What Is Psychoanalysis?

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Problem-focused psychodynamic therapy begins by identifying the specific problems a patient wants to change.

A psychodynamic formulation links current problems to stressors, early experiences, conflicts, and defenses.

Patients develop skills for recognizing triggers and conflicts and managing problems more effectively.

Psychodynamic psychotherapy continues to be among the most commonly practiced psychotherapeutic approaches in the United States, despite the development of several other types of therapy (Norcross et al., 2023). It is derived from psychoanalysis as developed by Sigmund Freud and many subsequent psychoanalysts and typically involves one to two sessions per week.

According to psychoanalytic theory, people struggle with conflicts about certain feelings and thoughts, such as angry, dependent, and sexual wishes. Because they anticipate these urges and thoughts may cause damage, people tend to suppress them, and they can become unconscious. However, despite being repressed, they continue to press for expression, triggering anxiety, guilt, or ways of defending against such feelings. For instance, anger can, without necessarily reaching conscious awareness, create guilt or anxiety about possibly causing harm to others. Defenses that are triggered can lead anger to be denied, expressed passive-aggressively, or directed toward oneself, causing intense self-criticism and possibly depression.

These conflicts are usually more difficult to manage and more intense if individuals had negative childhood relationships with caregivers or were exposed to painful or traumatic events. These experiences can cause even more intense feelings and conflicts surrounding anger and dependency. Parental attitudes involving judgment, criticism, or neglect can also lead to negative views of oneself and expectations of others that persist into adulthood and adversely affect mental health. Negative views of oneself and expectations of........

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