Individual psychodynamic therapy for psychosis: a Delphi study

There is limited empirical evidence as to how psychodynamic therapy should be conducted when working with people who experience psychosis. We describe here a three stage Delphi study exploring the degree of consensus about this among an international group of experienced psychotherapists. Of the 52 participants who received the survey questionnaire, 41 (78.8%) responded in the first round and 30 (57.6%) responded in the second. The participants agreed on many aspects of therapy, including aspects of classical technique (e.g. requirement for consistent setting) and some supportive modifications (e.g. therapists not restricting themselves to remaining emotionally neutral), but consensus was not received for other supportive modifications (e.g. guiding the patients if they are unsure of what to talk about). Participants commented that the technique should be adapted to individual needs. We believe that the findings have implications for therapy and research.