More on Depth Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

I'm following up my post about Jonathan Shedler's work on psychodynamic psychotherapy with a promotional video that he made for Pacifica Graduate Institute. In it he discusses his research and the value of this therapeutic approach.

One of the points Shedler makes in the video is that therapeutic success is, in large part, due to the quality of the therapeutic relationship. He suggests that this relational factor is central to a psychodynamic approach. And while there are certainly high quality relationships that form in other treatment modalities, it is psychodynamic therapy which makes the understanding of transference and countertransference dynamics a primary focus of treatment. 

Shedler makes other interesting points about learning to think psychologically and about the distinction between two kinds of practitioners--the clinicians and the technicians. He says:

"I think in the future there will be two kinds of therapists. There will be technicians who follow instruction manuals and there will be real clinicians who are able to understand their patients deeply and help them live more authentically."

Here is the video: