What is Psychoanalytically-Oriented Psychotherapy?

By Dr Patrick Connolly

For anyone considering how to work on themselves in psychotherapy for the first time, its difficult to know what to expect, and whether it will suit you or not. It helps if you agree with the philosophy and main ideas of the approach you will follow. Psychoanalytically-oriented psychotherapy may be good for people who respect the complexity of their inner world, and are willing to explore it as a path towards growing as a person, and overcoming problems that they face.

Freud’s theory of the mind is famous for showing us how our childhood had an outsized influence on the development of our personality, and clients may have very meaningful moments in their therapy when they find themselves vividly recalling powerful experiences from their childhood. However, this approach to psychotherapy is all about changing our relationship with our conscious experience in the present, through a deeper perception of what has been unconscious in us until now.

Clients in this approach are encouraged to develop their introspection, to be aware of what is happening in themselves. Through gently processing the clients experience together in therapy, clients may often begin to have new perceptions of their own thoughts, feelings and needs. Sometimes we overcome blind spots in our self-awareness, and we may begin to accept experiences in ourselves that we have previously avoided. In doing so, the way we feel about ourselves and our lives may also change, towards greater self-understanding and self-esteem.

If you would like to learn more about the service, take a look at our psychotherapy and therapist pages, or the supervision service for mental health professionals. Articles in the blog about free association and non-directiveness offer a deeper dive about the approach. If you would like schedule a meeting or a brief discovery call, please use the contact form to get in touch.