Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat It IsHow It WorksWhat It Can Help WithPsychoanalytic Therapy TechniquesBenefitsEfficacyCostWho Should Avoid It?Frequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What It Is
How It Works
What It Can Help With
Psychoanalytic Therapy Techniques
Benefits
Efficacy
Cost
Who Should Avoid It?
Frequently Asked Questions
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Today, psychoanalytic therapists help people uncover their unconscious feelings and memories, identify negative patterns of thinking and behavior, andovercome past traumas.They use techniques like transference analysis, dream analysis, interpretation, and free association to help patients identify these self-defeating patterns.
In this article, learn about psychoanalytic therapy, including history, techniques, and benefits.
What Is Psychotherapy?
Psychoanalytic Theory
Psychoanalytic therapy evolved out of the theory of psychoanalysis, which Freud developed in the 1890s.Some of the core beliefs within psychoanalysis include:
Many of Freud’s ideas aboutmental healthhave since been widely debated, disputed, and refuted. However, the core tenets of psychoanalysis remain highly influential in the fields of psychology and psychiatry.
Types of Psychotherapists: Differences and How to Choose
According to the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA), the goal of psychoanalytic therapy is to identify patterns of thinking and behavior that cause emotional distress.
Usually, this involves working with a therapist one on one multiple times per week to make unconscious drives and defenses conscious and to reconcile these.
Through in-depth conversations and other therapeutic techniques, psychodynamic psychotherapists help their patients to analyze, confront, and heal from the past in order to achieve greater well-being in the future.
Psychoanalysis and the Subconscious
Because psychoanalytic therapy is focused on uncovering your subconscious, the first goal in therapy is to make you feel comfortable enough to explore memories and thoughts that you usually don’t like to confront.
Psychoanalytic therapy can help with anything in your life that causes emotional distress or impairs your daily functioning. It can also be used to treat certain mental health conditions, such asdepressionand someanxiety disorders.
By gaining a greater understanding of your underlying motivations and fears, you may be able to address conflicts in your relationships and resolve problems at work or school. Confronting the thoughts and emotions you normally avoid under the guidance of a psychotherapist may help you to address your issues head-on.
Psychoanalytic therapy usually involves free-flowing, in-depth conversations in one-on-one sessions with atrained therapist. Typical techniques used in these sessions include the following.
Transference Analysis
The therapist-patient relationship is highly important in psychoanalytic therapy.
Transference refers to the idea that the patient’s feelings and behaviors toward their therapist can provide insight into theirchildhood experienceswith caregivers and authority figures. In turn, countertransference refers to the therapist’s unconscious feelings and thoughts about the patient.
Psychoanalytic therapists analyze these patterns to gain insight into their patient’s past experiences and unconscious mind.
Dream Analysis
Psychoanalytic theory holds that many thoughts, memories, drives, and emotions that remain outside of conscious awareness show up indreamsand fantasies.Psychoanalytic therapists often analyze recurring symbols and imagery from their patients’ dreams to discover key themes and patterns that may emerge.
Interpretation
Interpretation refers to the process through which a psychoanalytic therapist pieces various observations about their patient’s conscious and unconscious behavior into a cohesive narrative. This may include interpretations ofbody language, emotional expressions, and other forms of verbal and nonverbal communication.
Free Association
While other forms of psychotherapy often involve controlled, targeted discussions with clear goals in mind, psychoanalytic therapy is deliberately more free flowing.
Hypnotherapy and PsychotherapySome therapists usehypnosisas a complementary therapy along with psychotherapy. The theory is that hypnosis allows people to gain insight into their subconscious emotions and memories and makes them more open to suggestions that can help modify thoughts and behavior. However, the practice remains controversial, with some therapists arguing that it is ineffective and potentially harmful.
Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy
Some therapists usehypnosisas a complementary therapy along with psychotherapy. The theory is that hypnosis allows people to gain insight into their subconscious emotions and memories and makes them more open to suggestions that can help modify thoughts and behavior. However, the practice remains controversial, with some therapists arguing that it is ineffective and potentially harmful.
Psychoanalytic therapy is effective in helping people gain insight into the repetitive, self-destructive patterns that hold them back in relationships, work, school, and other aspects of everyday life.Research suggests that psychodynamic psychotherapy may be useful in treating the following medical conditions:
What Are Functional Somatic Disorders (FSDs)?Functional somatic disorders (FSDs) are chronic, complex disorders with persistent physical symptoms that may have no known explanation. Researchers believe they may involve interactions among physical, neurological, and psychological symptoms.
