Psychodynamic Therapy: A Guide to Evidence-Based Practice

Firmly grounded in contemporary clinical practice and research, this pragmatic guide for professionals and students is now in a revised and expanded second edition. The book explains the theory underlying psychodynamic approaches and lays out a model for understanding psychopathology. Vivid case examples demonstrate how to tailor psychodynamic therapy effectively for individual patients. The authors provide a framework for diagnosing the patient’s core psychodynamic problem and engaging the most useful mechanisms of change, using an integrative approach. Special topics include remote and hybrid treatment, combining therapy with psychopharmacology, and working with couples and families.

New to This Edition

• Incorporates cutting-edge research on psychotherapy process and mechanisms of change.
• Chapter on telepsychotherapy, including clear recommendations for practice.
• More attention to the social determinants of health--the psychic effects of adversity and various forms of oppression.
• New and revised case examples, with diversity in age, gender, race, culture, and sexual identity.

See also Practicing Psychodynamic Therapy: A Casebook, edited by Summers and Barber, which features 12 in-depth cases that explicitly illustrate the approach in this book.

Richard F. Summers, MD, is Senior Residency Advisor and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania. He served as Co-Director of Residency Training at Penn from 1998 to 2017. Dr. Summers is a nationally recognized educator, author, and clinician. He is treasurer of the American Psychiatric Association and past president of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatry Residency Training. He has published widely on psychodynamic therapy, the therapeutic alliance, focus in psychotherapy, physician well-being, positive psychology, and psychiatry residency training.

Jacques P. Barber, PhD, ABPP, is Professor Emeritus and Dean Emeritus of the Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology at Adelphi University. He is also Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at New York University and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychiatry and in the Graduate Psychology Group at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Barber is past president of the International Society for Psychotherapy Research and a recipient of its Outstanding Early Career Award and Distinguished Research Career Award. He has published more than 300 articles, book chapters, and books on topics including psychodynamic therapy, psychotherapy research, and the therapeutic alliance.

Sigal Zilcha-Mano, PhD, is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Haifa, Israel, where she heads the Psychotherapy Research Lab in the Department of Psychology, She is Associate Editor of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology and serves on the editorial boards of eight other journals. Dr. Zilcha-Mano is a recipient of the Outstanding Early Career Achievement Award from the Society for Psychotherapy Research, the American Psychological Foundation/Division 29 Early Career Award, and the New Researcher Award from the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration. She has published over 160 peer-reviewed research articles on psychodynamic psychotherapy and mechanisms of change.