Psychodynamic Treatment for Suicidality Training
Coming Soon
Psychodynamic Treatment for Suicidality
The Centre for Psychodynamic Insights (CFPI) will be offering specialized training in the psychodynamic treatment of patients presenting with suicidal ideation, a history of suicide attempts, or recurrent suicidal behaviours.
This training focuses on the development of a structured therapeutic frame through treatment contracting, with particular attention to establishing the conditions necessary for ongoing psychodynamic treatment.
Participants will explore how treatment agreements can clarify the responsibilities of both patient and clinician, support therapeutic continuity, and establish boundaries that facilitate meaningful psychological work while attending to clinical safety.
The training will also examine the psychodynamic understanding of suicidality, including the role of unconscious conflicts, aggression, internalized object relationships, and relational dynamics within the therapeutic relationship.
Training Date: TBD, 2027
Our Workshop Lead
Dr. John Chardavoyne
Medical Director
Board-Certified Psychiatrist
Learning Objectives
This training explores key considerations in the psychodynamic treatment of suicidality, including:
Treatment Contracting: Understanding the purpose and structure of treatment agreements when working with patients experiencing active suicidal ideation or a history of suicide attempts.
Establishing the Therapeutic Frame: Developing clear expectations regarding attendance, communication, clinical responsibilities, therapeutic boundaries, and the conditions necessary to support ongoing treatment.
Clinical Risk and Treatment Suitability: Considering how suicide risk, psychological functioning, available supports, and the patient's capacity to participate in treatment influence decisions regarding the appropriate level of care.
Psychodynamic Understanding of Suicidality: Exploring how unconscious conflict, aggression directed toward the self, shame, loss, and difficulties in interpersonal relationships may contribute to suicidal experiences and behaviours.
Transference and Countertransference: Recognizing how suicidal ideation and behaviours may emerge within the therapeutic relationship and understanding the emotional responses they may evoke in clinicians.
Managing Threats to the Therapeutic Frame: Examining how clinicians can respond to difficulties maintaining treatment agreements, recurrent crises, and challenges to therapeutic boundaries.
Ongoing Psychodynamic Treatment: Understanding how the therapeutic frame can support the exploration of underlying psychological conflicts, defensive processes, and recurring relational patterns over the course of treatment.
The training will emphasize the relationship between treatment structure and psychodynamic exploration, particularly when working with patients whose clinical presentations involve significant emotional dysregulation, recurrent suicidal ideation, or previous suicide attempts.
Treatment contracting will be discussed as one component of comprehensive clinical care, alongside ongoing risk assessment, collaborative safety planning, crisis intervention, and appropriate coordination with additional services when clinically indicated.
Training Details
Workshop Date: TBD
Duration: 50-minute training session, followed by 10 minutes of questions and answers
Format: Virtual
Audience: Psychotherapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, medical doctors, social workers, and mental health trainees
Registration Rates
TBD