The Battle Between Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and Learning Psychological Tools

Psychotherapy as a whole continues to broaden from a journey of self-exploration and discovery to an “evidenced-based” program focused on scripted treatment and an accumulation of tools in the toolbox.

The shift has many causes. Insurance companies increasingly prefer the latter kind of therapy since it is time-limited and thus less expensive. The drive in the medical field to justify treatment leads to overvaluing supposed proven therapies and undervaluing long-term therapy. The social emphasis on a broader definition of psychopathology means people seek therapy to fix psychological issues rather than a means to learn more about themselves and how to live in the world. New online therapy options prefer goal-oriented sessions since no one gets a regular therapist in that setting.

I am an advocate for learning techniques and tools. Anxiety disorders, for instance, are well-suited to this type of intervention. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is very effective for panic disorder and OCD, and binging behaviors as well. PTSD Is best treated in part using techniques to help calm one’s nervous system.

However, there are many other reasons people seek therapy. The therapeutic relationship, in which a close, emotionally charged, vulnerable connection grows amidst clear guidelines and precautions to create safety, can be very therapeutic. This relationship is especially crucial in eating disorder treatment to help someone take often frightening steps to change ingrained behaviors.

Therapy also provides the opportunity to explore a better sense of oneself and how one interacts with people in the world. The possibility to do meaningful creative personal exploration and work is singular for many people in their lives.

The key is incorporating the newer goals of tools and structured therapy with the need for more profound and creative exploration. There is no need to pit one form of treatment against the other.

Certainly eating disorder work demands both specific tools and broader personal goals to make behavioral change. But peeling away the long-term effect of living with an eating disorder demands personal, meaningful work and change.