Treatment Manuals of Psychodynamic Therapy

In psychotherapy, treatment manuals describe the procedures to be applied for treating a mental problem. Based on a conceptual background, manuals describe the interventions to achieve a specific goal in a mental problem as well as the timing of the interventions. Treatment manuals are very useful in training psychotherapists in treating a mental problem. In addition, they allow to assess the adherence to the treatment concept and the competency in applying the procedures (Luborsky, 1984). They also make results replicable.

Treatment manuals vary considerably with regard to the degree to which the procedures and their timing are defined or specified. Cognitive-behavioral treatment manuals, for example, usually exactly prescribe which interventions are to be applied in which session of therapy. However, treatment manuals should not be mistaken as cook books. Especially psychodynamic manuals rather describe treatment principles and their timing. They allow for a flexible use depending on the individual patient and the specific situation.

The first treatment manual for psychodynamic therapy was developed by Lester Luborsky for his method of supportive-expressive therapy  (Luborsky, 1984). The manual was not yet tailored to the treatment of a specific mental disorder but focused on the core conflictual relationship them associated with the patient’s problem. In the following years, psychodynamic treatment manuals were tailored to specific mental disorders. Meanwhile, for almost all mental disorders psychodynamic treatment manuals exist (e.g. Leichsenring et al., 2015).

Peter Lilliengreen has provided an updated compilation of psychodynamic treatment manuals on this website.