Purpose
Purpose
I’m currently training to become a clinical psychologist, and I’ve been increasingly drawn to psychodynamic therapies, their models, methods, and the research behind them. In conversations with peers, I’ve noticed a growing curiosity about these approaches. I created this space to share what I’m learning in the hopes that it will make psychodynamic thinking more understandable and engaging for other trainees or professionals who are also interested.
Background
My interest in psychodynamic therapies has grown from several intersecting experiences. One of the earliest influences was my training in the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), a structured interview and scoring system that emphasizes both the content and process of how people reflect on their early relationships. This sparked a deep interest in developmental psychopathology, personality structure, and the ways in which parental psychopathology can shape a child’s inner world.
Through this work, I was introduced to attachment theory, models of identity and personality development, and the clinical insights of thinkers like Sidney Blatt, Peter Fonagy, Nancy McWilliams, and Jonathan Shedler, all of whom bridge theory and empirical research in a way that made psychodynamic ideas both accessible and compelling to me.