What is Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy?
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy is a treatment which involves providing a safe confidential space in which it is possible to talk openly and freely about yourself, your struggles, and your life experiences.
Much has advanced since Freud developed his theory of mind and now it is widely understood that our early life experiences and relationships influence our personalities and ways of being in a myriad of ways. These are often not conscious to us, and it can be surprising as we start to explore, just how much our past influences our present lives.
In the telling of your own story and with the help of the psychotherapeutic relationship, it is possible to understand the connections between the past and present; to make the unconscious conscious and to know ourselves more deeply.
This process of self-discovery not only reduces distress and alleviates symptoms but can lead to capacities which are both life and relationship enhancing.
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy involves 50-minute appointments, with a frequency of once to several times per week. Decisions about the form the therapy will take are thought about together in the initial stage of the work.
Issues Brought to a Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist
This list, though not exhaustive, offers a few examples of areas in which Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy can be helpful.
- Anxiety
- Depression and suicidal thoughts
- Difficulties in family relationships
- Relationship breakdowns
- Trauma
- Abuse
- Problematic patterns of relating
- Work or study related stresses
- Eating Disorders
- Psychosomatic symptoms
- Sexual Difficulties
- Self-destructive behaviours
- Lack of motivation
- Low self-esteem
- Feelings of emptiness or loneliness
- Difficulties in feeling, expressing or managing emotions
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy for Personal Development
The benefits of seeing a Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist can go beyond the alleviation of symptoms or easing of emotional distress. It can offer the opportunity to explore the unknown, unconscious parts of ourselves. By offering a confidential, safe space to ' free associate' or say whatever is on our mind, it is possible to discover these hidden parts of ourselves and the surprising, though not always helpful ways they influence our emotions, thinking, decisions and relationships with others.
This process of self- discovery can at times be challenging but it is also immensely freeing and creative. Enabling a depth of sensitivity about ourselves and others that helps us to engage in life and relationships in a more fulfilling way.
