I work primarily from a contemporary psychodynamic perspective that draws on a mixture of principles stemming from psychoanalytic perspectives on both human development and the psychotherapeutic process itself.
What exactly does that mean? Here are several links to articles, all by Jonathan Shedler, Ph.D., that nicely summarize what a contemporary psychodynamic/psychoanalytic way of working clinically “looks like,” as well as reviewing the empirical support for psychodynamic psychotherapy.
I like very much how Maxwell Sucharov delineated his way of working (in a book chapter) that resonates with my own view of how I try to be helpful to people I am working with in psychotherapy:
"Imagine yourself to be a patient of mine, having come to visit me for the first time. After having told me your story, you sit back, you look at me and say, “Well ... could you please explain to me how you work and how you see yourself being able to help me?”
I will say something to the effect that I see myself as being helpful, not only because of the insights I may provide you concerning your long-standing, restricting relational patterns and out of-consciousness emotional beliefs but also, more importantly, that hopefully something in your experience of our relationship will be such as to provide you with something new, something that contributes to your healing. I will also find myself saying that a useful way to describe our process is that we are here for you to teach me to be the best therapist I can be for you. I will also try to meet you unconditionally, exactly as you are, with no expectations that you fulfill any predesigned therapeutic goal. There will inevitably be moments when I fail you in this attempt, and when I do, I will do my best to be mindful of this, acknowledge my slippage, and return to the space of unconditional meeting.
Our sessions will be open-ended conversations with no plan or agenda, with the faith that this non-directed approach will allow new and useful understandings to emerge. I will also explain that even though we are here to understand the nature of your suffering, the process by which we arrive at that understanding always includes the influence of my own unique personhood, both its strengths and vulnerabilities. If you express any discomfort with regards to your experience of me, I will never assign that experience exclusively to your own “problems” but will always attempt to identify and acknowledge my own contribution, conscious or unwitting, to your experience.”
(Sucharov, M. (2009) Embracing the limits of psychoanalysis; A dialogic approach to healing. In: Coburn, W & VanDerHeide, NP [Editors]. Self and systems: Exploring trends in contemporary self psychology, Wiley-Blackwell, Boston, MA.)