Introduction to the Web-Based Training Program

This interactive program was developed to supplement training in dynamic deconstructive psychotherapy or DDP.  Before beginning to practice DDP, we recommend reading all the chapters in the DDP Training Manual, receiving weekly case consultation by a therapist who has been certified in advanced competency in DDP, and reviewing the vignettes in this web-based training program.

The program includes video clips of psychotherapy sessions that illustrate principles and methods of DDP. Each vignette is an almost verbatim portrayal of an actual prerecorded client-therapist interaction.  In making the film, we used 20 client-therapist encounters, encompassing 9 different clients and 5 different therapists.  Even though the clients have given explicit consent for the use of the recordings, we have taken the precaution of having actors play the client roles in order to help protect their identity.  Also, in each vignette, Dr. Georgian Mustata or Dr. Robert Gregory play the part of the therapist, regardless of whether or not they were the actual therapists for the client.  As a further precaution, identifying information has been edited out.  So, in summary, each vignette represents a balance or compromise that provides as close approximation as possible to actual client-therapist interactions, while also protecting confidentiality.

As DDP begins, therapists attempt to form a therapeutic alliance through an evaluation, a formulation of the client’s difficulties, and explicit written commitments to recovery (see Chapter 3 of the training manual, Establishing the Frame).  After the first few sessions, therapists continue to develop trust and begin to foster verbalization of recent specific emotion-laden experiences and labeling underlying emotions (Association techniques).  The therapist also tries to help the client open up the meanings of these narratives by bringing in new perspectives for the client to consider, while remaining generally non-directive and non-judgmental (Attribution techniques).  In addition, there is a strong experiential component to the treatment whereby the therapist helps the client develops a capacity for authentic relatedness (Alterity techniques).  Treatment progresses over four distinct stages, each characterized by specific therapy tasks and patterns of relatedness. 

We are hoping that the video vignettes will bring to life some of the text in the treatment manual. 

Drs. Robert Gregory and Rebecca Shields