Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Psychodynamics”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Individual psychodynamic psychotherapy and psychoanalysis for schizophrenia and severe mental illness.

BACKGROUND: People with schizophrenia and severe mental illness may need much support from health care professionals, in most cases over a long period of time. Research on the effects of psychotherapy for schizophrenia shows mixed results. Although pharmacological interventions remain the treatment of choice for schizophrenia patients, it is also of interest to look at the effects of treatment methods focusing on psychosocial factors affecting schizophrenia. OBJECTIVES: To review the effects of individual psychodynamic psychotherapy and/or psychoanalysis for people with schizophrenia or severe mental illness. SEARCH STRATEGY: Electronic searches of Biological Abstracts (1985-1999), CINAHL (1982-1999), The Cochrane Library CENTRAL (Issue 1, 1999), The Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's Register (1999), Dissertation Abstracts On disc (1866-1999), EMBASE (1980-1999), MEDLINE (1966-1999), PsycLIT (1974-1999), and Sociofile (1974-1998) were made. Authors of included trials were contacted for information on further trials. SELECTION CRITERIA: All randomised trials of individual psychodynamic psychotherapy or psychoanalysis for people with schizophrenia or severe mental illness (however defined) were selected. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Data were independently extracted by at least two reviewers. For dichotomous data relative risks (RR) were calculated and for continuous data weighted mean differences (WMD) between groups were calculated. MAIN RESULTS: No trials of a psychoanalytic approach were identified. Data are sparse for all comparisons involving a psychodynamic approach. There is no evidence of any positive effect of psychodynamic therapy and the possibility of adverse effects seems never to have been considered. The psychodynamic approach may be more acceptable to people than a more cognitive reality-adaptive therapy. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: Current data do not support the use of psychodynamic psychotherapy techniques for hospitalised people with schizophrenia. If psychoanalytic therapy is being used for people with schizophrenia there is an urgent need for trials.

Humans↗
PubMed2006

Psychodynamic Trojan horses: using psychopharmacology to teach psychodynamics.

Concurrences of scientific, cultural, and economic developments in the past decade have changed psychiatric practice and psychiatric training. The explosion in neurobiological sciences has left residents with an overwhelming amount of neurobiology to master at the same time that managed care has led to a de-emphasis on psychiatrists providing psychotherapy. Consequently, many residents are left questioning the relevance of psychodynamics for psychiatry, given that the majority will function primarily as prescribers. However, the illusion, increasingly common in our culture, that medications are a simple fix leaves residents unprepared to make sense of the complex and irrational processes that happen in the acts of prescribing and taking medications (or not taking medications). Consequently, residents may feel confused, angry, hopeless, and/or abandoned in their role. These residents are often hungry for a context to explain why they feel hopeless, confused, or defeated in carrying out the "simple" task of prescribing. A psychodynamic understanding can provide such a holding context, just as it can give residents tools for backing out of futile and/or destructive enactments and turning conflicts around medications to some therapeutic good. Many psychodynamic concepts that initially may have seemed to residents part of some arcane and outmoded pseudoscience suddenly become relevant when they provide both a context for understanding the resident's distress and useful clinical tools. Those psychodynamic psychiatrists wishing to promulgate a psychodynamic understanding may need to meet psychiatric trainees at their developmental level and take seriously the current emphasis on providing effective somatic treatments. By engaging trainees at the junction of psychodynamics and psychopharmacology, psychodynamic psychiatrists may find a more receptive audience and open the door for greater interest in developing psychodynamic understanding and technical skills.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed2004

Testing psychodynamic psychotherapy skills among psychiatric residents: the psychodynamic psychotherapy competency test.

