Free Therapist Training›Psychodynamic Therapy Toolkit›Psychodynamic Treatment Plan Examples
Last updated: November 11, 2026
A psychodynamic treatment plan states what treatment will address and how you will know it is working: the problems in the client's terms, the goals, measurable objectives with dates, the interventions linked to the formulation, and the measures you will repeat. The template below is followed by two completed plans for invented clients, one for depression and one for anxiety. All of it is free to copy, print and adapt.
The plan is part of the Sentio MFT program's free psychodynamic therapy toolkit, where the depression example connects to a completed case formulation and progress note for the same client.
This is an optional aid from the Sentio MFT program's psychodynamic therapy toolkit. It is not an official form of any agency or payer.
Download the PDFMake an editable copy
| Item | What to write |
|---|---|
| Client, clinician and date | |
| Diagnosis and baseline measures | A diagnosis if your setting requires one; baseline scores on the measures you will repeat |
| Formulation summary | Two or three sentences from the case formulation or the cyclical maladaptive pattern (CMP) worksheet, from time-limited dynamic psychotherapy: the pattern and what keeps the problem going |
| Approach, frequency and expected length | For example, weekly 50-minute sessions for about 20 sessions, reviewed at the midpoint |
| Problem | Goal | Objectives: what will change, by when, measured how | Interventions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | |||
| 2. | |||
| 3. |
| Item | What to write |
|---|---|
| Measures and review points | Which measures, how often, and the sessions at which you will review the plan |
| Coordination and referrals | Other providers involved, with the client's written authorization where required |
| Client's participation | Goals in the client's own words; the client's agreement |
| Ending treatment | The criteria for ending, and how the ending itself will be worked with |
Write at least one objective for the client's relational pattern as well as for symptoms. "States a disagreement with the therapist" can be observed in a session; "feels more confident" cannot.
Example 1: Psychodynamic Treatment Plan for Depression
Elena is an invented client in weekly time-limited dynamic psychotherapy for depression. Her plan was written after the third session, from the case formulation and an early draft of the CMP worksheet in the toolkit, and her session 6 progress note reports against objectives 1a, 1c and 2a.
| Item | Example entry |
|---|---|
| Client, clinician and date | Elena R. (invented), 38; [clinician name and license]; written after session 3 |
| Diagnosis and baseline measures | Major depressive disorder, single episode, moderate (F32.1). PHQ-9 of 14. Sleeping about five hours a night. Has stopped running and singing with her choir. |
| Formulation summary | Elena hides her wishes and gives more, expecting that asking would make others annoyed and withdraw. Others lean on her and pass her over, and she turns on herself for wanting anything. Being passed over at work while carrying more at home brought the pattern, and the depression, to a head. |
| Approach, frequency and expected length | Time-limited dynamic psychotherapy; weekly 50-minute individual sessions for about 20 sessions, reviewed at session 10. |
| Problem | Goal | Objectives | Interventions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Depressed mood, low energy, poor sleep and loss of interest ("I'm tired all the time and I don't enjoy anything"). | Mood and energy return to her usual level, and she takes part again in activities she values. | 1a. PHQ-9 below 10 on two consecutive administrations by session 16 (PHQ-9 every four sessions). 1b. Runs or sings with her choir at least once a week by session 12 (her report). 1c. Sleeps at least six and a half hours on most nights by session 12 (sleep log). | Explore the relational context of each dip in mood; help her feel and name the sadness and anger she sets aside; screen risk at every session. |
| 2. A recurring pattern of hiding her needs and over-giving, followed by resentment and self-criticism ("I don't know why I can't just be grateful"). | New understanding: she recognizes the pattern as it happens and understands its origins and costs. | 2a. Identifies a point in a recent episode where she set aside a wish, in most sessions from session 8 (therapist observation). 2b. Describes in her own words how the pattern links to her role in her family growing up, by session 12. | Therapeutic inquiry into specific episodes; process comments when she defers or apologizes in session; tentative transference interpretations linking her expectations of the therapist to her expectations of others. |
| 3. The same pattern, as lived in her relationships. | New experience: she expresses wishes, preferences and disagreement and finds that relationships can hold them. | 3a. States a preference or disagreement with the therapist at least once between sessions 8 and 16 (therapist observation). 3b. Makes at least two direct requests or refusals at work or at home between sessions 8 and 16, and reports what happened. | Welcome and explore disagreement with the therapist; work with minimizing when feelings come up; explore her fantasies about speaking up; review the therapist's pull to reassure her in supervision. |
| Item | Example entry |
|---|---|
| Measures and review points | PHQ-9 at intake and every four sessions. Plan reviewed at session 10 (continue, adjust, or discuss a medication evaluation if scores have not improved) and at session 20. |
| Coordination and referrals | With her written authorization, a brief summary to her primary care physician, who is following up her fatigue. |
| Client's participation | Elena put objective 3b in her own words: "I want to be able to say I don't have room without feeling like a bad person." She agrees with the plan. |
| Ending treatment | Ending discussed from session 16, including what endings have meant for her. Criteria: objectives 1a and 3b met, or a review of options if progress stalls. |
Example 2: Psychodynamic Treatment Plan for Anxiety
Marcus is an invented client in weekly brief psychodynamic psychotherapy for generalized anxiety. His plan shows the same structure applied to worry, checking and reassurance-seeking, with the relational pattern written as objectives that can be observed.
