What is Psychodynamic Therapies?
How does a psychodynamic session proceed?
Dream Analysis
Dreams, as Freud said, are the royal road to the unconscious. By interpreting dreams, it is possible to reveal associations, latent dream thoughts and hidden impulses that the patient is usually unaware of in their conscious life.
Resistance Analysis
Often, the therapist demonstrates to the patient why they are resisting the eruptions of certain thoughts and emotions.
Transference
The client’s unconscious comes to the fore in their relation to the therapist. And by addressing the therapist, the client addresses their own symptoms.
Free Associations
The clients are asked to freely talk about whatever comes to their minds without editing or censoring.
Interpretation
The therapist points out common patterns in the client’s speech, unveils dreams and makes the client hear their own speech.
Psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud, the founding father of psychoanalysis, first came up with concepts such as free association, screen memories, dream interpretations, ego, Id, Superego and so forth. His therapeutic techniques are still widely used. Psychoanalysis holds that repressed thoughts take the form of linguistic slips, dreams, or even bodily conversions. And, it is possible to backtranslate a client’s symptoms to the latent thoughts contained therein. Psychoanalysis requires time, even years, since what is at stake is deconstructing the whole personality and prejudices of the individual. So, it can benefit those who have the resources and time to invest in the procedure. However, in most cases, the outcomes are radical, and the former patients tend to endure the trifles of life much better.
Jungian therapy
Karl Jung drew corollaries on Freud’s hypotheses, modifying them at their core. Discarding Freud’s malady of the individual, Jung conceptualizes a collective unconscious. He demonstrates human fantasies, symptoms, and dreams bear great resemblance to timeless, primordial myths; hence, he concludes the existence of a collective repositories of motifs, tropes and symbols that are channelized in these signifiers, motifs and tropes. Jung called these figures archetypes. The Jungian therapists aim to explore these archetypes in which a person thinks with the clients, and hence Jungian therapy is also a fascinating experience like psychoanalysis, an exciting adventure through the mind that can take years of sessions.
Self psychology and object relation
Self-psychology, developed by Heinz Kohut, places a central emphasis on the concept of the self. It suggests that a healthy and well-adjusted personality is dependent on the development of a strong, cohesive self-structure. Kohut believed that our sense of self is shaped by our early interactions with caregivers and that disruptions in these relationships can lead to psychological disturbances. Self-psychology focuses on the repair and enhancement of the self through a therapeutic process that emphasizes empathy, understanding, and mirroring to help clients develop a more robust self-identity.
Object relations psychology, on the other hand, was primarily developed by Melanie Klein and Donald Winnicott. This approach explores the ways in which individuals form internalized representations of others, known as “objects,” through early attachment experiences. Object relations theorists investigate how these internalized object relationships impact an individual’s emotional life, interpersonal relationships, and sense of self. The field also examines the concepts of transitional objects and the “good enough mother” in the context of healthy development. Object relations therapy aims to uncover and work through unconscious, maladaptive patterns of relating to others, ultimately promoting healthier interpersonal functioning.
Transactional analysis
Transactional Analysis (TA) is a psychodynamic therapy that was developed by Eric Berne. It explores the ways in which individuals interact with one another by analyzing transactions or interpersonal exchanges. TA focuses on the roles people adopt, which Berne termed “ego states”: Parent, Adult, and Child. These ego states influence communication and behaviour patterns. The therapy aims to help clients recognize and understand their own ego states and those of others, promoting healthier and more effective interactions. TA also delves into the analysis of life scripts, which are early decisions and beliefs that shape one’s life choices. By exploring and reshaping these scripts, TA fosters personal growth and improved relationships.
Psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud, the founding father of psychoanalysis, first came up with concepts such as free association, screen memories, dream interpretations, ego, Id, Superego and so forth. His therapeutic techniques are still widely used. Psychoanalysis holds that repressed thoughts take the form of linguistic slips, dreams, or even bodily conversions. And, it is possible to backtranslate a client’s symptoms to the latent thoughts contained therein. Psychoanalysis requires time, even years, since what is at stake is deconstructing the whole personality and prejudices of the individual. So, it can benefit those who have the resources and time to invest in the procedure. However, in most cases, the outcomes are radical, and the former patients tend to endure the trifles of life much better.
Jungian therapy
Karl Jung drew corollaries on Freud’s hypotheses, modifying them at their core. Discarding Freud’s malady of the individual, Jung conceptualizes a collective unconscious. He demonstrates human fantasies, symptoms, and dreams bear great resemblance to timeless, primordial myths; hence, he concludes the existence of a collective repositories of motifs, tropes and symbols that are channelized in these signifiers, motifs and tropes. Jung called these figures archetypes. The Jungian therapists aim to explore these archetypes in which a person thinks with the clients, and hence Jungian therapy is also a fascinating experience like psychoanalysis, an exciting adventure through the mind that can take years of sessions.
Self psychology and object relation
Self-psychology, developed by Heinz Kohut, places a central emphasis on the concept of the self. It suggests that a healthy and well-adjusted personality is dependent on the development of a strong, cohesive self-structure. Kohut believed that our sense of self is shaped by our early interactions with caregivers and that disruptions in these relationships can lead to psychological disturbances. Self-psychology focuses on the repair and enhancement of the self through a therapeutic process that emphasizes empathy, understanding, and mirroring to help clients develop a more robust self-identity.
Object relations psychology, on the other hand, was primarily developed by Melanie Klein and Donald Winnicott. This approach explores the ways in which individuals form internalized representations of others, known as “objects,” through early attachment experiences. Object relations theorists investigate how these internalized object relationships impact an individual’s emotional life, interpersonal relationships, and sense of self. The field also examines the concepts of transitional objects and the “good enough mother” in the context of healthy development. Object relations therapy aims to uncover and work through unconscious, maladaptive patterns of relating to others, ultimately promoting healthier interpersonal functioning.
Transactional analysis
Transactional Analysis (TA) is a psychodynamic therapy that was developed by Eric Berne. It explores the ways in which individuals interact with one another by analyzing transactions or interpersonal exchanges. TA focuses on the roles people adopt, which Berne termed “ego states”: Parent, Adult, and Child. These ego states influence communication and behaviour patterns. The therapy aims to help clients recognize and understand their own ego states and those of others, promoting healthier and more effective interactions. TA also delves into the analysis of life scripts, which are early decisions and beliefs that shape one’s life choices. By exploring and reshaping these scripts, TA fosters personal growth and improved relationships.