Contemporary Developments in Supportive Therapy: Principles and Practice
Book Details
- Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan
- Published : July 2025
- Cover : Paperback
- Pages : 176
- Category :
Individual Psychotherapy - Catalogue No : 98390
- ISBN 13 : 9783031960581
- ISBN 10 : 3031960580
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This book explores Open-Ended Supportive Therapy, a psychoanalytically informed approach designed to offer a compassionate and flexible alternative to more rigid therapeutic methods. Supportive therapy is particularly valuable for individuals who find traditional therapeutic models either too directive or insufficiently supportive, as it prioritizes the therapeutic relationship over specific goal-oriented techniques. The book presents consistent research indicating that early termination of treatment, when patients abruptly leave the therapeutic process, is often linked to therapists offering interventions that patients are not ready for. Supportive Therapy assigns a specific role to the therapist in the use of transference, leveraging this understanding to create a supportive environment through a strong therapeutic alliance. This framework guides the therapist in navigating the complexities of providing support without colluding with the patient’s pathology.
Reviews and Endorsements
The book Contemporary Developments in Supportive Therapy is a unique and generous contribution, offering comprehensive coverage of the key tenets of supportive therapy and providing a thorough examination of key psychoanalytic concepts that form the theoretical foundation for applying supportive interventions. Based on extensive research and clinical responsibility, the author provides multiple clinical scenarios through case studies and clinical examples in eight chapters, discussing various possible perspectives for addressing them. The author's commitment is an essential reading for psychoanalysts and psychotherapists in practice who seek a clear guide to the practical aspects.
Jani Santamaría Linares, PhD, Santamaría Psicoanálisis México A.C , Mexico
This book represents the new best practice for supportive psychotherapy.
Emeritus Professor Geoff Riley AM FRCPsych, FRACGP, FRANZCP, FACRRM Honorary Senior Fellow; The Rural Clinical School of Western Australia
Rodrigo Sanchez Escandon draws on his experience in public and private health settings and the demands of organising courses in psychoanalytic institutes and in the university to provide an invaluable resource for forms of therapy that are often undervalued or dismissed. In making his arguments for the importance of supportive therapy he draws on his extensive knowledge of therapeutic interventions and the difficulties faced by practitioners and patients, especially in public health services. His book should become standard reading in teaching situations dedicated to training and to understanding the internal and external constraints of working with all patients.
Lesley Caldwell, Psychoanalysis Unit, UCL
Rodrigo Sanchez Escandon makes a case for the importance and usefulness of supportive psychotherapy for helping some patients coming to therapy. He draws on a psychodynamic orientation to show how supportive psychotherapy can effectively be used to explore the various depths of feeling states that a patient may bring and a therapist may encounter in the consulting room, and how this may also aid the therapist to maintain a good therapeutic relationship and working alliance. With an accessible style, and the use of many clinical examples, this book will be very useful for psychological practitioners and trainees alike.
Dr Poul Rohleder, Clinical Psychologist and Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist; Senior Member of the British Psychotherapy Foundation
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Introduction to Key Concepts
3. Assessment and Suitability
4. Introduction to the Fundamentals of Supportive Therapy
5. Beginning of Treatment
6. Interventions
7. Active and Passive Use of the Transference
8. Intercultural Aspect of Supportive Therapy
About the Author(s)
Rodrigo Sánchez Escandón is the Course Lead for Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Trainings at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in the UK, where he designs and delivers courses in London and Leeds. He is also an invited lecturer in the Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies at the University of Essex, where he supervises PhD students and serves as Chair of the Curriculum Subcommittee at the British Psychoanalytic Association. Rodrigo studied Clinical Psychology in Mexico City and completed his training in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at the Mexican Psychoanalytic Association, followed by further psychoanalytic formation at the British Psychoanalytic Association. He has over 20 years of clinical experience across private practice, the NHS, and other settings, including managing a brief therapy clinic in central London.
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