Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: Principles and Techniques

Description

Course Date: October 9, 2026

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

1. 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
2. Compare and contrast the five major psychodynamic theoretical traditions and identify their distinct contributions to clinical technique
3. Recognize, name, and work clinically with common defense mechanisms, understanding resistance as meaningful communication rather than opposition
4. Apply Bordin’s tripartite model of the therapeutic alliance and demonstrate strategies for building, maintaining, and repairing it
5. Distinguish classical from relational definitions of transference and countertransference and use both as therapeutic instruments
6. Differentiate the levels of psychodynamic intervention — clarification, confrontation, and interpretation — and identify appropriate clinical indications for each
7. Construct a basic psychodynamic case formulation integrating presenting problems, developmental history, dominant defenses, and core relational patterns
8. Apply psychodynamic concepts to their own clinical material through structured case presentation and peer consultation