OBJECTIVE: Training in psychodynamic psychotherapy remains a core requirement of psychiatric residency training programs, yet no standard measures of competency exist to document residents' knowledge and skills in this area. To address this issue, the authors developed a written test of applied knowledge of psychodynamic psychotherapy technique and theory, the Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Competency Test. Their goal in this article was to evaluate the validity of this test. METHOD: The test was given to a group of 36 psychoanalytic experts and 206 residents in their second, third, and fourth psychiatric postgraduate years from 10 programs located in different parts of the United States. Program directors provided information on the number of hours of psychodynamic didactic teaching, supervision, and resident-conducted psychodynamic psychotherapy and rated the psychodynamic psychotherapy skills of residents in their fourth postgraduate year on the basis of cumulative supervisor reports. RESULTS: There were significant differences in test performance between residents and faculty experts and between residents in their second and fourth postgraduate years: more advanced residents and experts had progressively better scores. The mean scores of fourth-year residents in different programs differed significantly, but the scores of second-year residents did not. Higher test scores were positively associated with both number of hours of resident-conducted psychotherapy and number of hours of supervision. Among fourth-year residents, test scores correlated significantly with program director evaluations. CONCLUSIONS: This initial study supports the validity of the Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Competency Test as well as the feasibility of testing psychotherapy skills in a standardized fashion.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Measuring outcome in psychodynamic psychotherapy: Psychodynamic vs symptomatic assessment.

Malan has argued forcefully that meaningful measurement of outcome in psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy requires a complex clinical-judgment process by an expert clinician that is based on a psychodynamic hypothesis. Information pertaining only to symptom status before and after treatment was abstracted from each of 18 case summaries published by Malan. Each of these abstracted "cases" was related by a nonprofessional judge for global improvement and by me for symptomatic improvement. Correlations among these simple outcome ratings, "dynamic assessments" of treatment outcome made by the Tavistock group, and several theoretically important variables measuring transference manifestations during treatment were examined. Simple symptomatic improvement was an important component of the complex Tavistock outcome rating. The results raised questions as to the importance of the expert clinician and the psychodynamic hypothesis in the assessment of treatment outcome.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Perceptions of the significant other of the effects of psychodynamic psychotherapy. Implications for thinking about psychodynamic and systemic approaches.

BACKGROUND: Clinical suggests that partners of psychotherapy patients often have powerful feelings about the therapy and therapist. The repercussions of psychotherapy on those close to the patient are rarely considered. A small exploratory study was therefore conducted. METHOD: All patients who had completed at least two months of weekly psychodynamic psychotherapy in 1990 at an out-patient unit of a psychiatric hospital (n = 35) and had a partner with whom they were living at the time of starting therapy (n = 23) were contacted. Eight gave permission for their partner to be contacted directly. All eight partners agreed to participate in a semi-structured interview exploring their perceptions of the effects of the therapy on a number of family relationships. The impact of the process of the study was also investigated by means of a questionnaire sent to all partners some weeks after the interview. RESULTS: Considerable changes were perceived to have taken place in association with therapy affecting not only the relationship between the couple but also their parenting relationship, the children, and at time members of the extended family. Partner's views about the direction of such changes seemed to influence other perceptions about the therapy. CONCLUSION: The repercussions of individual psychotherapy may well spread extensively within a family. This further blurs the boundary between individual and family therapy, both theoretically and clinically. Research procedures are themselves a major intervention and may have a considerable emotional impact on participants.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

[Psychodynamic aspects of behavioral disorders in the senescent patient and their psychodynamic approach].

Melanie Klein's therapy is comprised of elements likely to be transposed to senescence for a better understanding of certain disorders in pathological aging. To this day, several clinical states that appear for the first time at an advanced stage in life, such as certain forms of depression, deliria or intellectual deficiency, have not been satisfactorily explained psychodynamically. The author attempts to create a new approach with a Kleinien perspective.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

Brief psychodynamic psychotherapy: interrater agreement and reliability of individually specified outcomes.

We tested Malan's method of constructing outcome criteria in brief dynamic psychotherapy by positing a core neurotic problem, psychodynamic outcome criteria, and psychodynamically oriented target criteria for 41 neurotic outpatients receiving either psychotherapy or behavioral therapy. We found that trained raters could assess psychodynamic problems and outcomes with high interrater reliability and agreement. Using these measures with behavioral therapy as well as psychodynamic therapy patients, we found that the psychodynamic ratings could be extended to patients not treated psychodynamically. Thus, we feel individualized psychodynamic ratings can be used to assess treatment effects on a reliable psychodynamic basis, and that individualized ratings can be extended to studies which contrast specific psychodynamic outcomes to those of other treatments.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

[The effectiveness of psychodynamic therapy. A review using criteria of evidence-based medicine].

