A selection from Stockholm University publication database

• Children in psychodynamic psychotherapy

  2011. Fredrik Odhammar (et al.). Journal of Child Psychotherapy 37 (3), 261-279

  Article

  This study was part of the Erica Process and Outcome Study. The aim was to investigate if children's global functioning improves after psychodynamic psychotherapy. Variables that may predict changes in global functioning were examined both statistically and qualitatively, for example, the child's age and gender; diagnosis and comorbidity; treatment variables. The sample consisted of 33 children (five to 10 years of age) who participated in psychodynamic psychotherapy with parallel work with parents. Twenty-nine children had at least one DSM-IV diagnosis, and 15 children had comorbid conditions. At the start of psychotherapy, the most frequent diagnoses were attention disorder and disruptive behaviour. Child psychotherapists rated the children's global functioning using CGAS and HCAM. Large effect sizes were obtained (d = 1.80 and d = 1.98). However, no statistical correlations were found between global functioning and the selected variables. In order to illuminate the complex connection between process and outcome the study was complemented with in-depth case studies where data were taken from questionnaires, completed by the child therapists every third month. Two child therapies were selected: one in which the therapist rated a large change and one in which a small change was rated (CGAS). The analysis showed that important individual change, for example, attainment of formulated goals, was not always reflected in the change rated using the CGAS. Findings suggest that psychodynamic child psychotherapy can be beneficial. However, further research is needed to identify factors that contribute to change in children's global functioning.

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• Parents' and psychotherapists' goals prior to psychodynamic psychotherapy

  2015. Fredrik Odhammar, Gunnar Carlberg. European Journal of Psychotherapy 17 (3), 277-295

  Article

  In order to explore goals of parents and psychotherapists prior to child psychotherapy, the following questions were asked: (1) How are goals for psychotherapy formulated? (2) How can similarities and differences between parents’ and psychotherapists’ goals be understood? Questionnaires regarding psychodynamic child psychotherapies (n = 33) with parallel parental work were analysed using qualitative methodology. The child psychotherapists’ goals were often connected to the intrapsychic and relational development of the child. The parental therapists formulated goals focused on providing support to parents. The parents’ goals, on the other hand, concerned to a great extent giving the child help and to a lesser degree receiving help for themselves. They expressed their expectations concerning the child’s psychological development with a more everyday use of language, often with an emphasis on general psychological wellbeing. The study also indicated that parents had limited knowledge about the therapy’s implementation and framework. Some clinical conclusions could be made. Negotiating goals prior to parental and child psychotherapy can help create realistic expectations and promote a beneficial therapy situation.

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• Möten i psykodynamisk barnpsykoterapi

  2017. Fredrik Odhammar (et al.).

  Thesis (Doc)

  This thesis aims to increase the knowledge of courses and processes of change prior to and during psychodynamic child psychotherapy with parallel parent contact. The dissertation examines parents’ and psychotherapists’ stated goals and expectations prior to the child’s psychotherapy, processes of change focusing on the psychotherapeutic encounter between child and psychotherapist, and outcome gauged by standardized measures compared to experienced change regarding the child’s problems. This dissertation also wants to examine different instruments for describing the psychotherapeutic process. Data was collected from systematic case studies, at different times during the course of psychotherapy, with material from different sources, such as child psychiatric assessment before and after conducted psychotherapy, questionnaires, and video taping of therapy sessions. By examining the therapeutic encounter from the perspectives of child, parent and psychotherapist, an image of psychotherapy, which illustrates the complexity of the psychotherapeutic process, was created. The thesis is based on three articles: Study I examines parents’ and psychotherapists’ goals and expectations prior to psychotherapy. Study II is a close study of a video-taped individual therapy, in which the interaction between child and therapist is examined with the rating instrument Child Psychotherapy Q-set (CPQ), the psychotherapist’s description of the psychotherapy’s process, and the self-rating instrument Feeling Word Checklist (FWC-24). Study III examines change in global functioning ability after child psychotherapy. By examining several psychotherapies in order to construct qualitative understanding of low and high change, respectively, in rated global functioning, limitations in the rating instrument Children’s Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) are analyzed. The results point to: 1. The need for a culture of cooperation between family and the one conducting the treatment, where goals are formulated together and in accordance with the family’s frame of reference and life experiences, which can increase the possibility of creating positive expectations, and of adapting treatment to the family in question. 2. Different methods of examining psychotherapy reflect and complete the image of the psychotherapy process. 3. The psychotherapy process’s complexity and the difficulty in describing the effect of therapy with simple measurements or remaining psychiatric symptoms. Positive change in several areas, such as the child experiencing increased independence, gets access to more positive affections, has improved self-esteem and a more optimistic idea of the future, could be described as psychological phenomena and can be difficult to encompass with narrow psychiatric terminology. 4. The intersubjectivity between child and psychotherapist appears essential. The therapist’s attitude and interventions are characterized by creating a steady therapeutic framework for exploring the child’s problems. 5.  The importance of the therapist’s meta-competence, i.e., overarching competencies that psychotherapists need to use to guide any intervention, what interventions to use, and when they are suitable. 

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• Different perspectives in measuring processes in psychodynamic child psychotherapy

  2019. Fredrik Odhammar, Geoff Goodman, Gunnar Carlberg. Journal of Child Psychotherapy 45 (1), 18-35

  Article

  The aim of this study was to explore how different measurements can contribute to understanding processes of change in psychodynamic child psychotherapy. The Child Psychotherapy Q-Set (CPQ) was compared with the child psychotherapist’s description of the psychotherapy process, systematically collected every third month during therapy, and after each session the Feeling Word Checklist-24 (FWC-24). The aim was also to examine how these three different measurements together could describe change over time and how they are mirrored in the relation between child and psychotherapist. The following questions were formulated: 1. What interaction structures can be identified with the CPQ? 2. How does the therapist describe the process in psychotherapy and how do therapists’ feelings appear using the FWC-24? 3. How do the different measurements enrich one another and contribute to the understanding of the psychotherapeutic process? 4. How can the therapy be described compared to a hypothetical psychodynamic child psychotherapy prototype session? A videotaped child psychotherapy was analysed in its entirety. The CPQ gave an image of the psychotherapist’s and the child’s actions and interactions, which complemented the subjective image of the psychotherapist when filling out questionnaires and the FWC-24. Analyses of the interaction between the child and psychotherapist indicated the importance of creating a supportive and secure environment to achieve a feeling of psychological closeness, before working with the child’s problems. The analysis of the therapy highlights the importance of the psychotherapist’s meta-competence, i.e., overarching competencies that psychotherapists need to use to guide any intervention, what interventions to use, and when they are suitable. 

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Show all publications by Fredrik Odhammar at Stockholm University