[Depth psychologically founded psychotherapy--characteristic and intervention style]

Area of Science:

• Psychotherapy research
• Clinical psychology
• Psychoanalytic theory

Background:

• Depth psychotherapy is defined distinctly from classical psychoanalysis and ego-psychology.
• Existing definitions differentiate depth psychotherapy based on localization and centration, or merely quantitative differences compared to psychoanalysis.
• The intersection metaphor of neuroses origin highlights the interplay between life history and current situations.

Observation:

• Neuroses manifest at the intersection of an individual's life history (vertical axis) and their current situation (horizontal axis).
• Latent psychopathology, rooted in life history, can manifest clinically under specific interpersonal, socioeconomic, or sociocultural conditions (pathogenic field).
• Actualized neurotic conflicts arise from this intersection, influenced by triggering interpersonal situations.

Findings:

• Therapeutic techniques can focus on triggering interpersonal situations, pathogenous social fields, or the patient-therapist relationship.
• The therapeutic objective modifies the "triangle of insight" to foster patient understanding of these interconnected factors.
• Insight into triggering situations, social fields, the therapeutic relationship, and their connections facilitates symptom reduction and partial internal reorganization.

Implications:

• This approach offers a framework for understanding neuroses as a product of intersecting life history and current circumstances.
• It guides therapeutic interventions towards specific interpersonal dynamics and social contexts.
• The goal is not only symptom relief but also a partial internal reorganization through enhanced patient insight.