How does psychodynamic counselling work?

We meet once a week at a regular time for a one-to-one session lasting 50 minutes. These meetings are an opportunity for you to talk about your difficulties, and a place for you to speak freely with your counsellor about what feels most important for you at the time

Through regular meetings in a safe and comfortable space we work together to identify, explore, and think about your feelings. Your counsellor listens carefully to what you say and helps you put into words difficult feelings - feelings that previously you may not have been able to understand or even to name. We work together to identify ways in which past difficulties may be being recreated in present patterns of behaviour. Our goal is that thinking together in this way will increase self-awareness and enable you to live more freely in the present.

Whilst there are no guarantees that psychodynamic therapy will work, the most recent research from America suggests that it is likely that it will. The Efficacy of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy by Jonathan Shedler, (American Psychologist 2010)  has reviewed the best available scientific evidence on psychodynamic psychotherapy and found that this showed substantial treatment benefits, and that furthermore these positive benefits increased over time and after the therapy has ended.

The evidence indicates that the benefits of psychodynamic treatment are lasting and not just transitory and appear to extend well beyond symptom remission. For many people, psychodynamic therapy may foster inner resources and capacities that allow richer, freer, and more fulfilling lives.

Jonathan Shedler, ‘The Efficacy of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy’, American Psychologist, Feb-March 2010

You may be interested to read more about this. You can find Shedler’s pdf articles on the links below.

That was then, this is now - an introduction to contemporary psychodynamic therapy