Our Inner World

Book excerpt: Mental health practitioners and students learning psychodynamic psychotherapy are often exposed to multiple schools of thought—Freudian theory, interpersonal theory, ego theory, object-relations theory, self-psychology, and affect theory. In this book, Scott Ahles introduces and explains the major theories and integrates them into a model of psychodynamics that can be used to treat common psychiatric complaints. After explaining the theories, Ahles, applies an integrated approach to two general areas of patient discomfort: problems with sense of self, such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and feelings of worthlessness; and problems with interpersonal relationships, such as difficulty forming long-term relationships, excessive shyness or fear of others, and aggressive personality. The psychotherapy of both problems of sense of self and interpersonal relationships are discussed and illustrated with clinical cases. Ahles also discusses the psychodynamic model in relation to neurobiological research into brain function, and he explores how psychotherapy can best be combined with pharmacotherapy. Throughout, the primary concepts of object relations and ego psychology are demonstrated with diagrams and case studies. A valuable tool for teaching concepts to students of psychiatry, psychology, social work, and general medicine, Our Inner World allows the future clinician to keep various psychodynamic aspects of the patient in mind during treatment.