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“What makes Maroda's work particularly remarkable, however, is that she not only manages to identify and explicate aspects of technique, but that the range of skills she addresses all converge on what can seem like an especially mystifying topic to new clinicians: the use of emotion in the therapeutic relationship. Maroda's pragmatic tone seems to effortlessly weave concrete skills through the particularly vaporous topic if using emotion productively. The result is an admirably unmechanistic set of principles to aid clinicians in navigating the complex emotional terrain of the therapeutic relationship in a manner consistent with their own personal styles. One of the major strengths of Psychodynamic Technique is its breadth, and Maroda provides a good balance, including both general and specific issues related to the role of emotion in the therapeutic process....The annotated bibliography of both theoretical and practical literature is a valuable resource....Maroda's direct, clear, honest language models an approach for which all clinicians should strive. In addition to her own experience as a therapist and supervisor, she draws from a wide range of sources, including recent neuroimaging studies, relevant research on affect and attachment, as well as psychodynamic theory. These multiple perspectives will likely enrich any reader's understanding of even the most well-worn issues of psychodynamic practice....The process of reading the book parallels the process of a successful therapy in which one has come to engage with and trust her guide and emerges a more flexible, confident, insightful person and professional. Maroda's continued reassurances and frank openness to sharing her own vulnerabilities leaves the reader feeling infused with a sense of possibility that a fuller, deeper therapeutic relationship is possible....I finished Psychodynamic Techniques with a feeling of confidence that the tools necessary to work with emotion in the therapeutic relationship are readily available.”

—Psychotherapy


“Maroda has something worthwhile to share with us regarding the essential ingredients of therapeutic change....This simply and straightforwardly written book is the work of a courageous, emotionally honest, skilled, and wise clinician. It is a book that succeeds beautifully in fulfilling its mission: that emotional resonance or affective emotional communication between client and therapist is critical to the change process and constitutes the essential core of the therapeutic relationship. In the spirit of the phenomenological approach to understanding, this reviewer has remained close to the author's own words—words that revealed richly rewarding insights regarding the theme of change, insights that have concrete consequences for the actual practice of psychotherapy....Those of us who are interested in rigorously researching and understanding what therapists actually do inside the consulting room, in general, and, more importantly, how therapy works—how the therapeutic change happens, in particular, would do well to mine such outstanding works as Maroda's. By systematically studying such works, which are experience-near and thus incipiently phenomenological, we can gain a greater understanding of the essential ingredients of therapeutic change.”

—Journal of Phenomenological Psychology


“Emotion in the Therapeutic Relationship is a profoundly needed corrective for a wide range of clinicians and academics....Maroda's book is destined to play a crucial role in grounding psychodynamic theory in empirical demonstrability and practical utility, serving as the basis for any thorough-going clinical technique. This book serves as one of the few linchpins that just may resituate psychodynamic theory as the cornerstone of sound clinical theory and technique....Maroda illustrates all of the basic principles with honest and explicitly detailed case examples from her own practice....This book is an empirically substantiated, practical guide to the therapeutic landscape. I know a young woman about to enter graduate school in clinical psychology for whom I have already bought this book as a gift to celebrate her budding career. More importantly, I will use this text in my teaching of both trainees and more experienced clinicians.”

—Division/Review (Publication of APA Division 39)


“The book contains a wealth of practical suggestions for managing emotional interactions with clients, distinguishing between therapeutic and non-therapeutic ways to work with emotion. The shared hopes, fears and expectations of therapist and client are initially discussed, progressing on to the more complex emotional experiences encountered in the developing therapeutic relationship. The author interweaves her own case study experiences into each chapter and explores rarely addressed topics, including identifying and managing regression, implementing self-disclosure and using conflict effectively. This book is a fascinating and valuable resource for new and established therapists. By exploring and applying the guidelines Maroda offers, therapists can create a body of useful psychodynamic techniques for effective therapy.”

—The Psychologist


“A profoundly needed corrective for a wide range of clinicians and academics. Maroda has integrated current findings in psychological, psychosocial, attachment/developmental and neurophysiological research with the emerging empirical literature on the efficacy of long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy. Her timing is impeccable....Maroda's book is destined to play a crucial role in grounding psychodynamic theory in empirical demonstrability and practical utility, serving as the basis for any thorough-going clinical technique. This book serves as one of the few linchpins that just may resituate psychodynamic theory as the cornerstone of sound clinical theory and technique. Pitched to new trainees, this book offers much to those who teach psychodynamic psychotherapy to the neophyte as well as the more experienced....Maroda illustrates all of the basic principles with honest and explicitly detailed case examples from her own practice. She has an engaging writing style, revealing personal reactions and recalling the felt-sensations when she was a beginning therapist. The 'sweaty palms' and 'queasy stomach' we all experienced is part of her charm; any writer willing to open herself up in this way plants a treasure trove of seasoning throughout. She could not be more generous with explicit examples from her clinical experience, including word for word reproductions of her interventions, thought processes, doubts and feelings....This book is an empirically substantiated, practical guide to the therapeutic landscape. I know a young woman about to enter graduate school in clinical psychology for whom I have already bought this book as a gift to celebrate her budding career. More importantly, I will use this text in my teaching of both trainees and more experienced clinicians....This book is an important addition to any therapist's library.”

