Aggregate value SELECT syntax: // SELECT u.*, COUNT(p.id) num_posts FROM User u, u.Posts p WHERE u.id = 1 GROUP BY u.id $query = new Doctrine_Query(); $query->select('u.*, COUNT(p.id) num_posts') ->from('User u, u.Posts p') ->where('u.id = ?', 1) ->groupby('u.id'); $users = $query->execute(); echo $users->Posts[0]->num_posts . ' posts found';