From Submission to Authenticity: Working with Dependent Clients in Experiential Dynamic Therapy (EDT)

Many therapists encounter patients who appear cooperative and motivated, yet unconsciously comply, submit, or self-sacrifice to maintain connection. Behind the apparent harmony lies fear — fear of conflict, rejection, or loss of attachment. These dependent patterns, often shaped by maladaptive relationships with caregivers, can create powerful obstacles to authentic emotional work.

In therapy, such dynamics may transform the alliance itself into a quiet repetition of accommodation. The therapist’s empathy or attunement, when not fully conscious, may unintentionally reinforce compliance rather than facilitate change.

While dependent personality traits are relatively uncommon in the general population, they are significantly more prevalent among psychotherapy patients. These clients tend to seek help more frequently and remain in treatment longer, making dependent dynamics a central challenge for most clinicians. Understanding and working effectively with these dynamics is therefore essential for fostering genuine emotional growth and therapeutic progress.

About the EDT Approach

Experiential Dynamic Therapy (EDT) places the patient’s direct emotional experience at the center of the therapeutic process. Originating in the pioneering work of Dr. Habib Davanloo, EDT evolved into a family of approaches united by a shared goal: helping patients face avoid emotions, regulate anxiety, and access genuine emotional truth.

Unlike traditional psychodynamic methods, EDT emphasizes moment-to-moment awareness — identifying defenses as they arise, differentiating between anxiety and feeling, and working experientially to restore vitality and authenticity.

In the treatment of dependent patients, EDT offers specific tools for detecting compliance in real time, regulating the anxiety that fuels submission, and inviting the patient to shift from adaptation toward self-assertion and emotional presence.

An Integrative Approach within EDT

While EDT has evolved through several distinct voices — some emphasizing pressure and challenge, others highlighting sensitivity, attunement, and support – this workshop seeks to integrate these perspectives into a coherent whole.

By taking the diamonds from each major strand of EDT and bringing them into dialogue, we will explore how an integrative therapeutic stance can hold both firmness and compassion.

The focus will be on helping dependent patients not merely adapt or comply,  but gradually rediscover their authentic emotional self within a safe, alive therapeutic relationship.