Psychodynamic Techniques, Second Edition

Karen J. Maroda, PhD, ABPP, is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Medical College of Wisconsin and is in private practice in Milwaukee. She is the past ethics chair and a board member of Division 39 (Psychoanalysis) of the American Psychological Association and past president of Division 39’s Section III, Women, Gender, and Psychoanalysis. Dr. Maroda has published several books and numerous journal articles, book chapters, and book reviews. She lectures nationally and internationally on a variety of aspects of the therapeutic process, including the place of affect, self-disclosure, countertransference, legitimate authority, enactment, the analyst’s gratification, and the need for clinical guidelines. Dr. Maroda serves on the editorial boards of Psychoanalytic Psychology and the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association and is a corresponding editor for Contemporary Psychoanalysis. She actively encourages her colleagues to write and talk about what they actually do as therapists.

"With this engaging, readable book, Maroda answers a long-standing need for a primer on psychodynamic technique. In her characteristic melding of professional and personal experience, theoretical sophistication, research findings, and plain-spoken common sense, Maroda serves up a banquet of good advice that will nourish not only students and beginning therapists, but also experienced practitioners. She keeps the focus on the practical and generously illustrates her points with clinical vignettes that exemplify the emotional honesty she so consistently recommends. I look forward to assigning this welcome text to my graduate students in clinical psychology."--Nancy McWilliams, PhD, ABPP, Visiting Professor Emerita, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey“Trainees, regardless of their theoretical commitments, will appreciate Maroda’s practical, plain-speaking approach to common clinical challenges, along with her generous illustrations of clinical work drawn from her own practice. The chapter on 'Overcoming Our Fear of Anger and Conflict' is pure gold."--Jonathan Shedler, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco"Maroda has an incredible gift for bringing the inner world of therapy to life, reminding us that at its core, this work is about human connection and emotional honesty. The second edition of this book feels like sitting with a wise and deeply compassionate mentor. What makes this foundational book so special is how effortlessly Maroda distills complex psychodynamic and relational theories into insights that feel real, usable, and alive within the classroom and in the therapy room. Reading Maroda's work always leaves myself and my students deeply moved and energized, and reminds me why I love being both a professor and a clinician. She bridges the gap between theory and lived experience with such grace and humanity. Her work doesn’t just teach, it transforms."--Roy Barsness, PhD, Seattle School of Theology and Psychology (Emeritus); Founder and Executive Director, Contemporary Psychodynamic Institute-The process of reading the book parallels the process of a successful therapy in which one has come to engage with and trust her guide and emerges a more flexible, confident, insightful person and professional. Maroda's continued reassurances and frank openness to sharing her own vulnerabilities leaves the reader feeling infused with a sense of possibility that a fuller, deeper therapeutic relationship is possible. (on the first edition)--Psychotherapy, 6/1/2011Æ’Æ’Maroda illustrates all of the basic principles with honest and explicitly detailed case examples from her own practice....This book is an empirically substantiated, practical guide to the therapeutic landscape. (on the first edition)--Division/Review, 1/1/2011Æ’Æ’Written primarily for new therapists, this book has a broader appeal....Extends our understanding of the psychodynamic approach. (on the first edition)--Therapy Today, 9/1/2010Æ’Æ’This book is a fascinating and valuable resource for new and established therapists. By exploring and applying the guidelines Maroda offers, therapists can create a body of useful psychodynamic techniques for effective therapy. (on the first edition)--The Psychologist, 9/1/2010Æ’Æ’Maroda has something worthwhile to share with us regarding the essential ingredients of therapeutic change....This simply and straightforwardly written book is the work of a courageous, emotionally honest, skilled, and wise clinician. (on the first edition)--Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 1/1/2011