2. Objectives
Increases self-understanding
Increases acceptance of feelings and wishes
Replacement of (unconscious) defense mechanisms
with (conscious) coping strategies
Development of realistically complex and positive
schemas for relationships between self and others
(Shapiro, Friedberg & Bardenstein, 2006, p. 117).

3. Overview
Psychodynamic emphasizes early attachments with
caregivers due to its influence on present personality
and behavior
“The word dynamic, in „psychodynamic,‟ refers to
interactions between different aspects of the mind”
(Shapiro, Friedberg & Bardenstein, 2006, p. 102).
“In dynamic theory, feelings and impulses are viewed
as morally neutral; they are either good nor bad”
(Shapiro, Friedberg & Bardenstein, 2006, p. 129).

4. Overview
It “provides education, ego
support, and therapist
activity in experiencing
interventions, establishing
a common space for
language and emotional
communication, and/or
provides acute empathy”
(Bromfield, 1989, p. 447).

5. Overview
• “A client‟s wishes, fears, and
object relations are manifested
in their experience and
behavior during sessions”
(Shapiro, Friedberg &
Bardenstein, 2006, p. 133).
• Common defense mechanisms:
• Denial, repression,
devaluation, displacement,
projection, reaction
formation and splitting

6. Overview
The goal of psychodynamic with children is to
“develop a framework in which the child can become
more psychologically minded” (Rosegrant, 2012, p.
377-379).
The structure of the mind contains the id, the
superego, and the ego
Id: concerned with what we want and desire
Supergo: concerned with what is right
Ego: concerned with what will work

7. Overview
During play with children,
“their unconscious material
is brought into
consciousness so that the
child‟s ego is able to
resolve unconscious
psychic conflicts”
(Seligman & Reichenberg,
2012, p. 46)

8. Overview
The psychodynamic therapist‟s
duty is to interpret the
symbolism in play
A therapeutic alliance
promotes the child‟s sense of
security, “which allows
unacceptable, psychically
dangerous feelings to emerge
and to be addressed in more
productive ways” (Schaefer,
2011, p. 53).

9. Strengths
“Children‟s symptoms tend to improve in the course of
dynamic therapy” (Shapiro, Friedberg & Bardenstein, 2006,
p. 121).
Its focus on motivational conflicts helps children with their
competing desires, ambivalence and confusion about what
he/she wants (Shapiro, Friedberg & Bardenstein, 2006).
Psychodynamic provides space for unstructured play,
emotion-dominated thinking and magical fantasies that
encompass much of life for young children (Shapiro,
Friedberg & Bardenstein, 2006).

10. Limitations
The unstructured play provides an “accepting environment, but
not necessarily a “warm” interaction in that their task is to
understand, not to gratify, the client‟s needs” (Shapiro, Friedberg
& Bardenstein, 2006, p. 123)
Trainees find psychodynamic psychotherapy as a “daunting task”
due to the dichotomy of the patient to be „protected and feared”
(Cohen & Hatcher, 2008).
“An exclusively interpretative approach does not facilitate a
therapeutic alliance”
Ex: Dennis complained to his mother that his therapist
continued to ask the same „boring‟ questions about his feelings
every session (Goodman, 2013, p. 438-455).

11. Target Populations
Children with high-
functioning autism
Psychodynamic allows the
child to create a unique
therapeutic world, which
assisted in addressing
social skills, cognitive
development, and self-
care (Bromfield,1989, p.
452)
Children diagnosed with
Encopresis
“Over time, Maverick
became skillful at
deactivating unpleasant
feeling states through
these symptoms”
(Goodman, 2013)

12. Target Populations
Traumatized children
Psychodynamic helps reduce traumatic symptoms
plus an improvement in relationships (Foa, 2009, p.
588)
Children ages 3 to 12 with anxiety, depression, PTSD,
internalizing disorders, externalizing disorders,
developmental character difficulties, maladaptive, internal
responses to life events, and sleep disorders

13. References
Bromfield, R. (1989). Psychodynamic play therapy with a high-functioning autistic
child. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 6(4), 439-453.
Cohen, Z., Hatcher, S. (2008). The experiences of trainee psychiatrists learning a
psychodynamic psychotherapy model: a grounded theory. Australasian
Psychiatry, 16(6), 438-441.
Foa, E. (2009). Psychodynamic therapy for child trauma. Effective Treatments for
PTSD, 586-588.
Goodman, G. (2013). Encopresis happens: Theoretical and treatment
considerations from an attachment perspective. Psychoanalytic
Psychology, 30(3), 438-455.
Medicus, J. (2012). Practice parameter for psychodynamic psychotherapy with
children. Journal American Academy Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 51(5),
541-547.

14. References
Medicus, J. (2012). Practice parameter for psychodynamic psychotherapy with
children. Journal American Academy Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 51(5),
541-547.
Rosegrant, J. (2012). Review of 'Starting treatment with children and
adolescents'. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 29(3), 377-379.
Schaefer, C. (2011). Foundations of play therapy. (2nd ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John
Wiley & Sons.
Seligman, L and Reichenberg, L. (2012). Selecting effective treatments. (4th ed.).
Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Shapiro, J. P., Friedberg, R. D., & Bardenstein, K. K. (2006). Child and adolescent
therapy. (pp. v-605). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

15. Professional Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1qSvv3bzIk