Efficacy of Depth Therapy: A Reading List

Those interested in learning more about the efficacy of depth psychotherapy can find a continually updated and refined catalogue of resources below. I include anything I have found helpful, or anticipate finding helpful, that I think would also benefit those who want to develop their understanding of the efficacy of depth therapy. As with all my reading lists, this is an idiosyncratic list of resources I have found helpful, rather than any attempt at an exhaustive or fully representative catalogue of work relevant to the topic. That said, peruse at your leisure and, with any luck, find something that may be helpful to you too!

  • Santiago Delboy and Linda Michaels, “Going Beneath the Surface: What People Want from Therapy,” Psychoanalytic Inquiry 41.8 (2021), pp. 603–623. Online.

  • Marylie W. Gerson, “Is Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Evidence-Based?” Online.

  • Falk Leichsenring, Sven Rabung, and Eric Leibing, “The Efficacy of Short-term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy in Specific Psychiatric Disorders: A Meta-analysis,” Archives of General Psychiatry 61 (2004), pp. 1208-1216.

  • Peter Lilliengren, “Comprehensive compilation of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving psychodynamic treatments and interventions.” 2017. Online.

  • S. de Maat, F. de Jonghe, R. Schoevers, and J. Dekker, “The Effectiveness of Long-Term Psychoanalytic Therapy: A Systematic Review of Empirical Studies,” Harvard Review of Psychiatry 17.1 (2009), pp. 1-23.

  • Nancy McWilliams, “Psychoanalysis and Research: Some Reflections and Opinions,” Psychoanalytic Review 100.6 (2013), pp. 919-945.

  • Nick Midgley, Rose Mortimer, Antonella Cirasola, Prisha Batra, and Eilis Kennedy, “The Evidence-Base for Psychodynamic Psychotherapy With Children and Adolescents: A Narrative Synthesis,” Frontiers in Psychology 12 (2021). Online.

  • Psychotherapy Action Network, “What People Need and Want from Therapy.” Online.

  • Jonathan Shedler, “Where Is the Evidence for ‘Evidence-Based’ Therapy?” Psychiatric Clinics of North America 41.2 (2018), pp. 319-329. Online.

  • Drew Westen, “The Scientific Legacy of Sigmund Freud: Toward a Psychodynamically Informed Psychological Practice,” Psychological Bulletin 124.3 (1998), pp. 333-371. Online.

  • Jessica Yakeley, “Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: Developing the Evidence Base,” Advances in Psychiatric Treatment 20 (2014), pp. 269–279. Online.

  • Falk Leichsenring et al. “The status of psychodynamic psychotherapy as an empirically supported treatment for common mental disorders – an umbrella review based on updated criteria.” World Psychiatry 22.2 (2023), pp. 286-304.