Psychoanalytic Treatment
The purpose of psychoanalytic treatment is to help people change and progress in their lives at not only a conscious but also an unconscious level. The development of self-awareness or insight is part of the process of achieving progress in a positive direction.
Psychoanalytic treatment gives patients the opportunity to examine themselves intensively in order to attain greater freedom in the life choices they make. Psychoanalysis is a treatment approach based on the observation that individuals are often unaware of many of the factors that determine their emotions and behaviour. These unconscious factors may be the source of considerable distress and unhappiness, sometimes in the form of recognisable symptoms and at other times as troubling personality traits, difficulties in work and/or in love relationships, or disturbances in mood and self-esteem. Because these forces are unconscious, the advice of friends and family, the reading of self-help books, or even the most determined efforts of will, often fail to provide relief.
Psychoanalysis, as a treatment method, is based on concepts concerning unconscious mental processes originally developed by Sigmund Freud and further developed by a considerable number of experienced psychoanalysts such as Melanie Klein, Donald Winnicott, Jacques Lacan, and many others who have followed.
Psychoanalytic treatment can reveal how these unconscious factors affect current relationships and patterns of behaviour, trace them back to their historical origins, show how they have changed and developed over time, and help the individual to deal better with the realities of adult life.
In the course of intensive psychoanalytic treatment, the nature of the relationship which inevitably develops will have significant features deriving from the “internal world” of the patient and become available for experience and exploration by the patient and psychoanalyst together. It will become possible to understand many of these aspects more deeply and to work upon making meaningful desirable changes.
There are many reasons that individuals seek psychoanalysis; to gain insight, to acquire greater self-awareness, and to gain relief from some of their inner problems. These inner problems may become evident as symptoms such as feelings of anxiety, depression, panic attacks, obsessions and compulsions. They may also be evident as personality traits that keep interfering with the individual's ability to move forward with their private or professional lives. Perhaps the individual is having trouble in work situations; repetitive patterns of disappointment in personal relationships, not getting along with bosses or co-workers, seeming lethargic and not connected with friends or colleagues, physical complaints that might be manifestations of underlying emotional conflict, or coping with personal losses and transitions.These are all examples of the sorts of problems for which people seek psychoanalysis.
Psychoanalysis is often indicated when other less intensive therapies have failed to achieve the desired results. It offers something different and more comprehensive, and is a good place to turn when symptoms are persistent or when behavioural or relationship patterns continue after one or two attempts at less intensive, shorter term psychotherapy.
Sometimes, however, individuals enter psychoanalytic treatment simply because they are curious about themselves or because they are themselves mental health practitioners who need a deeper understanding about how they and other human beings function.
The central common ground shared by all psychoanalysts is the concept of the unconscious determinants of behaviour and the influence of the past on the present. The intensity and duration of psychoanalytically-based treatment varies, but many clinicians and patients find that more frequent visits to a psychoanalyst can best arrive at and address core problems. Frequent visits are important to keep the process going and deepening. Usually appointments are scheduled four times per week.
The psychoanalytic couch is a famous cultural icon, and it is still found useful. Patients recline on the couch and the analyst sits slightly behind them. Most patients find this arrangement very comfortable, after a little acclimatation. This unusual set -up is conducive to allowing "free association", an essential psychoanalytic technique in which the patient is encouraged to let her mind wander freely and speak whatever thoughts come into her mind. The removal of the social cues of a face to face conversation has a remarkable effect of freeing up the patient's mind, ultimately leading to deeper insights.