Core Competencies in Brief Dynamic Psychotherapy: Becoming a Highly Effective and Competent Brief Dynamic Psychotherapist

233 Pages·2012·2.802 MB·English

by  Jeffrey L. Binder, Ephi J. Betan

Core Competencies in
Brief Dynamic
Psychotherapy
Becoming a Highly Effective and
Competent Brief Dynamic Psychotherapist
J E F F R E Y L . B I N D E R
& E P H I J . B E TA N
Praise for Core Competencies in Brief Dynamic Psychotherapy
“Drs. Jeffrey L. Binder and Ephi J. Betan are not only experts in brief
dynamic psychotherapy, they are experts in clinical training, having
many years experience in the education and training of doctoral students
in clinical psychology.”
—Philinda Smith Hutchings, PhD, ABPP, Professor and
Director of Clinical Training, Clinical Psychology
Program, Midwestern University, Illinois
“This book is exceptionally clear and sophisticated in conveying the sub-
tle interplay of theory and practice in brief dynamic psychotherapy. Based
in current studies and concepts of expertise and competence, it constitutes
a superb training guide for novice and experienced clinicians who wish to
learn how to conduct this essential mode of psychotherapy.”
—Stanley B. Messer, PhD, Dean and Professor II,
Graduate School of Applied and Professional
Psychology, Rutgers University, New Jersey
“In this volume, Core Competencies in Brief Dynamic Psychotherapy, Jeffrey
L. Binder and Ephi J. Betan offer the reader a compendium of knowledge,
methods, and therapeutic frameworks necessary for conducting effective
brief dynamic psychotherapy. This is a must read for students, as well
as advanced practitioners who want an up-to-date resource. The volume
includes abundant case material, which gives the reader intimate insight
into the therapeutic process revealing the power of focal dynamic psycho-
therapy. Binder and Betan integrate the latest fi ndings in clinical science
and demonstrate the process of effective brief dynamic psychotherapy.”
—Jeffrey J. Magnavita, PhD, ABPP, Previous President of the Division
of Psychotherapy of the American Psychological Association,
Fellow, American Psychological Association

