Modes of action of psychotherapy based on depth psychology How can transformations in psychotherapy based on depth psychology be conceptually understood?

Psychotherapy based on depth psychology (TP) and analytical psychotherapy (AP) can be understood as psychoanalytic applications which share a large number of common grounds; however, they focus on different emphases as far as the methods of treatment are concerned. The theoretical models of AP employed to understand the therapeutic process and its mode of action can therefore not simply be applied to TP, unless they are understood to be the analytical variant of "psychoanalysis light" (Rudolf 2019). Against the background of the TP setting, specific aspects of the treatment techniques which are also central to TP are described and are investigated as to what extent they might contribute to the therapeutic effectiveness of TP treatment. In addition to supportive interventions and the activation of resources the focus is on the conceptional understanding of the therapeutic relationship and the problem of how structural changes might best be achieved even though regression in the therapeutic process is limited and the analysis of the transfer is not a core aspect. By means of case studies the article demonstrates how in a mostly triangulating relationship structure emotional encounter moments (Stern 2005; Plassmann 2019) are created by intensive intersubjective presence, which are kept at eye level in a dialogic process and constantly initiate small transformative steps of development.