Psychodynamic Therapy

Psychodynamic therapy is an evidence-based psychotherapy that traces its origins back to Sigmund Freud - the father of psychoanalysis. In this therapy, you explore how your unconscious thoughts, feelings, and memories affect your present behaviors. You are able to gain a deeper understanding of your lived experiences thus far and enhance your present functioning.

Psychodynamic therapy encourages you to explore and resolve unconscious feelings and become aware of self-defeating patterns. While this therapy builds on Freud’s psychoanalytic therapy, it is still a bit different. In traditional psychoanalysis, your therapist is an authoritative figure or an expert, whereas with psychodynamic therapy, your therapist is a facilitator of therapy.

This kind of therapy is brief. You will meet with your therapist to:

Identify Patterns:

You will recognize the self-defeating patterns in your behavior and relationships. Once you become aware, you will learn to better cope with them.

Understand Emotions:

You will work with your therapist to explore and understand your emotions. You gain a new insight, which you can then use to identify and change maladaptive patterns.

Improve Relationships:

You will learn how you respond to others and how this can be changed to develop understanding and enduring relationships in life.

You can meet your therapist to explore the underlying reasons of your anxiety, depression, or other mental health challenges that are keeping you stuck to move toward healing. Psychodynamic therapy is not just an individual therapy; even families can benefit from it in understanding and resolving conflicts.

Here are three common psychodynamic therapy techniques:

Free Association:

Free association allows you to express your thoughts and emotions without any restraint. This therapy uses free association to encourage you to explore your thoughts and emotions to identify patterns and how they can reflect on your behavior.

Dream Analysis:

“Dreams are the royal road to the unconscious,” Freud had said. Your therapist will enable you to understand your dreams, their hidden meanings, and your fears. While subjective, you can use this toward personal growth.

Projective Tests:

Your psychodynamic therapist can use different projective techniques like inkblot tests or word association tests to explore your unconscious thoughts and feelings.

Psychodynamic therapy can be used in the treatment of a broad spectrum of behavioral and mental health conditions:

• Anxiety disorders
• Major depressive disorder (depression)
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Personality disorders
• Eating disorders
• Substance use disorders
• Chronic pain.

Yes, psychodynamic therapy is highly effective in treating a wide spectrum of behavioral and mental health conditions. Ever since Freud proposed his theory of psychoanalysis, there have been a myriad of criticisms and naysayers. But scientific evidence says otherwise.

A notable review in the American Psychological Association (APA) journal suggests that this therapy is highly efficient in that it is evidence based, and empirically supported.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a widely used therapy in the field of behavioral and mental health. Yet, a review notes that psychodynamic therapy is just as effective as CBT, while another review says that psychodynamic therapy can be as effective as other established treatments.

Psychodynamic therapy is generally a brief therapy. However, it is of two kinds. Its long-term version can last for a year and will comprise 50 or more sessions. The brief version is shorter and lasts for around 25 - 30 sessions. You will be focusing on the immediate areas of concern. Depending on your needs, you can choose either.

If you do choose this therapy, you will have to meet with your therapist weekly or a few times each week. Each session will last for 45 minutes or even longer, depending on your needs.

During therapy, you will be asked to speak about anything and everything on your mind - every topic under the sky is welcome and encouraged. This can be related to your present or your past. Open dialogue will be useful in uncovering those unconscious motives that are leading to emotional and behavioral disturbances. Furthermore, you will develop self-awareness and better coping mechanisms.

If you are experiencing behavioral or mental health struggles, you are not alone. At the NuView Treatment Center, we seek to understand your backgrounds, challenges, needs, and goals, and connect you with licensed and trained psychodynamic therapists who are best aligned with your journey.

Psychodynamic therapy can be a very immersive, intense experience. You need a safe and comfortable environment where you can explore your deep-rooted thoughts and feelings, and we are with you every step of the way in this journey.