This is one of the oldest theories of psychology. Individuals are seen as being made up from a "dynamic" that begins in early childhood and progresses throughout life.

The goal is to achieve an understanding of the self in order to take full advantage of one's potential in a variety of relationships. Issues of focus are past psychological trauma including physical, sexual and emotional abuse, concerns of self worth, and feelings of helplessness, isolation and depression.

The client talks and the therapist make interpretations about the client’s words and behaviours. Dream interpretation could also be part of psychodynamic therapy.

Press Release

The Digital Therapist

Even in this age of instantaneous global communications, it will appear odd to many people that a relationship as intimate as that between a counsellor and client could be conducted across an internet link or telephone line. Nonetheless, these anonymous technologies can bring enormous advantages and benefits to people who may otherwise have been reluctant to take advantage of the skills of a trained counsellor and therapist.

Catherine Pelham is a qualified Counsellor and Psychotherapist of almost ten years; she is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and understands very well the constraints placed on many people these days that would benefit from the advice and guidance available through professional counselling.

“People naturally assume that the counselling relationship has to be ‘face to face ‘, as if the therapeutic process was a physical rather than emotional and psychological one between two individuals. The fact is, the ‘face to face’ relationship has always had its drawbacks, and these have been known and well documented throughout.”

Central to psychodynamic theory is transference, the ability to project from client to counsellor in order for the latter to fully appreciate and understand the personality,
behaviours, attitudes and rationale of the former in a context that is not tainted by feelings of embarrassment, reserve, pathology and so on.

“The internet and the telephone pervert distortions in the process of transference,” says Catherine. “Paradoxically, the more anonymous the two subjects are by virtue of distance, the greater the likelihood that an otherwise reluctant client can present a more complete and more focused history to the counsellor.”

This is not to say that the process of internet and telephone counselling is without its own difficulties. The counsellor is less able to study the non-verbal indicators presented by a client during a face to face encounter. “but this simply puts the onus on the counsellor to listen with far greater concentration and to ask more pertinent and incisive questions. From the client’s point of view, the process is hugely beneficial. The discomfort associated with discloser in a live meeting is gone, and it has to be said, many more people who might wish to avail themselves of the counsellor’s skill will find it easier to make the first approach.”