Psychoanalysis Psychoanalysis is an intensive form of talking therapy with more frequent meetings and lasting over a longer period of time than usual psychotherapy. Ironically, psychoanalysis is the ideal treatment for psychologically sturdy individuals who, nevertheless, suffer from less than desired fulfillment and meaning in life. People who seek psychoanalytic treatment are often successful and resilient in most areas of life but struggle with inhibitions or self-induced limitations in certain other areas. Psychoanalytic treatment demonstrates how factors out of one’s awareness affect current relationships and patterns of behavior, traces them back to their historical origins, shows how they have changed and developed over time, and helps the individual to deal better with the realities of life. As the patient speaks, hints of the unconscious sources of current difficulties gradually begin to appear - in certain repetitive patterns of behavior, in the subjects which the patient finds hard to talk about, in the ways the patient relates to the analyst. Analysis is an intimate partnership, in the course of which the person becomes aware of the underlying sources of his or her difficulties, not simply intellectually, but emotionally - by re-experiencing them with the analyst. The analyst helps identify and explore these with the person, who refines, corrects, rejects, and adds further thoughts and feelings. During the years that an analysis takes place, the patient wrestles with these insights, going over them again and again with the analyst and experiencing them in daily life, in fantasies, and in dreams. Patient and analyst join in efforts not only to modify crippling life patterns and remove incapacitating symptoms, but also to expand the freedom to work and to love. Eventually, the patient's life - his or her behavior, relationships, sense of self - changes in deep and abiding ways. Psychoanalysts strive very hard to LISTEN to their patients-- and to understand. This focus on listening and understanding is one of the dynamics that separates psychoanalysts from those mental health practitioners who see their prime goal as PRESCRIBING either behavior or medications. Text is used with permission of the American Psychoanalytic Association . |
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© 2019, Camilla Rogers, Ph.D. All material provided on this website is for informational purposes only. Direct consultation of a qualified provider should be sought for any specific questions or problems. Use of this website in no way constitutes professional service or advice. |
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