Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
June 6th 2007 17:20
Psychodynamic psychotherapy is used to help clients understand themselves more fully. The theory behind this approach is that our past – adverse childhood experiences or other unconscious conflicts – is the basis for problems that persist into adulthood, such as unusually low self-esteem, anxiety, or a feeling of being incomplete. Psychodynamic therapy presumes that some facets of our lives are hidden from us, in the subconscious mind, and that we use defenses to help keep us from experiencing the pain that would come from acknowledging elements from our past. Psychodynamic therapy can help to recognize and look behind these protective defense mechanisms, to bring the unconscious into conscious awareness, and to uncover and deal more effectively with neurotic conflicts.
The classic form of psychoanalysis, which has evolved into several modern branches, including self-psychology, object relations psychotherapy, intersubjectivity, and psychodynamic psychotherapy. In general, they all involve such typical constructs as:
1. An orientation toward the past – childhood experiences, sexual feelings, fears, jealousies, relationships with parents, etc. – as the source of problems in the present
2. Traditionally, a couch for the patient to lie on, with the therapist outside of the line of sight (however, most modern therapists now use chairs and sit face to face)
3. The therapist (or analyst) as a blank screen – no personal photos or objects – to allow the patient to project any thoughts or conceptions onto the therapist (this is known as "transference")
3. "Free association" – letting the mind wander aloud and seeing what connections arise. Little interaction between the analyst and patient, until the analyst offers interpretations of what the patient is experiencing, and the reasons behind certain ideas or actions (although again, modern therapists often engage in greater interaction)
4. Creating a safe space (or "holding environment") that allows the client to explore depth issues with as little fear as possible. Long-term treatment, sometimes several times per week (although modern accommodations are often more brief) Treatment length can range from 1 to 12 sessions (“brief” psychotherapy), to about 20 sessions to several years. There’s no real consensus here, so it’s a good idea to discuss treatment length with your psychologist.
5. Treatment generally pays quite a bit of attention to unconscious motivation and can rely heavily on dream interpretation.
For more information regarding psychodynamic psychotherapy Link
Picture by Wernar Horvath
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Comment by charliesgirl_992000
Histeries, Mysteries and what not
Lifes little slices
Mystical Creativity
Tammy
Comment by Miswanderlust
Killer Beats
Ramble On
Hipnotherapy
I try to make these more "reader friendly".
Mis