Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Psychodynamic therapy is amongst the longest established approaches to talking therapies. It differs from other therapies in that it aims to influence and change the deeper layers of the personality at the source of the troubling thoughts, feelings or behaviour. Psychodynamic psychotherapy can help anyone wanting to make sense of their emotional difficulties and effect change. It aims to address immediate problems as well as facilitate greater understanding of oneself.
The therapeutic process seeks to provide explanation, understanding and insight into the root cause of distress by unlocking and accessing unconscious processes that control our lives without our knowledge and in itself can lead to a reduction in symptoms and alleviate distress.
Psychodynamic therapy is based on, amongst other things, an understanding of the unfolding of a person’s life experiences from birth onwards and the network of relationships that develop during the growth into adulthood that serve to shape our held beliefs, thought processes and decision making.
Depending on one’s own experiences, problems can arise in later life, often with no apparent explanation. Issues may emerge in the form of recognisable symptoms and at other times as troubling personality traits; difficulties in work and/or inability in forming satisfactory relationships; disturbances in mood and self-esteem or general underlying feelings of depression and anxiety. In addition, one may experience a feeling of loss of meaning in life and wanting a greater sense of fulfilment.
Psychodynamic therapy seeks to explore and understand a person’s problems at a deeper level, within the context of one’s whole life experience to untangle and reveal patterns of behaviour and ways of thinking and behaving that are having a detrimental impact. In the course of therapy you will understand more about how you are, your relational patterns across different situations as well as past and present links and unconscious processes. These insights and awareness aim to empower and enable you to respond to difficulties using a more conscious approach rather than a conditioned and often negative automatic response.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy can contribute significantly to a person’s mental and physical wellbeing and to their ability to manage their lives more effectively. Therapy is a collaborative process requiring the client to take an active role in the work and also requires a firm commitment by the client and therapist to a minimum of once weekly sessions. It is generally open-ended and long term, however in some cases, shorter time-limited therapy can be effective depending on the presenting problem and what you are seeking to achieve.
