Deliberate Practice in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Deliberate practice exercises help trainees achieve competence in essential psychodynamic therapy skills and apply them in a range of clinical situations while honing their own personal style and language.

These exercises present role-playing scenarios in which two trainees act as a patient and a therapist, switching back and forth under the guidance of a supervisor. The therapist improvises appropriate and authentic responses to patient statements organized into two difficulty levels—intermediate and advanced—that reflect common patient 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 corrective emotional experiences. Two comprehensive exercises follow in which trainees integrate these essential skills into a single psychodynamic therapy 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.