Teaching Psychodynamic Psychotherapy to Psychiatric Residents: An Integrated Approach

There is enduring controversy in our field regarding the place for supportive interventions in psychodynamic psychotherapy. This controversy is reflected in the differing ways in which psychodynamic psychotherapy has been conceptualized and taught in psychiatric residency training programs. The authors propose an “integrated” approach for teaching psychodynamic psychotherapy to trainees. In the integrated model, psychodynamic psychotherapy is conceptualized as a form of therapy designed to (a) uncover unconscious elements that influence thoughts, feelings, and behavior, and (b) support weakened psychological function. Using this model, residents learning psychodynamic psychotherapy are taught both uncovering and supporting techniques side by side in one course with specific guidelines for assessing when to use one set of interventions or the other. Teaching psychodynamic psychotherapy to residents in this integrated way prepares them to become skilled clinicians who are able to move fluidly from supporting to uncovering in a pragmatic and flexible manner, matched to the particular moment-to-moment needs of the individual patient.