What Are Functional Somatic Disorders (FSDs)?
Functional somatic disorders (FSDs) are chronic, complex disorders with persistent physical symptoms that may have no known explanation. Researchers believe they may involve interactions among physical, neurological, and psychological symptoms.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy is unique in its intense focus on patients’ emotions, childhood experiences, interpersonal relationships, avoidance tactics, and fantasy lives.
You may prefer it to other forms of therapy if you want to build a strong relationship with a single therapist, if you have long-standing problems in relationships, or if you feel “stuck” in a self-limiting cycle of thoughts and memories.
Relationship Trauma: Signs, Causes, How to Heal
Psychoanalytic therapy has a somewhat controversial history as a clinical approach. Some researchers have expressed skepticism about the long-term efficacy of psychoanalytic therapy in treating mental health conditions.
However, recent evidence suggests that both short-term (fewer than 40 sessions) and long-term psychoanalytic therapy are effective in treating mental health symptoms and preventing them from returning.
Recent results about the potential efficacy of psychoanalytic techniques include:
Effective long-term psychoanalytic therapy may take multiple weekly sessions across several years to complete, so many patients are concerned about cost.
The cost of psychoanalytic therapy varies widely based on your location, provider, andinsurance plan. It may range from as little as $10 per session from an analyst-in-training to over $250 per session with a highly qualified senior analyst. Some clinicians offer sliding-scale fees based on your annual income.
APsaA offers a list of low-fee clinics and other resources to help you find affordable psychoanalytic therapy in your area.
While there is no agreed-upon group of people who should avoid psychoanalytic therapy, it may not be effective for everyone. There is limited evidence to suggest that psychoanalysis is effective in treating the following mental health conditions:
Also, most psychodynamic psychotherapists are not able to prescribe medicines. Talk to your healthcare provider about getting a referral to apsychiatristif you think you may need medication.
Summary
The goal of psychoanalytic therapy is to help the patient identify self-limiting patterns, heal from past experiences, and gain insight into how their unconscious mind influences their behavior. Psychoanalytic therapists use free-flowing conversation, usually in at least one session per week, to accomplish this goal.
Other psychoanalytic techniques include dream analysis, free association, interpretation, and transference analysis.
A Word From Verywell
—KIRA GRAVES, PHD, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD
Psychoanalysis differs from other forms of psychotherapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), in its heavy focus on uncovering repressed memories, thoughts, and emotions from the past that may influence current behavior.Behavioral therapy techniques aim to change maladaptive behaviors. It does this with various techniques to support desired behaviors and extinguish problematic ones.Psychoanalytic therapy also places more emphasis on the therapist-patient relationship, including the unconscious feelings and motives that both parties bring to the table.Other unique characteristics include the focus on exploring fantasies and dreams, frequent discussion of formative memories from childhood, and the goal of identifying recurring self-destructive patterns in thinking, emotions, and behavior.
Psychoanalysis differs from other forms of psychotherapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), in its heavy focus on uncovering repressed memories, thoughts, and emotions from the past that may influence current behavior.
Behavioral therapy techniques aim to change maladaptive behaviors. It does this with various techniques to support desired behaviors and extinguish problematic ones.
Psychoanalytic therapy also places more emphasis on the therapist-patient relationship, including the unconscious feelings and motives that both parties bring to the table.
Other unique characteristics include the focus on exploring fantasies and dreams, frequent discussion of formative memories from childhood, and the goal of identifying recurring self-destructive patterns in thinking, emotions, and behavior.
The role of the therapist in psychoanalytic therapy is to help the patient achieve greater emotional freedom, bring unconscious thoughts into conscious awareness, and identify self-defeating patterns of thinking and behavior.They do this through techniques such as dream analysis, free-flowing conversations, transference analysis, interpretation, and free association. With these techniques, psychoanalytic therapists attempt to help their patients gain insight into how their past experiences inform their present behavior.
The role of the therapist in psychoanalytic therapy is to help the patient achieve greater emotional freedom, bring unconscious thoughts into conscious awareness, and identify self-defeating patterns of thinking and behavior.
