Psychodynamic psychotherapyis a therapeutic approach that explores unconscious thoughts, feelings, and past experiences to understand current behaviors and relationships.
Through a supportive therapeutic relationship, clients can process unresolved issues and develop healthier coping strategies.
This approach may be particularly helpful for young adults as they navigate identity formation, relationships, and life transitions, allowing them to address underlying issues that may be impacting their mental health and personal growth.
Key Points
Rationale
This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to address the paucity of research on psychodynamic psychotherapy specifically for young adults transitioning from adolescence to adulthood.
The rationale for focusing on this age group includes:
Method
The authors conducted asystematic reviewandmeta-analysisadhering to PRISMA guidelines. The study protocol was pre-registered on PROSPERO (ID: CRD42020169233).
Search strategy and terms:
Inclusion and exclusion criteria:
Inclusion:
Exclusion:
Statistical measures:
Results
Study characteristics:
Quality assessment:
Meta-analysis results:
Narrative synthesis of outcomes:
Moderator analyses:
Publication bias:
Insight
This systematic review and meta-analysis provides important insights into the efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy for young adults:
Future research directions:
Strengths
The study had many methodological strengths including:
Limitations
The authors acknowledge several limitations of the study:
These limitations impact the strength of conclusions that can be drawn and highlight the need for further high-quality research in this area.
Implications
The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis have several important implications:
Variables influencing results:
References
Primary reference
Trotta, A., Gerber, A. J., Rost, F., Robertson, S., Shmueli, A., & Perelberg, R. J. (2024). The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy for young adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in Psychology,15, 1366032.https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1366032
Other references
Abbass, A. A., Rabung, S., Leichsenring, F., Refseth, J. S., & Midgley, N. (2013). Psychodynamic psychotherapy for children and adolescents: A meta-analysis of short-term psychodynamic models.Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry,52(8), 863-875.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2013.05.014
Arnett, J. J. (2010). Emerging adulthood (s).Bridging cultural and developmental approaches to psychology: New syntheses in theory, research, and policy, 255-275.
Auerbach, R. P., Mortier, P., Bruffaerts, R., Alonso, J., Benjet, C., Cuijpers, P., … & Kessler, R. C. (2018). WHO world mental health surveys international college student project: Prevalence and distribution of mental disorders.Journal of abnormal psychology,127(7), 623.
Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., Merikangas, K. R., & Walters, E. E. (2005). Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication.Archives of general psychiatry,62(6), 593-602.
Midgley, N., Mortimer, R., Cirasola, A., Batra, P., & Kennedy, E. (2021). The evidence-base for psychodynamic psychotherapy with children and adolescents: A narrative synthesis.Frontiers in psychology,12, 662671.https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.662671
Patel, V., Flisher, A. J., Hetrick, S., & McGorry, P. (2007). Mental health of young people: a global public-health challenge.The lancet,369(9569), 1302-1313.
Steinert, C., Munder, T., Rabung, S., Hoyer, J., & Leichsenring, F. (2017). Psychodynamic therapy: as efficacious as other empirically supported treatments? A meta-analysis testing equivalence of outcomes.American Journal of Psychiatry,174(10), 943-953.https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17010057
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Saul McLeod, PhD
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester
Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education
Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.
