South Africa: Learn time-limited psychodynamic psychotherapy courses, focusing on behavior as communication and lasting change for adults and children.
In this course, Dr Schmidt Neven questions the common assumption that CBT is the only evidence-based short-term option and introduces a time-limited psychodynamic model that is relational and contextual. The approach applies to work with adults, children, adolescents and parents, and treats behaviour as meaningful communication rather than simply a symptom of dysfunction. South African psychologists will learn the principles and structure of the model and how a reflective, psychodynamically informed stance can support lasting internal change in brief clinical work. The course is accredited by the HPCSA for CPD points.
In this engaging and thought-provoking presentation, Dr. Schmidt Neven challenges prevailing assumptions about time-limited treatment models, particularly the dominance of CBT as the only evidence-based short-term modality. Drawing on decades of clinical and teaching experience, Dr. Schmidt Neven introduces a dynamic, time-limited psychodynamic model that is both relational and contextual—applicable to work with adults, children, adolescents, and parents.
Rather than viewing behaviours as merely symptoms of dysfunction, this approach considers behaviour as meaningful communication. Presenting problems are reframed as expressions of lived experience: adults ‘speak’ their life stories, while children ‘speak’ the emotional landscape of their families. Dr. Schmidt Neven highlights how brief psychodynamic interventions, grounded in reflective capacity and meaning-making, can provide lasting internal change and emotional resilience.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this talk, participants will be able to:
Describe the principles and structure of time-limited psychodynamic psychotherapy
Contrast this approach with commonly held assumptions about both CBT and long-term psychodynamic treatment
Recognise behavioural symptoms as meaningful expressions of emotional and relational experience
Apply a reflective, psychodynamically informed stance to brief clinical work with both adults and children
Understand how short-term psychodynamic interventions can foster enduring internal change and resilience