
Chiron
Center for Integral-Relational Studies
Psychodynamic-Relational Training
in Minneapolis, MN

Chiron offers training for mental health professionals looking to strengthen their understanding of psychodynamic theory.
Psychodynamic theory holds an invaluable wealth of information about the dynamics of human relationships. The relational patterns in a person's life hold the key to understanding both the sources of a patient's suffering as well as the path towards getting out of the rut they're stuck in. Unfortunately, most graduate programs gloss over this theoretical material and fail to do it justice. Therapists thus enter the field without ever having gotten good training in this storehouse of clinical wisdom.
Increasingly therapists are recognizing the importance of "the therapeutic relationship" in the work. Psychodynamic therapists have been rigorously studying the dynamics of the therapeutic relationship for decades. In the past 20 years, the Relational tradition has offerred a new, exciting, and compelling perspective on the therapeutic relationship that has turned the psychoanalytic tradition upside down. Here, at Chiron, our training in psychodynamic theory is founded in this Relational tradition.
Psychodynamic Training emphasizing:
-Object Relations
-Relational Psychoanalysis
-The therapeutic relationship

We make this theory
-Clear & Understandable
-Jargon-free
-Clinically relevant
-Compatible with other approaches
We aim to present Relational Psychodynamic theory in clear, straightforward language that can easily be understood and applied to therapeutic work. We do this by getting at the core ideas underneath the confusing psychoanalytic jargon and explaining them in simple-to-understand language. We emphasize the use of case material to give examples of the therapeutic approach and to bring the theory to life. Through this method, these valuable insights become much easier to assimilate into clinical practice.
Unlike other Psychodynamic training programs, which usually emphasize only the Psychoanalytic cannon, our training is based on an integrative perspective. In addition to the usual theorists (Freud, Winnicott, Klein, Fairbairn, Kohut, etc.) we include the Relationalists (S. Mitchell, Martha Stark, Karen Maroda, etc.) along with the Psychodynamic theories of such thinkers as Carl Jung, Erich Fromm, Alfred Adler, and Karen Horney. We aim to integrate these different theoretical traditions into a coherent whole, noting when each is appropriate given clients' varying needs.
For more info information on our current class, click here.