Psychodynamic Psychotherapy with Children

Abstract

The term psychodynamic is used in this chapter to refer to all forms of psychotherapy that derive from classical psychoanalysis developed by (Sigmund Freud 1938). Briefly stated, In classical psychoanalysis, a client presents with a neurotic symptom that is the result of internal conflict operating out of the client’s conscious awareness due to the use of defense mechanisms. In the therapy sessions the client divulges material related to the areas of conflict, usually in the form of free associations. It is the therapist’s task to organize this material in a manner consistent with psychoanalytic personality theory, and to offer understanding of the client’s personality dynamics to the client in the form of interpretations. Once the client gains insight, and then works through the material interpreted by the therapist, alleviation of the neurotic symptom occurs. The client is then free to choose to make behavioral changes on the basis of greater self-understanding. p]As can be seen from this brief summary, psychoanalytic theory and practice tend to be bogged down by a language all of its own, which can seem intriguing at its best and undecipherable at its worst. The details of the model, including definitions of the italicized terminology, are presented in this chapter. The reader should be aware that the definition and use of many psychoanalytic terms vary from one psychoanalytic writer to another. What this chapter attempts to provide is an integrated, consensual view of the range of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapies for children. In so doing, some liberties have been taken in simplifying the material presented.