Main description:

Deliberate practice exercises help trainees and students achieve competence in essential psychodynamic therapy (PDT) skills and apply them in a range of clinical situations using a style and language that is congruent with who they are.

These exercises present role-playing scenarios in which two trainees act as a client and a clinician, switching back and forth under the guidance of a supervisor. The clinician improvises appropriate and authentic responses to client statements organized into two difficulty levels- intermediate and advanced- that reflect common client questions and concerns.

Each of the first 12 exercises focuses on a single skill, such as engaging in a therapeutic inquiry, deepening emotional experience, pointing out defenses, making transference interpretations, and providing a corrective emotional experience. Two comprehensive exercises follow in which trainees integrate these essential skills into a single psychodynamic psychotherapy session.

Step-by-step instructions guide participants through the exercises, identify criteria for mastering each skill, and explain how to monitor and adjust difficulty. Guidelines to help trainers and trainees get the most out of training are also provided.

Contents:

Series Preface
Tony Rousmaniere and Alexandre Vaz
Acknowledgments
Part I: Overview and Instructions
Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview of Deliberate Practice and Psychodynamic Therapy
Chapter 2: Instructions for the Psychodynamic Therapy Deliberate Practice Exercises
Part II: Deliberate Practice Exercises for Psychodynamic Therapy Skills
Exercises for Intermediate Psychodynamic Therapy Skills
Exercise 1: Engaging in a Therapeutic Inquiry
Exercise 2: Therapist Awareness (Interactive Countertransference)
Exercise 3: Deepening Emotional Experience
Exercise 4: Making Process Comments
Exercise 5: Pointing Out Defenses
Exercise 6: Introducing the Treatment Rationale
Exercises for Advanced Psychodynamic Therapy Skills
Exercise 7: Making Transference Interpretations
Exercise 8: Using Metaphors
Exercise 9: Exploring Fantasy
Exercise 10: Gathering Data for the Cyclical Maladaptive Pattern
Exercise 11: Using Supervision to Recognize Reenactments
Exercise 12: Providing a Corrective Emotional Experience
Comprehensive Exercises
Exercise 13: Annotated Interpersonal-Psychodynamic Practice Session Transcript
Exercise 14: Mock Psychodynamic Sessions
Part III: Strategies for Enhancing the Deliberate Practice Exercises
Chapter 3: Additional Guidance for Trainers and Trainees: How to Get the Most Out of Deliberate Practice
Appendix A: Difficulty Assessments and Adjustments
Appendix B: Deliberate Practice Diary Form
Appendix C: Sample Psychodynamic Syllabus With Embedded Deliberate Practice Exercises
References
About the Authors
Index