The existing studies on the effectiveness of psychodynamic therapy are reviewed. All studies published between 1960 and 2001 were collected. In the first part of this survey, the focus is on short-term psychodynamic therapy, the second part focuses on longer-term psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapy. The studies are reviewed with regard to forms of disorders. The methodological quality of the studies is judged according to criteria of evidence-based medicine. These criteria themselves are also critically discussed. Although they vary concerning their methodological quality, the studies reveal evidence of the effectiveness of both short-term and long-term psychodynamic therapy. In a meta-analytic evaluation performed by the author, substantial effects were found for psychodynamic therapy of personality disorders, i.e. 1.13 (self-report measures) and 1.57 (observer-rated measures) for short-term psychodynamic therapy and 1.05 (self-report measures) and 2.11 (observer-rated measures) for longer term psychodynamic therapy. Although there is evidence of the effectiveness of psychodynamic therapy, further research of specific forms of psychodynamic therapy in specific disorders is necessary.

Evidence-Based Medicine↗
PubMed2006

Cognitive-behavioral therapy and psychodynamic psychotherapy: techniques, efficacy, and indications.

UNLABELLED: In this article, we provide an overview of the techniques and efficacy of the two most commonly used psychotherapeutic treatments of psychiatric disorders in adults: cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic therapy. Psychotherapeutic techniques, major indications, and empirical evidence will be presented. The focus will be on empirically supported models of treatment. CONTEXT: Cognitive-behavioral therapy and psychodynamic psychotherapy are the most frequently applied methods of psychotherapy in clinical practice. OBJECTIVE: To give an up-to-date description of cognitive-behavioral therapy and psychodynamic psychotherapy and to review empirical evidence for efficacy in specific mental disorders. DATA SOURCES: Systematic reviews of psychotherapy outcome research based on evidence-based methods were used. In order to identify more recent trials, Medline, Psyclnfo, Pubmed, and Current Contents were searched in addition in July 2005 using database-specific keywords. In October 2005, the search was updated. Text books and journal articles were used as well. STUDY SELECTION: The authors reviewed the available systematic surveys and meta-analyses as well as the additionally identified studies using established inclusion criteria. DATA EXTRACTION: Following the evidence-based methods of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care, an established hierarchy of study designs was applied. Using rigorous criteria, only evidence from randomized controlled trials (Type 1 studies) was included. The authors independently assessed for which mental disorders randomized controlled trials provide evidence for the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy or psychodynamic psychotherapy in specific disorders. DATA SYNTHESIS: The efficacy of cognitive-behavioral in many mental disorders has been demonstrated by a substantial number of randomized controlled trials and several meta-analyses. However, for specific disorders the rates of treatment responders are not yet sufficient. For psychodynamic psychotherapy, clearly less efficacy studies are available. However, the available studies provided evidence that psychodynamic psychotherapy is an effective treatment of specific mental disorders as well. CONCLUSIONS: Although there is substantial evidence for the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy and some evidence for the efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy, further studies are required to improve the positive outcome rates of treatment responders in specific mental disorders. For psychodynamic psychotherapy further studies of specific forms of treatment in specific mental disorders are required to corroborate the available results.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy↗
PubMed2005

Are psychodynamic and psychoanalytic therapies effective?: A review of empirical data.

There is a need for empirical outcome research in psychodynamic and psychoanalytic therapy. However, both the approach of empirically supported therapies (EST) and the procedures of evidence-based medicine (EBM) have severe limitations making randomised controlled trials (RCTs) an absolute standard. After a critical discussion of this approach, the author reviews the empirical evidence for the efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy in specific psychiatric disorders. The review aims to identify for which psychiatric disorders RCTs of specific models of psychodynamic psychotherapy are available and for which they are lacking, thus providing a basis for planning further research. In addition, results of process research of psychodynamic psychotherapy are presented. As the methodology of RCTs is not appropriate for psychoanalytic therapy, effectiveness studies of psychoanalytic therapy are reviewed as well. Studies of psychodynamic psychotherapy published between 1960 and 2004 were identified by a computerised search using Medline, PsycINFO and Current Contents. In addition, textbooks and journal articles were used. Twenty-two RCTs were identified of which 64% had not been included in the 1998 report by Chambless and Hollon. According to the results, for the following psychiatric disorders at least one RCT providing evidence for the efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy was identified: depressive disorders (4 RCTs), anxiety disorders (1 RCT), post-traumatic stress disorder (1 RCT), somatoform disorder (4 RCTs), bulimia nervosa (3 RCTs), anorexia nervosa (2 RCTs), borderline personality disorder (2 RCTs), Cluster C personality disorder (1 RCT), and substance-related disorders (4 RCTs). According to results of process research, outcome in psychodynamic psychotherapy is related to the competent delivery of therapeutic techniques and to the development of a therapeutic alliance. With regard to psychoanalytic therapy, controlled quasi-experimental effectiveness studies provide evidence that psychoanalytic therapy is (1) more effective than no treatment or treatment as usual, and (2) more effective than shorter forms of psychodynamic therapy. Conclusions are drawn for future research.

