Therapists of all orientations will benefit from seeing how psychoanalytic and psychodynamic principles can be effectively adapted to short-term therapy with clients and patients facing issues of grief, death and dying.

Volume I: A Brief Psychodynamic Approach

Over the course of four actual sessions, Milton Viederman, MD demonstrates a psychoanalytic approach to working with grief.

Paying detailed attention to the subtle nuances of the therapeutic relationship, Viederman adapts the principles of psychoanalysis to a course of brief therapy. Pat is the primary caregiver for her dying husband and is experiencing the grief and fear around his impending death. Forming an interpretation of Pat's core conflict and elaborating this theme throughout the sessions, Viederman helps Pat explore the early life experiences that give meaning to her current emotional responses. He builds rapport and trust with this open and engaging client, offering her a supportive environment in which true insight is produced.In a poignant follow-up session, Pat reveals that the therapy was instrumental in helping her be at peace with her husband's death.

By watching this video, you will be able to:

• Describe the specific techniques used in Viederman's approach to brief psychodynamic treatment.
• Identify the basic principles of this approach to working with people who are dealing with the sickness and death of a loved one.
• Explain how a clinician employing Viederman's approach would conduct an initial interview with someone dealing with death, dying, and grief.

Volume II: Hospital Consultation with Medically Ill Patients

Milton Viederman, MD, brings his psychoanalytic orientation to actual hospital consultations with cancer patients.

In this companion volume, Viederman continues his exploration of the application of psychoanalytic principles to brief therapy. While many of us feel comfortable meeting clients on our own turf, we are often less certain how to navigate the therapeutic relationship in a hospital setting with visibly ill patients. Working quickly to assess the conscious and unconscious coping mechanisms that affect the patient's experience of illness and treatment, Viederman's main objective is to create a supportive relationship and relive patient distress. Interspersed with illuminating commentary, Viederman skillfully demonstrates when to probe defensive structures and when to leave them alone so as not to increase the patient's anxiety.

By watching this video, you will be able to:

• Describe the specific techniques used in Viederman's approach to brief psychodynamic treatment.
• Identify the basic principles of Viederman's approach to working with people who are dealing with the sickness and death of a loved one.
• Explain how a clinician employing Viederman's approach would conduct an initial interview with someone dealing with death, dying, and grief.