What is Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy?
Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is a talking treatment based on the theories and practice of psychoanalysis. Its primary aim is to help clients resolve their entrenched difficulties by increasing their awareness of hidden conflicts that lie at the source of their problems. The therapist does not provide any answers but instead helps the patient explore the unconscious forces at work in their lives; especially those responsible for repeating damaging patterns in their relationships, as well as those preventing them from leading a more fulfilled life. As self awareness grows people experience not only relief from their symptoms but a renewed inner strength that can become the foundation for permanent change. While this can be a long process the benefits can put the patient on a sound footing for the rest of their life. This can be an intensely personal and emotional experience but many report that their outlook has been changed in quite profound and healing ways.
How long does Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy take?
There is no simple answer to this question, but it is unlikely to take less than two years and might well take longer. It depends a lot on the nature of the problem and how open the person is to change. It also depends on the frequency the person attends therapy, in particular their ability to attend more than one session a week.
What makes Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy different from other forms of therapy?
Many people who have long standing problems need to address issues at a deeper level in order to make genuine and lasting changes in their personality and emotional development. Psychoanalytic psychotherapists are trained to tune in and think about the patient's unconscious conflicts as depth, for example, in their dreams and in their relationship with the therapist.
