What is Psychoanalytic Therapy?

It is a form of therapy, invites you to speak freely without censoring your thoughts and with as little filtering as possible. Doing this allows us both to reach the deeper parts of your mind. It brings forth those aspects which had been repressed, which lie out of are awareness, and which exude an effect on our emotions, behavior and thoughts on a day to day basis.

This type of therapy is specially beneficial for those kind of emotional problems which seem chronic, any sort of long standing dysfunctional patterns which are rooted in our very personality, who we grew up to be and thus are shaped significantly by several of our early life experiences and earliest attachments.

These patterns that develop early are repeated across our relationships, across our lives. Because they are so deeply rooted and ingrained, and were potentially formed very early before we even developed the words or thoughts to understand them, they are not readily visible to us. As a result it feels like something which is out of our control is impacting us. Eg why do we do things which we know are not good for us, but cant help doing it?

In this sort of indepth therapy, these patterns and earliest attachments are shed light on and worked with. When we say working with the past attachments, it is not a mindless exercise of digging up painful memories. For these earliest attachments or experiences do not simply impact our state of mind, they ARE our state of mind. They make for the fabric of which our mind is made of with all its complexities and nuances. They are not simply ‘memories’ that need to be recalled, or ‘causes’ that explain the effect of something.

Psychoanalytic therapy brings to consciousness all patterns which were tucked away out of are awareness. It helps us see how these patterns are repeating, recognize them, finds the words to describe them and see how they might have been useful when they first formed but how they also color and distort our present realities and limit us.

By understanding these patterns, we achieve greater sense of control and freedom over how we experience life from this point on, not live life in an autopilot mode, we learn how to respond and not react and become into our own unique person instead of living under the shadow of past traumatic experiences.

The changes that come about are slow, but substantial and longstanding and go beyond temporary relief or symptom reduction.

POINTERS

-Agenda free, the agenda is set collaboratively

-Everything the person says is important including your fantasies, day dreams and dreams and there is also room for silence.

-it gives importance to those aspects of your mind which lie out of awareness and are part of your subconscious

-relationships are important, for the person doesn't exist in isolation. In this regard, the therapist client relation becomes a template to further understand the client and what he/she experiences in other relationships.

-The therapist isn't some expert who would tell the client what to do, but would rather join in with the client in this confusion, that what is hindering him from finding these answers in oneself.

HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM OTHER THERAPIES:

The focus is on the person as a whole and not just on symptom eradication

-The agenda of the work is not unilaterally set by the therapist alone.

-it is long term spanning anywhere from 6 months to few years.