psychodynamic

American  

[sahy-koh-dahy-nam-ik] / ˌsaɪ koʊ daɪˈnæm ɪk /

adjective

1. Psychology. of or relating to any clinical approach to personality, as Freud’s, that sees personality and behavior as the result of the ongoing, shifting interplay of conscious and unconscious emotional and motivational forces.

   By identifying the unconscious drives and forgotten experiences that influence decisions, psychodynamic therapy can be helpful in choosing new positive behaviors and leaving self-destructive ones behind.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• psychodynamically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of psychodynamic

psycho- ( def. ) + dynamic ( def. )

Example Sentences

Hughes also practices somatic experiencing, a psychodynamic modality helping people tap into their bodily sensations as a way of processing emotions.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 1, 2026

“Cognitive-behavioral therapy has a small to medium advantage over psychodynamic therapy,” he says.

From New York Times • May 16, 2023

Gemma Collins, a licensed clinical social worker and psychodynamic psychotherapist in Seattle, sees the merits of having an exception for mental health conditions but pointed out how it could backfire.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 4, 2022

At the peak of its power, psychodynamic psychiatry, Scull writes, claimed “that psychological factors loomed large in the genesis of illnesses that had traditionally been seen as rooted in the body.”

From Washington Post • Jun. 3, 2022

This identity disturbance, which is at the psychodynamic root of both pathological narcissism and rapacious psychopathy, is all-pervasive.

From Moral Deliberations in Modern Cinema by Vaknin, Samuel