What is Psychodynamic Therapy? A Guide to Psychodynamic Therapy in Connecticut
What is Psychodynamic Therapy?
Psychodynamic therapy is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on the past. Psychodynamic therapy looks to increase awareness of unconscious thoughts and increase understanding into how those unconscious thoughts impact you today. The therapy also looks to understand unresolved conflicts, events, and feelings to uncover the root of your emotional suffering. The relationship between client and therapist is central to the work of psychodynamic therapy. A psychodynamic therapist will look to certain aspects of this relationship to better understand your relationships outside of the therapy office.
Psychodynamic therapy is based on psychoanalysis and the work of Sigmund Freud. However, psychodynamic therapy was largely crafted by those who came after Freud. Some concepts, like the importance of the past and the unconscious mind, remain in psychodynamic therapy, while others have shifted. Psychodynamic therapy does not necessarily require clients to come to sessions multiple times a week, and psychodynamic therapists do not position themselves as the expert in the room. Psychodynamic therapy has continued to evolve, and now includes approaches for brief therapeutic treatment (8-12 sessions) and relational psychodynamic therapy, which centralizes the client-therapist relationship in therapy. Many therapists incorporate other therapies, like expressive arts therapies and mindfulness, with more traditional psychodynamic approaches.
Psychodynamic therapy in Connecticut
What Happens in Psychodynamic Therapy?
Psychodynamic therapy is a talk-based therapy. Clients and therapists have open-ended conversations guided by whatever is actively coming up for the client. You may explore a number of topics in your therapy sessions:
Past experiences, including traumatic experiences: A psychodynamic therapist is likely to help you look at previous experiences in your life, and better understand how those experiences impact your current thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This includes looking at previous traumatic experiences you may have experienced.
Childhood experiences and family dynamics: Since psychodynamic therapists believe that the past influences the present, you are likely to be asked about your experiences in childhood. This includes taking a deep look at your family history, relationships with parents and siblings, and understanding the role you have played in your family system.
Emotions you may be avoiding: Human beings often avoid painful emotions in an effort to feel better. These hidden and ignored emotions can cause internal distress that may present as anxiety or depression. In psychodynamic therapy, therapists look to help clients uncover these hidden and avoided emotions to help resolve anxious and depressive symptoms.
Psychodynamic therapists use a variety of techniques to support you in self-discovery and healing:
Free association: Clients are encouraged to share freely and openly, setting aside the potential for shame and embarrassment, in psychodynamic therapy. This openness helps the therapist to identify patterns in clients’ lives, leading to deep self-understanding and a potential to shift emotions and behaviors based on these new understandings.
Exploration of defense mechanisms: Psychodynamic therapists believe that we all have strategies that we use to keep ourselves safe and reduce anxiety. This concept, developed by Freud, is central to psychodynamic therapy. Psychodynamic therapists keep a close eye on how you work to protect yourself, and help you find different ways of resolving anxiety and other emotional issues.
Transference and Countertransference: Transference refers to the feelings clients develop about their therapist that likely represent feelings about other people in their life. Countertransference refers to a therapist’s feelings about their clients. In psychodynamic therapy, therapists track transference and countertransference to learn more about a client’s approach to relationships outside of therapy and unresolved issues from the past.
Who Benefits from Psychodynamic Therapy?
Many clients with many presenting problems benefit from psychodynamic therapy. Often, clients with a variety of concerns find it beneficial to engage in a process of self-discovery, developing relational skills, and processing past experiences. Additionally, psychodynamic therapy is often a long-term therapy, with clients and therapists meeting at least once a week for many years. This long-term relationship is often beneficial for clients, providing them with consistent and stable support for a prolonged period of time.
Clients who are particularly interested in learning more about why they do what they do, and resolving past issues, are more likely to enjoy the process of psychodynamic therapy. Those looking to better understand their relationships with others and shift patterns of emotional avoidance may also find benefit in a psychodynamic approach. Clients looking for a short course of therapy, or who are looking to be taught specific skills for managing their symptoms, may not find as much benefit from working with a psychodynamic therapist.
Is Psychodynamic Therapy Effective?
Psychodynamic therapy is known to be effective for many clients struggling with many different presenting problems. Generally, the research shows that most therapeutic approaches are similarly effective in treating mental health concerns. The research tends to show that psychodynamic therapy is effective for more complex and long-lasting mental health issues, like personality disorders, PTSD, and CPTSD.
Like most therapeutic approaches, clients are likely to find the most benefit when they align with the approach and techniques, and they develop a strong relationship with their therapist. Clients looking for deeper understanding of themselves, explorations of their past, and are interested in learning more about their relational patterns are likely to find psychodynamic therapy effective, no matter their presenting concern.
Psychodynamic Therapy in Connecticut
Shelby Davis, LPC, RDT offers in person and virtual psychodynamic therapy for clients in Connecticut. Shelby uses psychodynamic therapy to treat a variety of concerns, including anxiety disorders, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD). She uses other approaches in combination with psychodynamic therapy, including acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), drama therapy, and somatic approaches. This makes Shelby’s approach flexible and adaptable, and especially helpful for clients navigating multiple mental health issues, like post-traumatic stress disorder along with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Shelby enjoys supporting clients in working to understand why they do what they do, and how they learned to function in the ways that they currently do. Shelby uses psychodynamic approaches to look at how the therapeutic relationship is reflective of a client’s relationships outside of therapy, and works to help clients shift these patterns to have more fulfilling relationships. If you are interested in starting psychodynamic therapy, reach out today to learn more!
Psychodynamic therapy at Stages of Healing LLC in Newington, CT
