Psychodynamic Therapy

Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses all over the world. It comes in many different ways and often co-exists with other mental disorders such as anxiety. The term “depression” is used broadly and can be interpreted as a mood, behavior or as a syndrome of major depressive disorder, dysthymia or bipolar disorder (American Psychiatric Publishing, 2013). There are many types of therapies available to treat major depression. Psychoanalysis, cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy were the rudimentary building blocks from which modern psychotherapy approaches emerged. In this paper I will discuss the difference and effectiveness between psychodynamic therapy, interpersonal therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Is there one therapeutic …show more content…
Or is the more recent merged technique of cognitive and behavioral therapy the most effective treatment?

I. Depression and its Treatment
The existence of depression has been recorded since the ancient Greek’s. It was thought to be an imbalance of the four bodily fluids, also called melancholia which stems from the Greek language and means black bile (Rehm, 2011). In more recent times we now a lot about the disease and also about its treatment. Depressive disorders come in various forms which all show different but also similar symptoms and characteristics. Dysthymic disorder for example is a form of chronic depression with less severe but longer-lasting symptoms (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most common mental disorder that not only affects an individual’s …show more content…
Its aim was to reveal unconscious inner conflicts. Freud describes the experience of the loss of a loved one as the main reason for depression. Not only through death but also through rejection or disappointment what causes a deficiency of libido in the ego (Desmet, 2013). As I described earlier, depression is much more than Freud’s definition. But this does not mean that the theory of PDT is not effective because it took essential adjustments since Freud advanced the theory of psychoanalysis. The aim of PDT is to strengthen the self-awareness of the patient by exploring and identifying a returning pattern in the cognition, emotions and relationships of the patient. Also early relationship experiences as with parents are discussed in order to analyze recurrences between past and present experiences. The focus does not lie on the past but it is necessary to figure out the parallels on present psychological problems. Another focus lies on the therapeutic alliance which will be discussed later on and the practice of free association which encourages patients to talk about everything that comes to his mind like dreams, fears, wishes, memories and any kind of feelings on a deeper level. Free association is helpful for the client to become aware of his own self and make conscious what was unconscious. But also for the therapist to become an insight to the clients mind,

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Conceptualization In Psychodynamic Therapy

Limitation Of Psychodynamic Therapy

Biomedical Therapy And The Psychodynamic Approaches To Therapy