| Item | Example entry |
|---|---|
| Client, clinician and date | Marcus T. (invented), 29, software engineer; [clinician name and license]; written after session 3 |
| Diagnosis and baseline measures | Generalized anxiety disorder (F41.1). GAD-7 of 14. Takes about an hour to fall asleep. Rereads submitted work several times; asks his partner for reassurance most evenings. |
| Formulation summary | Marcus expects that any mistake or question will expose him as incompetent, so he over-prepares, checks his work and keeps his uncertainties to himself. Colleagues see a capable engineer and ask more of him, his manager's brief feedback reads to him as criticism, and his partner's reassurance helps for an hour and then wears thin. He meets every slip with contempt ("idiot"), which keeps the worry going. The pattern echoes a childhood in which his father checked his homework every night and praise came only for top marks. |
| Approach, frequency and expected length | Brief psychodynamic psychotherapy; weekly 50-minute sessions for about 24 sessions, reviewed at session 12. |
| Problem | Goal | Objectives | Interventions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Persistent worry, muscle tension and trouble falling asleep ("My brain never clocks out"). | Worry takes up less of his day, and sleep improves. | 1a. GAD-7 below 10 on two consecutive administrations by session 18 (GAD-7 every four sessions). 1b. Falls asleep within 30 minutes on most nights by session 12 (sleep log). 1c. Reviews submitted work once, on most days, by session 12 (his report). | Explore the relational meaning of specific worries, including whose judgment he fears; help him feel the fear and anger under the worry rather than think around them; screen risk at every session. |
| 2. A pattern of expecting harsh judgment and protecting himself with over-preparation, checking and reassurance-seeking. | New understanding: he recognizes the expectation of judgment as it arises, including with the therapist, and links it to its history. | 2a. Names an expectation of being judged in a recent episode, in most sessions from session 6 (therapist observation). 2b. Describes in his own words how the pattern connects to his relationship with his father, by session 14. | Therapeutic inquiry into specific episodes; process comments when he watches the therapist for signs of judgment; transference interpretations about expecting the therapist to grade him. |
| 3. The same pattern, as lived at work and at home. | New experience: he lets uncertainty or a mistake show and finds a response other than contempt. | 3a. Talks about a mistake in session without correcting it at once, at least twice between sessions 8 and 16 (therapist observation). 3b. Asks at least one question in a team meeting each week by session 14 (his report). | Work with intellectualizing when fear comes close; explore his fantasy of the worst outcome, and of a kinder one; build on his own metaphor of "a red pen over my shoulder." |
| Item | Example entry |
|---|---|
| Measures and review points | GAD-7 at intake and every four sessions. Plan reviewed at session 12 (continue, adjust, or discuss adding a skills-based anxiety treatment or a medication evaluation if scores have not improved) and at session 24. |
| Coordination and referrals | None at present. He declined contact with his physician; to be revisited at the session 12 review. |
| Client's participation | Marcus asked to add objective 1c: "I want my evenings back." He agrees with the plan. |
| Ending treatment | Ending discussed from session 20, including his wish to end "on a high note." Criteria: objectives 1a and 3b met, or a review of options if progress stalls. |
What Goes in a Psychodynamic Treatment Plan?
A plan has the same parts in any orientation: the problems, a goal for each, objectives that say what will change and by when, the interventions you will use, the measures you will repeat and the points at which you will review the plan. What makes it psychodynamic is the formulation behind it. The problems include the client's relational pattern as well as symptoms, and the interventions are chosen to address that pattern where it appears, including in the relationship with you.
