Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Specialisation

This unit offers students a thorough and comprehensive foundation in Psychodynamic Therapeutic methods, micro-skills, and applications essential to working within a variety of clinical manifestations.

Learning Outcomes

  • Demonstrate and evaluate a client for assessment purposes and apply a Psychodynamic Formulation as a working hypothesis and a treatment plan
  • Apply the terminology and concepts of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy to a range of clinical presentations
  • Critique and evaluate the approach that differing Psychodynamic methods can respond to and treat differing clinical manifestations in the clinical setting
  • Identify and understand the differing symptomatology and presentation of clients from a developmental deficit and trauma perspective and how to work within the Psychodynamic Frame
  • Examine each theory and method in relation to therapeutic process and identify common issues and difficulties that may be experienced in the application of therapeutic processses

Content Areas

  • Psychodynamic Assessment and Formulation
  • Boundaries, The Therapeutic Frame and Termination of Treatment
  • Affect Regulation
  • Developmental Trauma
  • Clinical Manifestations: PTSD and Dissociation
  • Clinical Manifestations: Depression and Anxiety
  • Clinical Manifestations: OCD, Avoidant Personality and Dependent Personality Disorder
  • Clinical Manifestations: Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder
  • Clinical Manifestations: Addiction and Eating Disorders
  • Clinical Manifestations: The Suicidal Client and The Sexually Abused Client
  • Family Therapy and Group Therapy
  • Ethics

Unit Duration and Workload

This unit involves a total of 36 hours of face to face delivery or self-directed study including educator contact in flexible delivery modes, generating a further 120 hours of self-study per unit including research and related study activities, including assessment. This translates as 13 hours per week for the unit.