About Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychotherapy draws on theories and practices of analytical psychology and psychoanalysis. It is a therapeutic process which helps patients understand and resolve their problems by increasing awareness of their inner world and its influence over relationships both past and present. It differs from most other therapies in aiming for deep-seated change in personality and emotional development. The training in Psychodynamic or Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy is challenging but enormously engaging and rewarding. It involves seeing a patient two to three times a week, usually but not strictly on the couch. This frequency, together with the psychoanalytic setting, enables a depth of contact between therapist and patient that is significant and effective. 

What is the aim? 

Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy aim to help people with serious psychological disorders to understand and change complex, deep-seated and often unconsciously based emotional and relationship problems thereby reducing symptoms and alleviating distress. However, their role is not limited only to those with mental health problems. Many people who experience a loss of meaning in their lives or who are seeking a greater sense of fulfilment may be helped by psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychotherapy.

"An-Unconscious Mind" Courtesy of Mazarine Memon

What Psychodynamic Psychotherapy can help you with? 

Sometimes people seek help for specific reasons such as eating disorders, psycho-somatic conditions, obsessional behaviour, or phobic anxieties. At other times help is sought because of more general underlying feelings of depression or anxiety, difficulties in concentrating, dissatisfaction in work or inability to form satisfactory relationships. It may benefit adults, children, and adolescents. 

What is the evidence?

Psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychotherapy provides an effective treatment for a range of psychological disorders, both as a treatment in its own right and as an adjunct to other forms of treatment. It can contribute significantly to patient's mental and physical health, to their sense of well-being and to their ability to manage their lives more effectively. For further evidence in support of psychodynamic therapy please read here.