They do this through techniques such as dream analysis, free-flowing conversations, transference analysis, interpretation, and free association. With these techniques, psychoanalytic therapists attempt to help their patients gain insight into how their past experiences inform their present behavior.
Short-term psychoanalysis for a specific purpose may take just 20–30 sessions. Long-term psychoanalytic therapy may take up to seven years. In some cases, full-fledged psychoanalytic therapy requires multiple weekly sessions.
Some of the most important ideas in his initial theory involved the dynamic unconscious (the thoughts, feelings, and memories that remain outside of our conscious awareness) and the belief that unconscious drives motivate our everyday behavior.
18 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychoanalytic Association.About psychoanalysis.Brittanica.Psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud.American Psychoanalytic Association.When to see a psychoanalyst.New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute.Key concepts in psychoanalysis.American Psychiatric Association.What is psychotherapy?.Psychotherapy and Counselling Journal of Australia.A brief history of psychoanalysis: From Freud to fantasy to folly.New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute.The dynamic unconscious.American Psychoanalytic Association.Psychoanalytic terms & concepts defined.Kernberg OF.The four basic components of psychoanalytic technique and derived psychoanalytic psychotherapies.World Psychiatry. 2016;15(3):287-288. doi:10.1002/wps.20368Fonagy P.The effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapies: An update.World Psychiatry. 2015;14(2):137-150. doi:10.1002/wps.20235Abbass A, Lumley MA, Town J, et al.Short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy for functional somatic disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis of within-treatment effects.J Psychosom Res. 2021;145:110473. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2021.110473Burton C, Fink P, Henningsen P, Löwe B, Rief W; EURONET-SOMA Group.Functional somatic disorders: discussion paper for a new common classification for research and clinical use.BMC Med. 2020;18(1):34. doi:10.1186/s12916-020-1505-4Chicago Association for Psychoanalytic Psychology.About psychodynamic therapy.Paris J.Is psychoanalysis still relevant to psychiatry?.Can J Psychiatry. 2017;62(5):308-312. doi:10.1177/0706743717692306Ribeiro Â, Ribeiro JP, von Doellinger O.Depression and psychodynamic psychotherapy.Braz J Psychiatry. 2018;40(1):105-109. doi:10.1590/1516-4446-2016-2107Lindfors O, Knekt P, Lehtonen J, Virtala E, Maljanen T, Härkänen T.Effectiveness of psychoanalysis and long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy on personality and social functioning 10 years after start of treatment.Psychiatry Res. 2019;272:774-783. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2018.12.082MentalHelp.net.Psychoanalysis.Freud Museum London.The Interpretation of Dreams.
18 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychoanalytic Association.About psychoanalysis.Brittanica.Psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud.American Psychoanalytic Association.When to see a psychoanalyst.New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute.Key concepts in psychoanalysis.American Psychiatric Association.What is psychotherapy?.Psychotherapy and Counselling Journal of Australia.A brief history of psychoanalysis: From Freud to fantasy to folly.New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute.The dynamic unconscious.American Psychoanalytic Association.Psychoanalytic terms & concepts defined.Kernberg OF.The four basic components of psychoanalytic technique and derived psychoanalytic psychotherapies.World Psychiatry. 2016;15(3):287-288. doi:10.1002/wps.20368Fonagy P.The effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapies: An update.World Psychiatry. 2015;14(2):137-150. doi:10.1002/wps.20235Abbass A, Lumley MA, Town J, et al.Short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy for functional somatic disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis of within-treatment effects.J Psychosom Res. 2021;145:110473. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2021.110473Burton C, Fink P, Henningsen P, Löwe B, Rief W; EURONET-SOMA Group.Functional somatic disorders: discussion paper for a new common classification for research and clinical use.BMC Med. 2020;18(1):34. doi:10.1186/s12916-020-1505-4Chicago Association for Psychoanalytic Psychology.About psychodynamic therapy.Paris J.Is psychoanalysis still relevant to psychiatry?.Can J Psychiatry. 2017;62(5):308-312. doi:10.1177/0706743717692306Ribeiro Â, Ribeiro JP, von Doellinger O.Depression and psychodynamic psychotherapy.Braz J Psychiatry. 