Foundations of the Approach
Psychodynamic psychotherapy explores how experiences, emotions, internal conflicts and relationship patterns—some of which may operate outside immediate awareness—shape the way we experience ourselves and relate to others in the present.
Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP) is a structured psychodynamic treatment originally developed for personality difficulties, particularly borderline personality disorder and related disturbances in identity, relationships and emotional regulation.
TFP pays particular attention to what happens in the here and now, including within the therapeutic relationship. The way we experience ourselves and other people can become particularly visible in therapy, creating an opportunity not simply to talk about recurring patterns, but to understand and work with them as they emerge.
My practice draws on psychodynamic principles and TFP-informed ways of understanding complex emotional and relational difficulties.
What does this mean for you?
You may already understand intellectually why you react in certain ways, yet find yourself repeatedly caught in the same emotional or relational patterns.
You might notice that:
- relationships can move quickly between closeness and distance;
- trust can feel difficult even when you want connection;
- criticism, rejection or disappointment triggers unusually powerful reactions;
- your view of yourself or another person changes dramatically when emotions become intense;
- you repeatedly enter similar relationship conflicts despite trying to respond differently;
- you feel uncertain about who you are or what you genuinely want;
- anger, shame, fear, dependency or vulnerability can become difficult to tolerate;
- you protect yourself through withdrawal, control, emotional detachment or other familiar strategies.
Psychodynamic and TFP-informed therapy aims to understand what is happening underneath these patterns and why they continue, rather than addressing only the immediate symptom.
What difficulties can this approach address?
This approach may be particularly relevant for people experiencing:
- borderline personality disorder and other personality difficulties;
- unstable or conflicted relationships;
- complex trauma and developmental trauma;
- attachment and intimacy difficulties;
- unstable or fragmented sense of identity;
- chronic shame, emptiness or low self-worth;
- intense anger, anxiety or emotional reactivity;
- difficulties trusting or depending on others;
- repeated interpersonal conflict;
- patterns of idealising and then becoming deeply disappointed in others;
- fear of rejection or abandonment;
- persistent self-defeating relational patterns;
- difficulties understanding contradictory feelings about yourself or other people.
It can also be useful when previous symptom-focused treatment has helped to some extent, but deeper interpersonal or emotional patterns continue to recur.
Core features of the therapy
Understanding recurring patterns
Therapy looks closely at patterns that repeatedly appear across relationships and situations. Rather than treating each conflict as an isolated event, we explore the underlying emotional and relational dynamics connecting them.
Working in the here and now
The present moment is important. We explore not only childhood or past relationships, but also what is happening in your current life—and, when clinically useful, what is happening between you and your therapist.
Transference
Transference refers to the ways expectations, feelings and relational patterns developed through important relationships can become activated in other relationships, including therapy.
For example, someone who strongly expects criticism, rejection, control or abandonment may begin to experience the therapist through this expectation.
Rather than viewing this as something “wrong”, therapy can carefully examine what is occurring. This provides a live opportunity to understand patterns that may otherwise be difficult to recognise.
Exploring different views of self and others
Under emotional pressure, people can experience themselves and others in sharply contrasting ways—for example, feeling competent and independent at one moment but completely inadequate or dependent at another.
Similarly, another person may feel deeply trustworthy at one time and entirely uncaring or rejecting at another.
TFP pays particular attention to these different internal experiences and the relationships between them.
Supporting a more integrated sense of self
A central aim of TFP is greater integration: developing the capacity to hold more complex and balanced experiences of yourself and other people.
Someone can disappoint you without becoming entirely bad. You can make a mistake without becoming worthless. You can need another person while remaining autonomous.
Over time, greater integration can contribute to a more stable identity, improved emotional regulation and more flexible, realistic relationships.
What does therapy actually look like?
Psychodynamic and TFP-informed therapy is primarily conversational, but it is usually more active and focused than simply talking freely about the past.
You bring what is happening in your life—relationships, conflicts, emotions, thoughts, behaviours and experiences that feel confusing or difficult.
Together, we slow these experiences down and examine them closely.
I may ask questions such as:
- What happened just before your feelings changed?
- How did you experience the other person at that moment?
- What did you believe they were thinking or feeling about you?
- What happened to your experience of yourself?
At times, we may also notice something similar occurring between us in therapy. When appropriate, we can explore that experience together rather than automatically acting on it or avoiding it.
The work may involve clarification of what you are experiencing, careful confrontation of contradictions or patterns, and interpretation to develop a deeper understanding of the emotional and relational dynamics involved.
The purpose is not for the therapist to tell you what you “really” feel. It is a collaborative process of making previously confusing or divided experiences increasingly understandable.
What are we working towards?
The goal is more than insight alone.
Over time, the work aims to support:
A more coherent sense of self
Greater stability in how you understand yourself, your needs, values and relationships.
More integrated relationships
Being able to recognise both positive and difficult aspects of yourself and others without relationships becoming dominated by extreme shifts.
Greater emotional capacity
Being able to experience anger, vulnerability, disappointment, closeness and other powerful emotions without becoming overwhelmed or needing to immediately escape them.
Greater freedom of choice
When previously automatic patterns become understandable, there is more room to respond differently.
Ultimately, psychodynamic and TFP-informed therapy aims to help you develop a more stable relationship with yourself and more flexible, meaningful relationships with others.
