Evaluating the 20-day Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT) training programme: a mixed methods investigation to identify characteristics associated with successful outcomes of DIT

Abstract

Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT) is a brief psychodynamic therapy for depression, developed from the fundamental competences of evidence-based psychoanalytic/dynamic therapeutic methods. The 20-Day DIT training programme at the Anna Freud Centre in London is offered for clinicians who do not meet these psychoanalytic/dynamic competences. 28 therapists, each with three patients, underwent the 20-Day DIT training in 2019. The current study evaluated the 20-Day DIT training by investigating factors associated with the successful patient outcomes of this cohort. Reliable recovery and reliable improvement of patients was 69% and 90%, respectively. Quantitative analyses found that patients who have positive outcomes were likely to have lower baseline Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) scores and lower patient complexity. A thematic analysis of the therapists’ perspectives suggested that the most important elements of DIT perceived to be associated with successful patient outcomes cluster around four superordinate themes: aspects of the DIT model/training, characteristics of the patient, aspects of the patient-therapist relationship, and characteristics of the therapist. The results suggest that the DIT protocol can be acquired by novice therapists in psychoanalytic/dynamic methods and offer insight into the factors that may be associated with successful outcomes.

Keywords:

• Dynamic interpersonal therapy
• depression
• brief psychodynamic therapy
• psychoanalytic/dynamic competences
• thematic analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Patient anonymization statement

Potentially personally identifying information presented in this article that relates directly or indirectly to an individual, or individuals, has been changed to disguise and safeguard the confidentiality, privacy and data protection rights of those concerned, in accordance with the journal’s anonymization policy.

Notes

1. This paper uses the term ‘patient’ rather than ‘client’ or ‘service user’, in line with most psychoanalytic/psychodynamic literature. ‘patient’ more unambiguously describes a recipient of care designed to ease suffering. This term reflects the psychoanalytic tradition, including the centrality of the therapeutic relationship, and holds important implications regarding the responsibility of care for the patient.

2. Epistemic trust refers to an individual’s openness to social learning in an interpersonal context and their willingness to consider the new information as relevant and trustworthy and integrate it into their lives (Fonagy & Campbell, 2017).

3. Blatt’s (1974) conceptualisation of anaclitic depression involves socio-emotional impairment, fears of abandonment, and interpersonal dependency; accordingly, preoccupied attachment has been shown to predict anaclitic depression (Reis & Grenyer, 2002).