Psychodynamic Therapy
Understanding Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
The places where you’re getting stuck in your life has a lot to do with past situations, rather than what’s actually happening right now. We have to understand just enough about the past so that we can create change in the present. Psychodynamic therapy is all about connecting past to present.
Maybe you have all the right parts of your life in place–a job, a partner, friends–but are still feeling low and wondering why. Or maybe some of those parts of your life are missing and you’re still wondering why.
Rather than just address the symptoms in your life, psychodynamic therapy helps us get to the root cause of your issues.
Early relationship experiences drive the negative thoughts and feelings that you’re facing in your life today, and so a part of our work is figuring out which “myths” you’re still believing. From there, it’s about replacing those myths with truths that are based in present-day reality.
Psychodynamic Therapy Operates Under The Following Principles:
- A person’s development is influenced by one’s childhood events.
- One’s thoughts and behaviors are motivated by irrational drives that are rooted in the unconscious.
- People tend to create defenses against negative emotions as a way to protect themselves.
- Conflicts between the conscious and the unconscious create mental or emotional disturbances (like anxiety and depression).
How Can Psychodynamic Therapy Help Me?
Through psychodynamic therapy, you can understand how your past experiences impact your present reality. You can become more aware of your unconscious thoughts and motivations and how that impacts your current functioning. Overall, psychodynamic therapy provides you with the insight that you need to live a better life.