 35 minutes
  • Course wrap-up: synthesis, next steps, resources — 5 minutes

Case Presentation Template

  • Identifying information and clinical context (de-identified)
  • Full psychodynamic formulation: defenses, relational templates, core conflicts, developmental threads
  • Alliance: quality over time, ruptures, repair
  • Transference and countertransference: identified themes and clinical use
  • Technique decisions: interventions used, rationale, and effect
  • Questions for discussion: one clinical challenge for peer consultation

Continuing Education Information

Credit hours:  7.25 CE credits
Format:  Live online, synchronous
Level:  Intermediate
CE provider:  Empathian

Assessment & Evaluation

  • Post-course evaluation: required for CE credit issuance

Core Bibliography

Required

  • Gabbard, G. O. (2010). Long-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: A Basic Text (2nd ed.). American Psychiatric Publishing.
  • McWilliams, N. (2011). Psychoanalytic Diagnosis (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.

Recommended

  • Greenson, R. R. (1967). The Technique and Practice of Psychoanalysis, Vol. 1. International Universities Press.
  • Mitchell, S. A., & Black, M. J. (1995). Freud and Beyond. Basic Books.
  • Shedler, J. (2010). The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy. American Psychologist, 65(2), 98–109.
  • Safran, J. D., & Muran, J. C. (2000). Negotiating the Therapeutic Alliance. Guilford Press.
  • Racker, H. (1968). Transference and Countertransference. International Universities Press.