Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

People come to therapy in psychological pain, usually expressed as depression or anxiety. These are the psychological equivalence of a fever, or the surface manifestation of something that is wrong. Psychodynamic psychotherapy is a type of talk therapy that is not aimed at teaching you (the patient) something, but at finding out something, or discovering something about you, with you. This is accomplished by discovering and understanding how different psychological processes, early attachments, and past experiences shape your current beliefs, behaviors, and relationships. The goal of any therapy is to become whole and live life more fully and freely. The ultimate goal of psychodynamic psychotherapy is to increase self-awareness and to develop healthier coping mechanisms so that you can make different, conscious choices in your life.

In psychodynamic psychotherapy, client and therapist collaboratively focus on several goals and processes including: Putting words to emotional life (tracking affect), discovering where/why you steer around or avoid certain thoughts or feelings (defense/resistance), identifying recurring themes and repeating patterns, and examining the trajectory that brought you to this moment and problem (development). Our psychological being is forged in the context of our earliest relationships, and it plays out in the context of relationships, including the therapy relationship itself (transference). The relationship between client and therapist is central to healing and is explored with the same level of depth as events that occur outside of therapy. By examining the developing therapy relationship, insights can be gained into recurring patterns that might be leading to struggles in communication, trust, and intimacy. The goal of psychodynamic psychotherapy is not to dwell on the past, it is to free you of the bonds and control of past experiences.

To learn more, here is an excellent video that discusses these concepts as seven principles of psychodynamic psychotherapy.