The development of the psychoanalytic psychotherapy process with a depressed adolescent: an empirical case study

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper explores the psychotherapy process in a short-term psychoanalytic treatment (STPP) with a depressed adolescent. The empirical case study draws on both quantitative and qualitative data to examine the development of the psychotherapy process over time. 15 of the 29 audio recorded therapy sessions with a 16-year-old boy were sampled at intervals across the treatment. Session transcripts were coded using the Adolescent Psychotherapy Q-Set (APQ) and data analysed descriptively to compare characteristics of the process across the three treatment phases – beginning, middle, and ending. Descriptive statistics are supported with session extracts. Analysis of the APQ data suggests change in the patient’s presentation across the therapy. In the early stages, he appeared withdrawn and made minimal responses to the therapist’s attempts to work together; in the middle phase, he became more engaged, more able to talk about feelings, and more active in the sessions; and this was reflected in a less depressed presentation in the final phase. The therapist maintained a consistent therapeutic approach across all phases: supportive, non-judgemental, and working to make sense of the young person’s experiences, looking for patterns and inviting curiosity about how things might be understood differently. Despite increased engagement in the therapy, depressive symptoms remained in the clinical range.