—Psychologist-Psychoanalyst APA Division 39 Newsletter


“Written primarily for new therapists, this book has a broader appeal....Extends our understanding of the psychodynamic approach.”

—Therapy Today


“Maroda clearly describes how the psychotherapist's emotional responses to the patient's communications are essential to the change processes that lie at the core of the therapeutic relationship. Her clinical model for working more deeply in the affective realm is solidly grounded in interpersonal neurobiology. This extraordinary book is filled with practical information and rich case vignettes. I highly recommend it.”

—Allan N. Schore, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles


“Maroda's proven skill at highly instructive use of courageous self-disclosure is superbly displayed in this revealing work on that rarest of topics: specific elucidation of technique in dynamic therapy. Full of practical advice and illuminating case material, this book is a godsend for therapists.”

—Thomas G. Gutheil, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School


“Maroda brings such a wealth of seasoned clinical experience and wisdom to this book that it inevitably will be an invaluable resource. She offers a treatment-oriented presentation that is sophisticated yet lucid and pragmatic.”

—Edgar A. Levenson, MD, William Alanson White Institute, New York City


“Though intended primarily for inexperienced clinicians, this book has much to offer therapists at every level of practice. It is in equal turns scholarly and eminently practical, and imparts the clinical wisdom of a senior therapist who is willing to discuss the intricacies of clinical process with emotional and professional candor. The multidimensional clinical illustrations are evocative and elegantly crafted. Highly recommended.”

—Jerrold R. Brandell, PhD, Distinguished Professor, Wayne State University School of Social Work; Editor-in-Chief, Psychoanalytic Social Work


“With this engaging, readable book, Maroda answers a long-standing need for a primer on psychodynamic technique. In her characteristic melding of professional and personal experience, theoretical sophistication, research findings, and plain-spoken common sense, Maroda serves up a banquet of good advice that will nourish not only students and beginning therapists, but also experienced practitioners. She keeps the focus on the practical and generously illustrates her points with clinical vignettes that exemplify the emotional honesty she so consistently recommends. I look forward to assigning this welcome text to my graduate students in clinical psychology.”

—Nancy McWilliams, PhD, ABPP, Visiting Professor Emerita, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey


“This is an outstanding contribution by a master clinician. Maroda takes the reader on an intimate tour of becoming a good psychotherapist. Her generous use of case examples allows the reader to enter into her consulting room, and illustrates the nuances of various dynamic methods. This book should be mandatory reading for graduate students facing the trepidation and uncertainty of immersing themselves in clinical practice.”

—Jon Mills, PsyD, PhD, ABPP, private practice, Ajax, Ontario, Canada

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Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Emotional Engagement and Mutual Influence: Basic Issues as Therapy Begins

2. Mutuality and Collaboration: Influencing Each Other

3. Redefining Regression: Facilitating Therapeutic Vulnerability

4. Evaluating Interventions: Tracking the Client's Response

5. Self-Disclosure and Advice: Understanding How and When the Therapist's Disclosures Are Therapeutic

6. Managing Emotion: Affective Communication and the Role of Interaction

7. The Special Problem of Affect Management in Treating Borderline Personality Disorders

8. Confrontation and Countertransference Anger: Overcoming the Therapist's Aversion to Conflict

9. Erotic Feelings: How They Help or Hinder the Therapeutic Process

10. Empowering the Client: The Road to Independence

Conclusion

Glossary

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About the Author

Karen J. Maroda, PhD, ABPP, is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Medical College of Wisconsin and is in private practice in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is the past ethics chair and a board member of Division 39 (Psychoanalysis) of the American Psychological Association and past president of Division 39's Section III, Women, Gender, and Psychoanalysis. The author of two previous books, The Power of Countertransference and Seduction, Surrender, and Transformation, Dr. Maroda has also published numerous journal articles, book chapters, and book reviews. She lectures nationally and internationally on a variety of aspects of the therapeutic process, including the place of affect, self-disclosure, countertransference, legitimate authority, and the need for clinical guidelines. Dr. Maroda is on the editorial board of two major journals, Psychoanalytic Psychology and the Journal of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy, and is corresponding editor of Contemporary Psychoanalysis; she actively encourages her colleagues to write and talk about what they actually do as therapists.

• Author's website

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Audience

Practitioners and students across the full range of mental health fields, including clinical psychology, psychiatry, counseling, and social work.

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Course Use

May serve as a supplemental text in graduate-level courses in psychodynamic therapy.