The plan starts from the formulation. If you have not written one, the case formulation template and the cyclical maladaptive pattern worksheet, from time-limited dynamic psychotherapy, give you the summary the plan needs, and Alexandre Vaz's free case formulation and treatment planning webinar covers the move from one to the other.
How Do You Write Measurable Goals for Psychodynamic Therapy?
Time-limited dynamic psychotherapy names two goals: a new experience, in which the client relates in a way that breaks the old pattern and meets a different response, and a new understanding of the pattern, its origins and its costs. Both can be written as objectives. A new experience shows up as behavior: the client states a disagreement with the therapist, asks a question in a meeting, says no to a request. A new understanding shows up in what the client can describe: a point in an episode where the pattern took over, or how it connects to an earlier relationship.
Symptom goals are best tied to a measure you repeat. The PHQ-9 for depression and the GAD-7 for anxiety are brief, widely used and free to use. On the PHQ-9, scores of 5, 10, 15 and 20 mark the thresholds for mild, moderate, moderately severe and severe depression (Kroenke et al., 2001); on the GAD-7, scores of 5, 10 and 15 can be read as the thresholds for mild, moderate and severe anxiety (Spitzer et al., 2006). An objective such as "PHQ-9 below 10 on two consecutive administrations" is clear to the client, to a supervisor and to a payer.
Which Interventions Belong in the Plan?
Name the interventions you expect to use and what each is for. For the examples above, therapeutic inquiry gathers specific relational episodes; process comments and transference interpretations address the pattern as it appears with the therapist; defense work helps the client stay with feelings the pattern keeps away; and exploring fantasy brings the client's expectations into the open. The psychodynamic interventions list describes each one with wording for progress notes, and each has a free webinar, with live demonstration, on the psychodynamic deliberate practice page.
Plan the ending as well. In time-limited work the length of treatment is usually agreed at the start, and what ending means to the client, whether loss, relief or a fear of being on one's own, is part of the treatment rather than an administrative step.
Keep reading
Psychodynamic Case Formulation Template, the formulation the depression example is built from
Psychodynamic Progress Note Template, a session note that reports against these objectives, in narrative and SOAP versions
Psychodynamic Interventions List, the interventions named in the plans, with note-ready wording
Case Formulation and Treatment Planning, a free webinar on turning a formulation into a plan
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the goals of psychodynamic therapy in a treatment plan?
Symptom relief and better functioning, plus change in the client's relational pattern. Time-limited dynamic psychotherapy frames the relational change as two goals: a new experience of relating differently and a new understanding of the pattern.
How do you make psychodynamic goals measurable?
Tie symptom goals to a repeated measure such as the PHQ-9 or GAD-7, and write relational goals as behavior that can be observed in sessions or reported by the client, with a target session or date.
What interventions go in a psychodynamic treatment plan for depression?
Commonly therapeutic inquiry into the relational context of low mood, help in feeling and naming the sadness and anger the client sets aside, work with the defenses that keep those feelings away, and process comments and transference interpretations when the pattern appears with the therapist.
Can a psychodynamic treatment plan include outcome measures?
Yes. Brief measures such as the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 are free to use and fit any orientation. Repeating them every few sessions shows the client and the clinician whether treatment is working.
References
Binder, J. L. (2004). Key competencies in brief dynamic psychotherapy: Clinical practice beyond the manual. Guilford Press. ISBN 978-1-59385-058-6. https://www.guilford.com/books/Key-Competencies-in-Brief-Dynamic-Psychotherapy/Jeffrey-Binder/9781609181680
Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., & Williams, J. B. W. (2001). The PHQ-9: Validity of a brief depression severity measure. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 16(9), 606-613. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x
Levenson, H. (2003). Time-limited dynamic psychotherapy: An integrationist perspective. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 13(3-4), 300-333. https://doi.org/10.1037/1053-0479.13.3-4.300
Levenson, H. (2026). Brief dynamic therapy (3rd ed.). American Psychological Association. ISBN 978-1-4338-4478-2. https://www.apa.org/pubs/books/brief-dynamic-therapy-third-edition
Levenson, H., Gay, V., & Binder, J. L. (2023). Deliberate practice in psychodynamic psychotherapy. American Psychological Association. ISBN 978-1-4338-3673-2. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000351-000
Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. B. W., & Löwe, B. (2006). A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: The GAD-7. Archives of Internal Medicine, 166(10), 1092-1097. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092
Strupp, H. H., & Binder, J. L. (1984). Psychotherapy in a new key: A guide to time-limited dynamic psychotherapy. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-06747-3. https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/hans-h-strupp/psychotherapy-in-a-new-key/9780465067473
