
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
Psychoanalytic Therapy
"That which we need the most will be found where we least want to look." - Carl Jung
Psychoanalysis is a process of self discovery as it unfolds within an intense therapeutic relationship. Freud developed the method of free association in which the patient is to say whatever comes to mind without censoring or amending the flow of memories or ideas. The psychoanalytic approach views symptoms and problems in daily life as manifestations of the patient’s inner-life, reflecting enduring patterns that developed to cope with earlier relationships or traumatic experiences. These patterns persist and determine the way the patient feels about himself, the way he attempts to get his needs met, and the way he interacts with other people. Current life situations trigger this old behavior and result in feelings and actions based in both the past and the present.
Psychoanalytic therapy provides an effective treatment for a range of emotional disorders. Insight into past unconscious conflicts, as well as the experience of re-creating and then resolving those conflicts within the analytic relationship, are what makes the psychoanalytic approach effective and enduring. In this profound regard, it differs from most other therapies in focusing on the deep rooted change in one’s personality and emotional development. It is important to remember that “healing is profoundly more than a reversing of symptoms.”