Core Competencies in Brief
Dynamic Psychotherapy
This book addresses the essential clinical competencies required to con-
duct brief dynamic therapy. Authors Jeffrey L. Binder and Ephi J. Betan
discuss the conceptual foundation of their treatment model, and the
application of this framework in forming and maintaining a therapeutic
alliance, assessment, case formulation, implementing a treatment plan,
termination, and treatment evaluation. All topics include a multicultural
perspective and sensitivity to ethical issues. Binder and Betan attempt
to bridge practice and research by consistently incorporating relevant
research fi ndings. Graduate students in the mental health fi elds and
beginning therapists will fi nd in this text the basic concepts and prin-
ciples of brief dynamic psychotherapy presented in a clear and straight-
forward style, with many clinical examples drawn from detailed patient
and therapist interchanges. Seasoned psychotherapists will fi nd in Binder
and Betan’s discussions of case formulation and therapeutic discourse a
fresh treatment of classic ideas about the therapeutic value of constructing
personal narratives. At all times, the authors explicitly tie the components
of their approach to the competencies required of the brief dynamic thera-
pist. In the current environment of accountability for results, attention is
given to the ongoing assessment of therapeutic progress and ultimate out-
comes. This text is a scholarly yet practical guide to the evidence-based
practice of brief dynamic psychotherapy.
Jeffrey L. Binder, PhD, ABPP is Professor of Psychology at the Georgia
School of Professional Psychology, Argosy University. Dr. Binder has
extensively published and presented on the topics of brief psychotherapy
practice, training, and research, and the nature and development of clini-
cal expertise.
Ephi J. Betan, PhD is Professor of Psychology at the Georgia School of
Professional Psychology, Argosy University. Dr. Betan has published and
presented in the areas of professional ethics, multicultural competence,
countertransference, relational psychoanalysis, clinical expertise in psy-
chotherapy, and psychotherapy training.
Core Competencies in Psychotherapy Series
Series Editor
Len Sperry
Florida Atlantic University, Medical College of Wisconsin
Competency represents a paradigm shift in the training and practice
of psychotherapy that is already challenging much of what is familiar
and comfortable. This series addresses the core competencies common
to highly effective psychotherapeutic practice, and includes individual
volumes for the most commonly practiced approaches today: cognitive
behavior, brief dynamic, and solution-focused therapies, and others.
Volumes in this Series
Highly Effective Therapy: Developing Essential Clinical Competencies in
Counseling and Psychotherapy
Len Sperry
Core Competencies in Counseling and Psychotherapy: Becoming a Highly
Competent and Effective Therapist
Len Sperry
Core Competencies in the Solution-Focused and Strategic Therapies: Becoming a
Highly Competent Solution-Focused and Strategic Therapist
Ellen K. Quick
Case Conceptualization: Mastering this Competency with Ease and Confi dence
Len Sperry and Jonathan Sperry
Core Competencies in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: Becoming a Highly
Effective and Competent Cognitive-Behavioral Therapist
Cory F. Newman
Core Competencies in Brief Dynamic Psychotherapy: Becoming a Highly Effec-
tive and Competent Brief Dynamic Psychotherapist
Jeffrey L. Binder and Ephi J. Betan
Core Competencies
in Brief Dynamic
Psychotherapy
Becoming a Highly Effective
and Competent Brief
Dynamic Psychotherapist
JEFFREY L. BINDER
EPHI J. BETAN
First published 2013
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Simultaneously published in the UK
by Routledge
27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 2FA
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2013 Taylor & Francis
The rights of Jeffrey L. Binder and Ephi J. Betan to be identifi ed as authors of this
work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent to
infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Binder, Jeffrey L.
Core competencies in brief dynamic psychotherapy : becoming a highly effective
and competent brief dynamic psychotherapist / by Jeffrey L. Binder and Ephi J.
Betan.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-415-63776-3 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-415-88599-7 (pbk.
: alk. paper) 1. Psychodynamic psychotherapy. 2. Brief psychotherapy. 3. Core
competencies. I. Betan, Ephi J. II. Title.
RC489.P72B53 2012
616.89’147—dc23
2012016330
ISBN: 978-0-415-63776-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-88599-7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-83741-2 (ebk)
Typeset in Palatino
by EvS Communication Networx, Inc.
CONTENTS
Foreword ix
EUGENE W. FARBER
About the Authors xii
1 Introducing the Clinical Competencies of Brief Dynamic
Psychotherapy 1
2 Understanding the Conceptual Basis of Brief Dynamic
Psychotherapy 15
3 Forming an Effective Therapeutic Alliance 30
4 Maintaining an Effective Therapeutic Alliance 41
5 Performing an Integrative BDP Assessment 59
6 Developing a BDP Case Conceptualization and
Intervention Plan 76
7 Interventions: Inquiry and Dialogue 97
8 Monitoring and Evaluating Clinical Outcomes 141
9 Planning for Termination and Maintaining Treatment Gains 147
vii
CONTENTS
10 Practicing BDP with Cultural and Ethical Sensitivity 168
11 Becoming a Highly Competent and Effective BDP Therapist 182
Bibliography 199
Index 213
viii
FOREWORD
The evolving zeitgeist within the mental health disciplines increasingly
places a competency-based framework squarely at the center of contem-
porary professional education and practice. This trend extends to the fi eld
of psychotherapy, where the dialogue on core competencies is just begin-
ning to unfold. It is within this context that Drs. Jeffrey L. Binder and
Ephi J. Betan lend their considerable expertise as clinicians, scholars, and
educators to provide a timely and incisive perspective on the application
of a competency-based model in the practice of psychotherapy.
In this formative period for the articulation of core psychotherapy
competencies, including the constellation of knowledge, skills, and
attitudes required for effective psychotherapy practice, theory-based
approaches can yield key insights into the essences of what competency-
based psychotherapy should look like. This is precisely what Drs. Binder
and Betan accomplish in this highly lucid and comprehensive account of
core competencies required for the effective conduct of brief dynamic psy-
chotherapy. The conceptual and clinical foundations of the model they
describe are derived from Time-Limited Dynamic Psychotherapy (TLDP),
a seminal research-based relational psychodynamic and interpersonal
approach developed in the 1980s at Vanderbilt University by Dr. Binder
in collaboration with his distinguished colleague Dr. Hans Strupp. As a
descendant of TLDP, Drs. Binder and Betan’s brief dynamic psychotherapy
model is anchored theoretically by relational psychodynamic principles
and thoroughly informed by the extant evidence base. It also incorporates
an integrative dimension that, in its current evolution, draws upon con-
cepts from cognitive science and cognitive psychotherapy. As such, the
competency-based framework described is pertinent to emerging innova-
tions in psychotherapy integration.
Guided by their overarching conceptual vision of brief dynamic psy-
chotherapy, Drs. Binder and Betan synthesize the relevant theoretical,
empirical, and clinical strands of the psychotherapy literature to yield a
seamless and elegantly coherent account of the specifi c core competen-
cies required for effective psychotherapy practice from start to fi nish.
These competency domains include grounding in the requisite concep-
tual knowledge base needed to frame the work of psychotherapy, facility
ix