Empirical Research↗
PubMed1989

Assessing psychodynamic conflicts: I. Reliability of the idiographic conflict formulation method.

Recent years have seen increasing interest in devising methods of studying psychodynamic phenomena. These efforts have had confront difficulties, first, in specifying the data, the observation language, and rules of inference for psychodynamic propositions, and second, in determining the reliability and validity of the measures used. Given how "fuzzy" traditional psychodynamic concepts are, it is no wonder that psychodynamic clinicians from Freud onward have achieved more success in generating new hypotheses than in testing their validity. As Reichenbach (1938) has observed, science requires that discovery be followed by systematic validation of all new propositions, regardless of their degree of popular acceptance. At the core of efforts to study psychodynamics have been methods to study ego functioning (Bellak and Goldsmith 1984), defense mechanisms (Perry and Copper 1988), and psychodynamic conflicts. This paper reports on the reliability of the Idiographic Conflict Formulation (ICF), a guided method for formulating an individual's psychodynamic conflicts.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗
PubMed2003

The effectiveness of psychodynamic therapy and cognitive behavior therapy in the treatment of personality disorders: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The authors conducted a meta-analysis to address the effectiveness of psychodynamic therapy and cognitive behavior therapy in the treatment of personality disorders. METHOD: Studies of psychodynamic therapy and cognitive behavior therapy that were published between 1974 and 2001 were collected. Only studies that 1) used standardized methods to diagnose personality disorders, 2) applied reliable and valid instruments for the assessment of outcome, and 3) reported data that allowed calculation of within-group effect sizes or assessment of personality disorder recovery rates were included. Fourteen studies of psychodynamic therapy and 11 studies of cognitive behavior therapy were included. RESULTS: Psychodynamic therapy yielded a large overall effect size (1.46), with effect sizes of 1.08 found for self-report measures and 1.79 for observer-rated measures. For cognitive behavior therapy, the corresponding values were 1.00, 1.20, and 0.87. For more specific measures of personality disorder pathology, a large overall effect size (1.56) was seen for psychodynamic therapy. Two cognitive behavior therapy studies reported significant effects for more specific measures of personality disorder pathology. For psychodynamic therapy, the effect sizes indicate long-term rather than short-term change in personality disorders. CONCLUSIONS: There is evidence that both psychodynamic therapy and cognitive behavior therapy are effective treatments of personality disorders. Since the number of studies that could be included in this meta-analysis was limited, the conclusions that can be drawn are only preliminary. Further studies are necessary that examine specific forms of psychotherapy for specific types of personality disorders and that use measures of core psychopathology. Both longer treatments and follow-up studies should be included.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy↗
PubMed2006

Psychodynamic psychotherapy in the treatment of mood disorders.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This article summarizes recent studies of psychodynamic psychotherapy for mood disorders. It is important to note whether the therapy studied is adhering to the principles of psychodynamic psychotherapy, whether it is manual based or flexibly responsive to patient developments, whether it is short term or long term and whether it is combined with pharmacotherapy. RECENT FINDINGS: A review of recently published studies has found that all studies show a significant improvement in symptoms in patients who were depressed before treatment with psychodynamic psychotherapy. It is rare, however, for a study to meet the criteria of randomized clinical trials: use of treatment manuals and assured adherence, a sample of patients specifically diagnosed with depression and relevant measures. In one metaanalysis of studies meeting the above criteria, two of 17 studies included a sample with a diagnosis of depression, and short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy achieved similar results as other psychotherapies. Naturalistic studies show improvement with dynamic psychotherapy over time in both symptoms and dynamic measures, such as defense styles and frustration tolerance. SUMMARY: In the last year there were few randomized controlled studies specifically examining psychodynamic psychotherapy for mood disorders. Most evidence from naturalistic and various efficacy studies indicates that dynamic psychotherapy, with or without pharmacotherapy, is associated with improvement in symptoms and some character features. Longer follow-ups provide useful data for what can be a chronic or recurring illness. There are no data showing that psychodynamic therapy is more or less effective than other forms of psychotherapy.

