"The author of Doing Supportive Psychotherapy set out to address a paradox: although conducting psychotherapy is one of the most intimate and exciting things a mental health professional can do, many textbooks on the subject are dull, with formal, stilted dialogue between patient and therapist which prompts the question,'Does anyone really talk like that?'This text was designed to be different. In a dynamic, informal style, the book draws the reader in, providing the essential building blocks that are both applicable to any mental health discipline and compatible with any type of psychotherapy. The dozens of case examples presented were taken from actual cases and illustrate a full range of interactions from the excellent to the seemingly ineffective: all have instructional value. Likewise, the dialogue between therapist and patient is conversational in a realistic way, sometimes eloquent, sometimes not. This approach gives the reader a true sense of the scope of the therapeutic interaction. In addition, the underlying structure of the book is logical and easy to grasp, beginning with the evolution of supportive psychotherapy and ending with a chapter on termination. • The principles of learning to do a psychodynamic formulation are outlined in a step-by-step fashion, making it easy to learn, progress, and practice. The concepts and techniques explored throughout the book are grounded in the psychotherapy literature, and evidence-based research is cited where relevant. The book emphasizes that psychotherapy is an inexact science, therapists are human, and the process of therapy is a journey that is constantly changing rather than static. This approach reassures the reader, who feels supported in a 'holding environment' while learning psychotherapy. The text is short and sweet, designed to teach essentials and include just enough to get clinicians started in supportive psychotherapy. Although the text is targeted at readers on the path toward becoming psychotherapists (social workers, family counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists), those who don't conduct psychotherapy will find it an essential tool for learning how to understand patients as well as for learning strategies and techniques for keeping a good therapeutic alliance (which inevitably translates into good medication compliance). Doing Supportive Psychotherapy is a brief, spirited book, which functions as both instructional text and paean to psychotherapy. In vigorous, personal prose, the author leaves readers with the message that they are not alone as they venture into the overwhelmingly complex, perplexing, and yet totally wonderful endeavor of the talking cure.".

The main goal of the therapy described here is to improve ego functions and adaptations rather than to explore unconscious conflicts. Thus, the emphasis is on strengthening reality testing, discouraging impulsivity, and clarifying confused thinking, while minimizing the regression and negative transference characteristic of exploratory therapy. In chapters richly illustrated with clinical material, the author details the strategies and rationales of this practice, covering such topics as transference and countertransference, resistance, working through, and the relationship between supportive therapy and psychopharmacology. Clinically sophisticated yet immensely practical, this valuable resource will enhance the skill and understanding of every therapist-student, clinician, or teacher-who practices supportive psychotherapy.

Updated for the first time since 1993 -- and still the only comprehensive clinical guide to supportive psychotherapy -- this new edition of Clinical Manual of Supportive Psychotherapy features updated and new chapters, vignettes, tables, and resources that reflect current best practices. Where once it was reserved for use with severely impaired patients, supportive therapy has come to be recognized as the treatment of choice for many patients, and supportive techniques underpin a great many other psychotherapies. As a result, the academic literature, both on specific populations and on technical issues, has mushroomed. In this manual, the authors -- all of them practicing mental health clinicians -- distill the most relevant information that nonpsychiatric physicians, psychiatric residents, and experienced psychiatrists and psychotherapists need to fully understand this specific modality. The volume introduces, in Part I, readers to the history and evolution of the use of supportive therapy, examining both its principles and its techniques. It then applies, in Part II, the approach to a range of disorders, including schizophrenia and hallucinations, mood disorders, personality disorders, and -- new to this edition -- anxiety and co-occurring disorders. Part III covers interactions and special settings, discussing applying supportive techniques with medically ill patients and older patients, including tackling issues such as social and financial barriers to seeking treatment in the case of the latter. Also included in this part are new chapters on interactions and special settings, including practicing in detention and correctional centers and the special needs of therapists in public institutions, and updated chapters on community and family involvement and medication adherence and therapy interactions. A discussion of ethics -- augmented with guidance on cultural and religious sensitivity -- completes this most comprehensive of guides.

The domain of supportive psychotherapy has expanded in recent years, reflecting changes in how psychotherapy is conducted and the role psychotherapy plays in caring for individuals facing difficult life experiences or living with diverse mental and physical disorders. This new, thoroughly revised and up-to-date edition of Learning Supportive Psychotherapy: An Illustrated Guide (first published as Introduction to Supportive Psychotherapy) instructs beginning psychotherapists in the fundamentals of this treatment modality, which focuses on patients' overall health and well-being and their ability to adapt constructively to their life circumstances. The linchpin of supportive psychotherapy -- and, indeed, all psychotherapy -- is the establishment of a true therapeutic alliance. Accordingly, the authors provide readers with skills aimed at instilling trust and establishing a productive therapeutic relationship, including techniques for alliance building, enhancing ego functioning, and reducing and preventing anxiety. In addition, the authors explore the general framework of supportive psychotherapy, including indications, phases of treatment, initiation and termination of sessions, and professional boundaries; explain how to perform a thorough patient evaluation and case formulation; and describe the process of setting realistic goals with the patient. The following features and areas of focus enhance the book's utility: Integral to the text's practical approach are the video case vignettes that accompany several of the chapters. These videos model effective psychotherapeutic techniques and strategies, which readers can incorporate into their skill sets. The chapter on crisis intervention has been thoroughly revised to integrate recent research findings on posttraumatic stress disorder, suicide, and critical incident stress management, and the illustrative multipart case vignette provides a therapeutic narrative that is compelling, relatable, and instructive. The material on the therapeutic alliance focuses on skill building, including how to anticipate and avoid disruption in treatment, how to discuss the therapeutic relationship with the patient, how to modify distorted perceptions using clarification and confrontation, how to deal with negative transference and therapeutic impasses, and how to reframe statements in a supportive manner. Outcome research receives its own chapter, in which the authors review the robust evidence base for the efficacy of supportive psychotherapy, including a number of outcome trials, bolstering the necessity of learning the techniques outlined in the book. The book concludes with 75 questions and answers to test the reader's comprehension and identify areas for further study. This new edition of Learning Supportive Psychotherapy: An Illustrated Guide builds on the well-earned reputation of previous editions. Beginning clinicians first learning the techniques of psychotherapy and veterans who must assess competence in the psychiatry residents they supervise will find the help they need in this down-to-earth, clinically rich guide.

The book provides clinical vignettes to show how to establish and maintain a positive therapeutic alliance, understand and formulate patients' problems, and set realistic treatment goals. Other chapters discuss the efficacy of supportive psychotherapy, crisis intervention, special populations, and the criteria used to determine competency.

Psychodynamic therapy has a growing evidence base, is cost-effective, and may have unique mechanisms of clinical change. However, gaining competence in this approach generally requires extensive training and mastery of a large and complex literature. Integrating clinical theory and research findings, Psychodynamic Therapy Techniques provides comprehensive but practical guidance on the main interventions of contemporary psychodynamic practice. Early chapters describe the psychodynamic "stance" and illustrate effective means of identifying and understanding clinical problems. Later, the book describes how to question, clarify, confront, and interpret patient material as well as assess the clinical impacts of interventions. With these foundational tools in place, the book supplements the "classic" psychodynamic therapy techniques with six sets of supportive interventions helpful for lower-functioning patients or those in acute crisis. Complete with step-by-step instructions on how to prepare techniques as well as numerous clinical vignettes to illustrate their use in clinical settings, Psychodynamic Therapy Techniques effectively demystifies this important approach to therapy and helps practitioners more effectively apply them to a wide range of patients and problems.

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