What is psychoanalytic therapy?

Psychoanalytical and psychodynamic therapies are based on an individual’s unconscious thoughts and perceptions that have developed throughout their childhood and how these affect their current behaviour and thoughts. Both approaches are considered in-depth therapies that look to explore past experiences and repressed emotions as a way of understanding who you are today. The aim is for deep-seated change in personality and emotional development.[1]

The approach?

The psychoanalytic/ psychodynamic approach places emphasis on the person’s internal world and unconscious conflicts, and their relation to development and use of free association as a major method for exploration of internal conflicts and problems.

The psychoanalytic approach

The treatment takes place several times a week, with you on a couch.

The Psychodynamic approach

The treatment is usually once a week.

The session

The therapist is neutral and less socially responsive and not immediately reassuring. However, they desire to build up trust, give you the space to talk about whatever comes into your mind and pay close attention to what you say.

Length of Therapy

Psychoanalysis takes place more than once a week over a long period and conducted by a therapist who is a certified psychoanalyst.

Psychodynamic therapy can take place once a week can be delivered short-term and can be conducted by a certified psychoanalyst or a therapist trained in psychoanalysis and psychodynamic theory.

This type of therapy is a huge investment in time, emotional energy and finances. It will involve your commitment for treatment to be successful.

Who benefits from psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapies?

Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapies will benefit if you seek a more in-depth approach to therapy aimed at resolving issues and traumas from your past. This therapy provides an effective treatment for a range of psychological disorders, including psychosomatic conditions, obsessional behaviour and phobic anxieties.

The focus is not on a cluster of symptoms but on addressing root issues in the personality to improve a persons mental and physical health, their sense of well-being and increase their ability to manage their lives more effectively.

Finding a psychoanalytic or psychodynamic therapist near me

Whatever you’re struggling with, we have a range of accredited psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapists that can help. Speak to one of our team to get help to find a therapist today.

Psychodynamic therapy

Psychodynamic therapy is derived from psychoanalysis but focuses on immediate problems to try to provide a quicker solution. It stresses the importance of the unconscious and past experiences in shaping current behaviour.[2]

Jungian therapy

Jungian therapy aims to bring the conscious and unconscious into balance to help individuals become more balanced and whole. It looks at both the personal unconscious and the collective human unconscious. It encourages you to take responsibility for your personal quest for wholeness.

Psychoanalytic therapy

Psychoanalytic therapy focuses on an in-depth relationship that aims to bring unconscious or deeply buried thoughts and feelings to the conscious mind so that repressed experiences and emotions, often from childhood, can be brought to the surface and examined.[3]

[1] ACCPH. (2015). Psychoanalytical and Psychodynamic Therapies. [Online]. Available from: https://www.accph.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Psychoanalytical-and-psychodynamic-therapies.pdf

[2] BACP. (2018). Types of therapy an A-Z of therapeutic approaches. [Online]. Available from: https://www.bacp.co.uk/about-therapy/types-of-therapy/

[3] Psychology today. (2018). Psychoanalytic Therapy. [Online]. Available from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/therapy-types/psychoanalytic-therapy