Teaching Brief Psychodynamic Psychotherapy in a General Psychiatric Residency

Abstract

This paper describes a curriculum for teaching brief psychodynamic psychotherapy in a general psychiatry residency program. In designing the seminar, careful thought was given to the structure of the seminar experiences. the level of training at which this seminar should be given, and the kinds of clinical and supervisory experiences which would be most useful in familiarizing residents with the role and practice of brief psychodynamic psychotherapy. The authors found that this curriculum created attitudinal changes regarding brief psychodynamic psychotherapy, as well as having implications for the residents’ long term psychotherapeutic work. The experience with this course, suggests that this type of instruction is an essential component of residency training for the future psychiatrist.