The Therapeutic Action of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Pre-Conference Institute

with Nancy McWilliams, Ph.D., ABPP

Thursday, March 20, 2014 | 8:45 am - 5:00 pm
at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel, Boston, MA

• 8:15 am Registration
• 8:45 am Welcoming Remarks
• 12:30-1:45 pm Lunch (on your own)
• 5:00 pm Adjourn

Research on psychotherapy consistently shows that personality and relationship variables have more influence on outcome than type of treatment. This pre-conference workshop will explore diverse ways of understanding individual differences, including the implications of recent research in attachment, affect, and neuroscience. Individual differences will be conceptualized as they have emerged from clinical experience and empirical research rather than according to the trait-based personality disorder categories in the DSM and other psychiatric classifications. In the morning, Dr. McWilliams will describe personality with attention to subjective experience, repetitive themes, attachment patterns, defenses, central conflicts, and relational patterns rather than observable “traits.” The focus will be on the practical value of understanding clients’ personalities in depth (whether or not the personality itself is “disordered”), so that therapists can adapt to each person’s individual style of learning and changing as they address the problems that constitute the central focus of treatment. In the afternoon, she will focus on some specific personality constellations, including self-defeating (masochistic), paranoid, and schizoid psychologies, which typically require “deviations” from either standard psychodynamic or standard CBT treatments, and she will show a DVD in which she makes therapeutic contact with a man with significant schizoid tendencies. The workshop will be oriented toward an inclusive, diverse population of therapists who struggle with short-term as well as long-term clinical work in a wide range of settings. There will be ample opportunities for participation from attendees.

This program is designed so that participants will be able to:

1.     Formulate clinically- relevant differences between descriptive psychiatric categories and more in-depth personality diagnosis;

2.     Conceptualize several difficult personality configurations in terms of themes and conflicts and their implications for treatment;

3.     Master the therapeutic implications of differentiating between self-in-relation and self-definition versions of personality and psychopathology; and

4.     Apply the contributions of attachment research to the understanding and treatment of psychological problems rooted in personality.

6 CE/CME Credits
Program Code: PIP6

Reduced tuition for attending BOTH Therapeutic Action of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy conferences:

1. Pre-Conference Institute - "The Self as Therapeutic Instrument and
2. The Therapeutic Action of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: Current Concepts of Cure

When registering for both conferences we suggest that you write down the appropriate discount code noted in red (below) so that you have it available during the checkout process.