Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Therapy

Welcome to the psychoanalytic/ psychodynamic competences framework. This site gives open access to:

•  background documents that explain how to use the framework (there are two versions; one for clinicians/ commissioners and one for service users)
•  full details of the psychoanalytic/ psychodynamic competence framework

It is important to read the background documentation, as this will help you to implement the framework to best effect.

Overview of the Framework

There are two background documents introducing the framework and its application:

• A version for clinicians and commissioners - this is essential reading for users of the framework. It explains the principles which guided the development of the framework, and the ways in which it can be applied

• A version for service users - this is a non-technical description of what service users can expect from a therapist if they are offered a psychodynamic intervention.

A brief description of the psychodynamic competences framework

The framework describes the various activities which need to be brought together in order to carry out psychoanalytic/ psychodynamic psychotherapy effectively, and in line with best practice. It does not prescribe (or indeed proscribe) practice; it is intended to support the work of therapists by articulating the knowledge and skills they need to deploy when working using this model.

The framework locates competences across five domains. This helps users to see how the various activities associated with this therapy fit together. It is not a hierarchical model, with some domains being more important or requiring more skill than others. Any intervention will require clinicians to bring together knowledge and skills from all of these domains.

The map of psychoanalytic/ psychodynamic competences

The competence map is temporarily offline. Competences can be accessed via the hyperlinks below.

From the map itself - placing the cursor over any of the boxes in the map links you to the competences. To see the full list of competences in each domain, click on the header (i.e. if you want to see all the competences for generic therapeutic competences, click on the box with this label) To see the competences associated with a specific activity, click on the relevant box

To see the competence lists independently of the map (arranged by domain), click on the relevant link below:

• Generic Therapeutic Competences
• Basic Analytic/Dynamic Competences
• Specific Analytic/Dynamic Techniques
• Metacompetences