Deliberate Practice in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Deliberate practice exercises help trainees achieve competence in essential psychodynamic therapy skills and apply them in a range of clinical situations while honing their own personal style and language.   These exercises present role-playing scenarios in which two trainees act as a patient and a therapist, switching back and forth under the guidance of a supervisor. The therapist improvises appropriate and authentic responses to patient statements organized into two difficulty levels-intermediate and advanced-that reflect common patient questions and concerns.   Each of the first 2 exercises focuses on a single skill, such as engaging in a therapeutic inquiry, deepening emotional experience, pointing out defenses, making transference interpretations, and providing corrective emotional experiences. Two comprehensive exercises follow in which trainees integrate these essential skills into a single psychodynamic therapy session.   Step-by-step instructions guide participants through