What Viewers Are Saying
What viewers are saying
“As a therapist and instructor myself, I got SO much out of this and will rewatch. Thank you, Dr. McWilliams, for such cogent and engaging analysis of people and of your own process as a therapist.”
Dr. Chris Duquette, Therapist and Adjunct Professor, Golden Gate University
“An amazing teacher. It’s a privilege, as a young psychiatrist, to be able to listen and learn from this from another corner of the world.”
Pooja S, Psychiatrist
“Very few truly understand the importance of her approach to psychodynamic personality diagnosis. I practice according to her model and have accumulated a wealth of experience and knowledge in it.”
Elichen Amitai, Therapist and University Instructor, Israel
“I can listen to her for hours and on repeat. Such a wealth of knowledge and experience.”
Loulwa Kaloyeros, Senior Psychology Faculty, Lebanese American University
“As a psychotherapist and human, thank you for the richness and depth of this presentation — and the humor and humanity you bring to it. I listen to this repeatedly. So much wisdom here.”
Sharon Coulter, LMFT, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist
“Really informative discussion — I appreciated this talk, and realize psychodynamic is such a rich and evolving perspective and lens to work from.”
Kyndra Knight, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Jefferson Community & Technical College
“This is exactly what I needed as a clinician in training.”
Nichole Estremera, PhD Student in Clinical Psychology, Puerto Rico
“So grateful to you for getting these pioneers to share their wealth of psychoanalytic knowledge and wisdom!”
Clinical Psychologist, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
“I just love Nancy McWilliams. She is my favorite. I have learned the most from her in my program.”
Chauncey Zalkin, Student, Northwestern University
First Sessions Matter
The Initial Alliance
The first session is about making a relationship with the person. Begin by understanding what brought them here now and how they hope you can help.
Starting to Understand the Patient
Listen for how the patient understands their suffering, describes important people, and experiences self and others. These early descriptions begin to show personality style, level of functioning, and capacity for nuance.
Preparing the Frame
By the end of the first session, offer an initial way of thinking about the problem and prepare the patient for a fuller history next. The aim is to create enough clarity and trust for the work to continue.
Included Bonus Masterclass

The 10 Qualities of Mental Health
Beyond diagnosis and first sessions, your enrollment includes an essential 30-minute masterclass in which Nancy McWilliams describes the ten qualities that characterize genuine psychological health — the deeper aims of therapy that reach well past the relief of symptoms.
Who This Course Is For
This training is designed for professionals seeking to deepen their clinical intuition and theoretical grounding.
Therapists
Develop a robust internal framework that guides your interventions during difficult clinical moments.
Teachers
Learn to synthesize complex client history into a coherent and actionable clinical narrative.
Students
Transcend the medical model to see the suffering person behind the diagnostic code.
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