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Psychodynamic therapy and substance use

did you know?

Psychodynamic psychotherapy can help people:

  1. Understand their relationship to alcohol and drugs.
  2. Explore the underlying emotions that drive compulsive behaviors.
  3. Stay on their recovery path.

what is psychodynamic psychotherapy?

Short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (25-40 weekly or twice weekly sessions) focuses on one major focus, which is decided on by the client and the therapist together.

Long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (6-24 months) allows clients to talk about what comes to mind during session.

Both long and short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy focus on the here-and-now relational dynamics between client and the therapist. 

Clients learn how their past influences current experiences and behaviors, build self-awareness, work through unresolved conflicts, and examine their relational patterns. They will also explore and how these dynamics drive their using or compulsive behaviors.

what does the research say?

Research demonstrates that psychodynamic psychotherapy is effective for treating co-occurring disorders like:

  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Panic
  • Eating disorders
  • Borderline personality disorder
  • Trauma
  • Dissociation and psychosis

Download a flyer: https://a-potential-space.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/PDT-for-SUD-Provider.docx

Resources

  1. Verma M, Vijayakrishnan A. Psychoanalytic psychotherapy in addictive disorders. Indian J Psychiatry. 2018 Feb;60 (Suppl 4): S485-S489. doi: 10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_16_18. PMID: 29540918; PMCID: PMC5844159.
  2. Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Brief Interventions and Brief Therapies for Substance Abuse. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US); 1999. (Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 34.) Chapter 7—Brief Psychodynamic Therapy. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/books/NBK64952/
  3. https://psychology.org.au/getmedia/23c6a11b-2600-4e19-9a1d-6ff9c2f26fae/evidence-based-psych-interventions.pdf
  4. https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/treatment-program/addiction-therapies/psychodynamic/
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