Affect in psychodynamic psychotherapy

The effectiveness of psychotherapy, in a generic sense, is no longer in doubt. There is also greater acceptance of the proposition that common elements in all approaches play a major role in therapeutic change. Accordingly, there is something to be said for teasing out some commonly accepted ingredients that effect change and for studying the nature of their involvement in psychodynamic psychotherapy whether it be long-term, short-term, crisis intervention, or whatever other type of therapy. With that in mind, it is proposed that affect and its vicissitudes lend themselves well to such investigation.