Psychodynamic Techniques: Working with Emotion in the Therapeutic Relationship

by Karen J. Maroda

Helping therapists navigate the complexities of emotional interactions with clients, this book provides practical clinical guidelines. Master clinician Karen J. Maroda adds an important dimension to the psychodynamic literature by exploring the role of both clients' and therapists' emotional experiences in the process of therapy. The book discusses how to become more attuned to one's own experience of a client; offer direct feedback and self-disclosure in the service of treatment goals; and manage intense feelings and conflict in the relationship. Specific techniques are illustrated with vivid case examples. Maroda clearly distinguishes between therapeutic and nontherapeutic ways to work with emotion in this candid and instructive guide.

Genres: Psychology, Psychoanalysis, Nonfiction, Counselling, Social Work

274 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I've learned (and re-learned) a lot from this book. I came to it after reading and appreciating Maroda's The Power of Countertransference, and I plan on reading her other works as well. I WISH it had existed back when I first started working as a therapist!

[Dovilė Stonė · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daug pamokanti ir padrąsinanti knyga.

Maroda apžvelgia pagrindinius psichoterapije vykstančius reiškinius, kurie, nors ir labai vertingi, mažiau patirties turintiems specialistams kelia siaubą. Pvz., regresija, terapeuto atsiskleidimas, konfrontacija, pyktis, stiprus perkėlimas.

Autorė padeda atskirti, kada intervencijos veikia terapiškai, o kada jos yra neterapiškos ar net antiterapiškos. Ji moko, kaip mokytis (:D) iš kliento ir kaip rūpintis tarpusavio ryšiu, kad jis veiktų terapiškai.

Didelis knygos pliusas - Maroda kalba apie savo klaidas. Ji dalinasi atvejais iš savo praktikos, ramiai įvardina, kur suklydo, ir, svarbiausia, pademonstruoja, kaip savo klaidas ji ištaisė. Daugelis klaidų yra ištaisomos ir neretai vertingos, jei tik jas laiku pastebi ir tinkamai į jas reaguoji.

...the mark of a good therapist is not being perfect, but rather being agile and quick to recover from inevitable missteps.

Kalbėdama apie darbą su konkrečiais klientais, autorė dalinasi savo vidiniais monologais ir kilusiomis emocijomis - tai padeda geriau užčiuopti kontrperkėlimą ir mokytis jį "įdarbinti" savo praktikoje. Jaučiu susižavėjimą ir dėkingumą autorei, kad ji drįso pastatyti save į tokią pažeidžiamą poziciją tam, kad kiti galėtų iš jos mokytis.

Žodžiu, rekomenduoju kolegoms, linkstantiems į psichodinaminę psichoterapiją.

Apie kalbėjimo(si) galią:

"I remain amazed at the relief clients experience simply by talking. Therapists may feel like they are doing nothing when they sit silently, allowing their natural emotional responses to surface and appear wordlessly on their faces. But if you think about how rarely this occurs in real life, you might appreciate how valuable it is to someone in distress. When telling problems to a friend or family member, most people quickly encounter the response of “Oh, yes, something similar happened to me.” Then the listener proceeds to cut off that person’s narrative and begin his own. A quiet, compassionate, involved listener is indeed a rare thing and will be duly appreciated by anyone seeking therapy."

Apie didžiausias mūsų baimes

"Our greatest fears revolve around reexperiencing the most painful moments in our lives, whether we realize it or not."

Apie kliento atsakomybę:

"I let my clients know their role is not a passive one: they are active participants in the therapeutic enterprise. If they ask me to start the sessions, I explain why it is important for them to do so, focusing primarily on the issue of emotion. I cannot possibly identify what issue carries the most emotional valence for them at any point in time. I can raise certain issues that have been important in the past. But the task of knowing what is emotionally important in the moment is theirs. I also emphasize that it is important for them to take responsibility for the content of their sessions. My role is to guide and facilitate, not to determine what is important."

Apie terapeutą mediniu veidu:

"... it seems evident that sphinx-like therapists create an atmosphere where their clients receive very little feedback, both verbal and nonverbal. Rather than facilitating needed affective communication, the emotionally removed and silent therapist creates a vacuum the client may work hard to fill. Rather than focusing on their own needs, clients working in this type of emotional vacuum can end up expending too much effort trying to illicit a noticeable emotional reaction from their therapists. I think therapists who are willing to show emotion on their face and give feedback when the client is soliciting it (Maroda, 1991, 1999) are significantly less likely to have clients working overtime to figure out how to please them. From my clinical experience, the more matter-of-fact I am in sessions, and the more I encourage my clients to express themselves, the more likely I am to receive criticism over time, rather than consistently receiving deference. "

Apie klaidas klaideles:

"When I supervise new therapists I always tell them that we all fail in small ways every day. Our ultimate success lies in our ability to perceive and respond to these everyday failures. Psychoanalyst Edgar Levenson (1996) elegantly describes the therapeutic function of the therapist’s flaws and mistakes: “The patient learns to listen to his/her own small voice through a series of incremental disappointments in the analyst and the analysis” (p. 696)."

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A modernized perspective on psychodynamic work and the role of the therapist as as active participant in the therapeutic relationship.

It incorporates neuropsych research on the role of emotion as well as A LOT of humanistic techniques (e.g. here and now work, the therapist showing emotion in therapy) but doesn’t give any credit to humanistic work which was annoying. This is why I shifted my orientation to humanistic ha!

Some interesting insights in this book on self disclosure and confrontation which I will definitely integrate in some of my future work and lectures to students!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This took me a while to get through but it was really well written and definitely consistently took into consideration who the audience of the book was. I felt like it was easy to comprehend and the frequent use of client stories or case studies kept me adequately engaged.

[Roman Calmus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very detailed and oriented to practice. Highly recommend this book for psychotherapists, especially to beginners. I'm about to reading other her books.

[Jill Sumi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maroda is very readable and provide practical approaches to Psychodynamic therapy.

[Michael D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid, practical, lively.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very practical book. Recommend it!