Psychodynamic therapy
Psychodynamic therapy helps a person understand how their current feelings and behaviour are shaped by past experiences and unconscious mind and impulses. This approach to therapy is based on the idea that unconscious conflicts and past experiences can have a significant impact on a person's present-day thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
Psychodynamic therapy is also known as the psychodynamic approach, psychodynamic counselling or psychodynamic psychotherapy. It is a therapeutic approach that combines parts of many different types of analytic therapies. It is derived from psychoanalysis and the theories of Freud.
Psychodynamic therapy helps people to understand how unconscious thoughts and perceptions are developed throughout a person's childhood. These unconscious thoughts and perceptions affect their current behaviours and thoughts.
The aim of psychodynamic therapy is to bring the unconscious mind into consciousness.
Who does Psychodynamic therapy help?
Psychodynamic therapy can be effective in treating a wide range of mental health issues, including:
Depression: Psychodynamic therapy can help individuals understand and work through the unconscious conflicts and past experiences that may be contributing to their depression.
Anxiety: This approach to therapy can help individuals understand and address the underlying causes of their anxiety, such as unresolved conflicts or past traumas.
Relationship problems: Psychodynamic therapy can help individuals understand and resolve conflicts in their relationships by exploring the unconscious processes that may be contributing to the problems.
Trauma: This form of therapy can help individuals understand and work through the impact of past traumas on their current thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
Personality disorders: Psychodynamic therapy can be helpful for individuals with personality disorders by helping them understand the unconscious processes that may be contributing to their symptoms.
Eating disorders: A psychodynamic therapist may help the person explore their feelings about food and their body, as well as any underlying conflicts or issues that may be driving their disordered eating behaviors. For example, the therapist may help the person understand how their relationship with food and their body is connected to their relationships with others or their sense of self-worth.
Addictions: A psychodynamic therapist may help the person understand the underlying emotional or psychological issues that may be contributing to their substance abuse or other addictive behaviors. For example, the therapist may explore the person's past experiences and any unresolved conflicts that may be contributing to their addiction.
How does Psychodynamic therapy work?
A skilled Psychodynamic therapists knows the importance of the therapeutic relationship, this trusting relationship is central to psychodynamic therapy. In psychodynamic therapy, the therapist helps the client explore their inner thoughts and feelings, particularly those that may be unconscious or difficult to express.
The therapist may use techniques such as free association, where the client is encouraged to say whatever comes to mind without censoring their thoughts, or interpretation, where the therapist helps the client understand the underlying meaning of their thoughts and behaviours.
In psychodynamic therapy a person will explore life factors including emotions, thoughts, early-life experiences and beliefs.
The therapist will help to identify recurring patterns in a person’s life, explore how they play a part in the problems they face and insight may allow them to begin changing those patterns.
We make finding the right therapist easy.
At My Therapist Online, we listen to the problems you are facing and match you with the right therapist for your individual needs. You can meet with them for a free initial consultation to be sure it is a good match before starting your therapy.