Psych CASC / OSCE · Professional — psychological therapies
Explain psychodynamic vs supportive therapy and negotiate a therapy frame — CASC communication station
MRCPsych/FRANZCP-style CASC: plain-language explanation of modalities, collaborative contracting, boundary holding without humiliation, and safety-netting.
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Station brief
Format. Communication station, approximately 7–10 minutes active time after reading. You are the psychiatry registrar in outpatient clinic. [1]
Candidate instructions. Explain psychodynamic and supportive psychotherapy in accessible language. Agree what approach fits now. Negotiate a clear therapy frame (time, contact rules, goals, risk). When the patient idealises you and requests after-hours personal contact, hold the boundary with warmth, explore meaning, and reaffirm ongoing care. Do not lecture, flirt, or abandon. Do not invent statute numbers. [2][4]
References5ShowHide
- [1]Shedler J The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy Am Psychol, 2010.PMID 20141265
- [2]Winston A, Pinsker H, McCullough L A review of supportive psychotherapy Hosp Community Psychiatry, 1986.PMID 3781499
- [3]Markowitz JC Supportive Evidence: Brief Supportive Psychotherapy as Active Control and Clinical Intervention Am J Psychother, 2022.PMID 35232221
- [4]Gutheil TG, Gabbard GO The concept of boundaries in clinical practice: theoretical and risk-management dimensions Am J Psychiatry, 1993.PMID 8422069
- [5]Gabbard GO A contemporary psychoanalytic model of countertransference J Clin Psychol, 2001.PMID 11449380