Focal Psychodynamic Therapy Worksheet

	Category	Description
1	Identifying Emotional Triggers	Describe a recent situation where you felt unusually strong emotions. What do you think triggered these feelings?
2	Understanding Unconscious Patterns	Reflect on any recurring patterns in your relationships or behaviors. What common themes do you notice?
3	Linking Past to Present	Think about an unresolved conflict from your past. How might this be influencing your current behavior or feelings?
4	Emotional Responses	Identify a situation where your response felt disproportionate. What might have been underlying this reaction?
5	Dreams and Insights	Recall a recent dream or spontaneous thought. What might this reveal about your feelings or conflicts?
6	Coping Mechanisms	What are your usual ways of coping with stress and anxiety? Consider their effectiveness and any changes you might want to make.
7	Self-Reflection	Reflect on how you perceive yourself and how you think others perceive you. Are there discrepancies? What might this suggest about your self-image?
8	Future Self	Imagine your life without the influence of this unresolved conflict. What does it look like? How do you feel in this imagined future?

References

Shedler, J. (2010). The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy. American Psychologist, 65(2), 98-109.

https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/amp-68-3-172.pdf

You can download more Mental Health worksheets here.

Please note: There may be a more up-to-date and editable version of this worksheet available here which may be more suitable to present to clients if you are a therapist or to use in a classroom as a teacher or guidance counsellor.

Focal Psychodynamic Therapy Worksheet

Category

Description

1

Identifying Emotional Triggers

Describe a recent situation where you felt unusually strong emotions. What do you think triggered these feelings?

2

Understanding Unconscious Patterns

Reflect on any recurring patterns in your relationships or behaviors. What common themes do you notice?

3

Linking Past to Present

Think about an unresolved conflict from your past. How might this be influencing your current behavior or feelings?

4

Emotional Responses

Identify a situation where your response felt disproportionate. What might have been underlying this reaction?

5

Dreams and Insights

Recall a recent dream or spontaneous thought. What might this reveal about your feelings or conflicts?

6

Coping Mechanisms

What are your usual ways of coping with stress and anxiety? Consider their effectiveness and any changes you might want to make.

7

Self-Reflection

Reflect on how you perceive yourself and how you think others perceive you. Are there discrepancies? What might this suggest about your self-image?

8

Future Self

Imagine your life without the influence of this unresolved conflict. What does it look like? How do you feel in this imagined future?

References