Humans↗
PubMed1985

Psychodynamic study of male potency disorders. An overview.

The information on the psychodynamics of monosymptomatic functional sexual disorders in men obtained so far from individual psychoanalytical investigations were tested on a large body of patients. In 74 men with psychogenic monosymptomatic primary or secondary potency disorders, several psychoanalytical interviews and pair interviews as well as, in some cases, a short psychotherapy were carried out. Investigations showed that in men with primary or secondary disorders of libido, erection and ejaculation, monosymptomatic neuroses were present in psychodynamic terms with particular repercussions for partner relationships. A correlation of symptomatology, age and psychodynamics was shown. Specific age-dependent conflict constellations could be discerned psychodynamically. In sexual phobias, primary disorders of erection and ejaculatio praecox, oedipal conflicts were found especially in young adults. In ejaculatio deficiens, the specific psychodynamics lay in an anal-retentive defense against pre-oedipal fears of anal-sadistic impulses and fear of ego-loss. In secondary (rarely primary) disorders of libido, erection and ejaculation, character neuroses, neurotic partnership conflicts on a pre-oedipal level as well as narcissistic crises in middle age were found. The results are discussed with regard to earlier views on the psychodynamics of functional sexual disorders in men.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

The value of a psychodynamic approach in the managed care setting.

The managed care setting presents significant challenges to all psychotherapists. Psychodynamic therapists, however, experience specific difficulties in this environment. Despite managed care's general hostility toward psychodynamic theory and practice, psychodynamic therapists provide unique and significant opportunities for patients. Psychodynamic training, with its emphasis on careful evaluation, exploration of unconscious conflict, transference and countertransference, and other therapeutic phenomena, enables clinicians to provide an invaluable service to managed care organizations. The case of K., a 45-year-old man, is used to illustrate the ways in which psychodynamic elements of a brief treatment contributed to a successful outcome. The importance of including psychodynamic treatment in managed care settings is discussed.

Health Maintenance Organizations↗
PubMed1986

[Differentiation and specificity of the psychodynamics of functional sexual disorders in males].

The information on the psychodynamics of monosymptomatic function sexual disorders in men obtained so far from individual psychoanalytical investigations were tested on a large body of patients. In 74 men with psychogenic monosymptomatic primary or secondary potency disorders, several psychoanalytical interviews and pair interviews as well as in some cases a short psychotherapy were carried out. Investigations showed that in men with primary or secondary disorders of libido, erection and ejaculation, monosymptomatic neuroses were present in psychodynamic terms with particular repercussions for partner relationships. A correlation of symptomatology, age and psychodynamics was shown. Specific age-dependent conflict constellations could be discerned psychodynamically. In sexual phobias, primary disorders of erection and ejaculation praecox, oedipal conflicts were found especially in young adults. In ejaculation deficiens, the specific psychodynamics lay in an anal-retentive defense against pre-oedipal fears of anal-sadistic impulses and fear of ego-loss. In secondary (rarely primary) disorders of libido, erection and ejaculation, character neuroses, neurotic partnership conflicts on a pre-oedipal level as well as narcissistic crises in middle age were found. The results are discussed with regard to earlier views on the psychodynamics of functional sexual disorders in men.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Psychodynamic issues in the emergency department.

A psychodynamically informed approach to interviewing in the PES can greatly enhance clinicians' ability to appropriately assess and manage patients. Although psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy as treatments are not appropriate to the emergency setting, the theory and technique that inform them are broadly applicable to all patients. In an age of rapidly proliferating psychopharmacologic approaches, recent major developments in psychodynamic conceptualization and technique are easily overlooked. When coupled with other advances in psychiatry, however, psychodynamic approaches can widen the scope of therapeutic abilities. The psychodynamic perspective can facilitate data gathering, enhance therapeutic alliances and personal safety, aid in treatment, and contribute to psychiatrists' continuing efforts to serve the biopsychosocial needs of all patients.

Emergency Services, Psychiatric↗