Psychoanalytic theory and practice

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 4
• Convenor: Laurence Spurling
• Assessment: two 2000-word essays (50% each)

In this module you will develop an understanding and be able to explore key psychoanalytic ideas that inform psychodynamic practice (e.g. defence mechanisms, transference and countertransference, containment and therapeutic alliance).

Building on the psychodynamic listening skills developed in previous modules, we will focus on how a therapeutic alliance between counsellor and client can be created and maintained, and how the client’s resistance to exploring their unconscious can be worked with. You will also be introduced to the basic elements of how psychodynamic counsellors speak to their clients (by making observations, clarifying, summarising, challenging etc).

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• describe the key concepts of psychoanalytic theory and begin to link them together so as to begin to establish a basic conceptual framework to guide how the counsellor listens to the client
• use counselling skills developed in Modules 1 and 2 to establish, conduct and conclude a supportive, helping conversation, focusing on the creation and maintenance of a therapeutic alliance which would allow basic exploration of the client’s difficulties with (resistance to) the counselling process 
• use counselling skills developed in Modules 1 and 2 to make simple interventions (e.g. reflecting back, summarising, making observations, challenging) to the client in order to convey understanding.