The Trial Therapy

This chapter will outline the process of the trial therapy, as developed by Dr. Davanloo (1990) . The development of this elegant system for assessing suitability for treatment and, when indicated, rapidly entering the unconscious, is surely one of Davanloo’s greatest contributions to the field of dynamic psychotherapy. Three cases from my own practice will be used to illustrate some typical responses to the trial therapy. While these patients had nearly identical presenting complaints, the trial therapy revealed different origins to the symptoms as well as varying capacities for the work at hand. Consequently, each had distinct requirements for treatment.