New book on psychodynamic therapy: insights and challenges!

New book on psychodynamic therapy: insights and challenges!

On March 12, 2025, Prof. Dr. Moritz Bruno Petzold and Anna-Lena Bröcker from the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin have published a new specialist article on psychodynamic psychotherapy. The article places particular focus on the treatment of people with psychosis and provides a comprehensive overview of key psychodynamic concepts that advance the understanding of psychosis.

In their specialist article, which was published in the journal “Psychotherapy”, the authors emphasize the importance of the therapeutic relationship and implicit techniques in psychotherapy. They also present the current status of the evidence base, noting that additional randomized controlled studies are required to verify effectiveness. This could help address the challenges facing psychodynamic therapy in the context of evidence-based medicine. Prof. Dr. rer. medic. Dipl.-Psych. Moritz Petzold, who holds a professorship for clinical psychology and psychotherapy with a focus on psychotherapy based on depth psychology, is available as a scientific contact person.

Evidence-based psychotherapy in focus

A central point in the discussion about psychotherapeutic procedures is the need for evidence-based recognition by health insurance companies. How on Medical Journal reported, the “Psychodynamics Compact” series deals with the effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapy (PDT) and addresses significant questions such as the Dodo Birds effect and the deficiencies in psychological research.

The transdiagnostic and unified therapy manuals proposed in this context could benefit PDT, but there is a lack of clear representations of their approaches. The sustainability of therapeutic progress and the need for a tailor-made therapeutic relationship are also discussed - questions that refer to the current state of psychotherapy research. Above all, the low effect size of therapeutic advances shows that testing the effectiveness of psychodynamic procedures remains of great importance.

A bridge from the origins to modern approaches

The book "Psychodynamic psychotherapy in times of evidence-based medicine. Bambi is alive and well", edited by Jürgen Golombek, Christiane Steinert and Falk Leichsenring, complements the debates about psychodynamics. It offers an overview of basic psychodynamic concepts and disorder models, which are expanded to include practical approaches. The editors base their arguments on well-founded research findings and structured case presentations.

How on Medical Journal is explained, the variety of psychodynamic procedures could play a central role in therapy design. Important points such as gender-sensitive problems and intercultural contexts should find more space in future research and practice. In addition, the importance of group psychotherapy is highlighted, although it is treated in less detail in current publications.

Thanks to separate DVDs with therapy excerpts and authentic conversation passages, the book is intended to serve as knowledge and illustrative material for learners, teachers and practitioners. The aim is therefore to be widely distributed as a reference work. Overall, it is clear that the discussion about psychodynamic psychotherapy must be conducted more intensively and in a more differentiated manner in order to do justice to the needs and challenges of practice.