2018;40(1):105-109. doi:10.1590/1516-4446-2016-2107Lindfors O, Knekt P, Lehtonen J, Virtala E, Maljanen T, Härkänen T.Effectiveness of psychoanalysis and long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy on personality and social functioning 10 years after start of treatment.Psychiatry Res. 2019;272:774-783. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2018.12.082MentalHelp.net.Psychoanalysis.Freud Museum London.The Interpretation of Dreams.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Psychoanalytic Association.About psychoanalysis.Brittanica.Psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud.American Psychoanalytic Association.When to see a psychoanalyst.New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute.Key concepts in psychoanalysis.American Psychiatric Association.What is psychotherapy?.Psychotherapy and Counselling Journal of Australia.A brief history of psychoanalysis: From Freud to fantasy to folly.New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute.The dynamic unconscious.American Psychoanalytic Association.Psychoanalytic terms & concepts defined.Kernberg OF.The four basic components of psychoanalytic technique and derived psychoanalytic psychotherapies.World Psychiatry. 2016;15(3):287-288. doi:10.1002/wps.20368Fonagy P.The effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapies: An update.World Psychiatry. 2015;14(2):137-150. doi:10.1002/wps.20235Abbass A, Lumley MA, Town J, et al.Short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy for functional somatic disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis of within-treatment effects.J Psychosom Res. 2021;145:110473. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2021.110473Burton C, Fink P, Henningsen P, Löwe B, Rief W; EURONET-SOMA Group.Functional somatic disorders: discussion paper for a new common classification for research and clinical use.BMC Med. 2020;18(1):34. doi:10.1186/s12916-020-1505-4Chicago Association for Psychoanalytic Psychology.About psychodynamic therapy.Paris J.Is psychoanalysis still relevant to psychiatry?.Can J Psychiatry. 2017;62(5):308-312. doi:10.1177/0706743717692306Ribeiro Â, Ribeiro JP, von Doellinger O.Depression and psychodynamic psychotherapy.Braz J Psychiatry. 2018;40(1):105-109. doi:10.1590/1516-4446-2016-2107Lindfors O, Knekt P, Lehtonen J, Virtala E, Maljanen T, Härkänen T.Effectiveness of psychoanalysis and long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy on personality and social functioning 10 years after start of treatment.Psychiatry Res. 2019;272:774-783. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2018.12.082MentalHelp.net.Psychoanalysis.Freud Museum London.The Interpretation of Dreams.
American Psychoanalytic Association.About psychoanalysis.
Brittanica.Psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud.
American Psychoanalytic Association.When to see a psychoanalyst.
New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute.Key concepts in psychoanalysis.
American Psychiatric Association.What is psychotherapy?.
Psychotherapy and Counselling Journal of Australia.A brief history of psychoanalysis: From Freud to fantasy to folly.
New York Psychoanalytic Society & Institute.The dynamic unconscious.
American Psychoanalytic Association.Psychoanalytic terms & concepts defined.
Kernberg OF.The four basic components of psychoanalytic technique and derived psychoanalytic psychotherapies.World Psychiatry. 2016;15(3):287-288. doi:10.1002/wps.20368
Fonagy P.The effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapies: An update.World Psychiatry. 2015;14(2):137-150. doi:10.1002/wps.20235
Abbass A, Lumley MA, Town J, et al.Short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy for functional somatic disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis of within-treatment effects.J Psychosom Res. 2021;145:110473. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2021.110473
Burton C, Fink P, Henningsen P, Löwe B, Rief W; EURONET-SOMA Group.Functional somatic disorders: discussion paper for a new common classification for research and clinical use.BMC Med. 2020;18(1):34. doi:10.1186/s12916-020-1505-4
Chicago Association for Psychoanalytic Psychology.About psychodynamic therapy.
Paris J.Is psychoanalysis still relevant to psychiatry?.Can J Psychiatry. 2017;62(5):308-312. doi:10.1177/0706743717692306
Ribeiro Â, Ribeiro JP, von Doellinger O.Depression and psychodynamic psychotherapy.Braz J Psychiatry. 2018;40(1):105-109. doi:10.1590/1516-4446-2016-2107
Lindfors O, Knekt P, Lehtonen J, Virtala E, Maljanen T, Härkänen T.Effectiveness of psychoanalysis and long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy on personality and social functioning 10 years after start of treatment.Psychiatry Res. 2019;272:774-783. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2018.12.082
MentalHelp.net.Psychoanalysis.
Freud Museum London.The Interpretation of Dreams.
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