Psychoanalytic Therapy

No social theory has been received with such daring response and revile than Freudian revolutionizing theory of psychoanalysis, which has earned an eyebrow raising reaction from modern day medical health professionals and practitioners. Never mind, what the neuroscientists, physicists or the biologists have to say about mental illness, Freudian psychoanalytic therapy has indeed offered a groundbreaking feat in the realms of psychiatry and mental health. This therapy, a verbal one, primarily bets on interaction, between the therapist and the patient and hence the coinage of the phrase ‘talking therapy’ or ‘talking cure’. The main goal of the therapy is to improve the patient’s quality of life and relationships.

 

Psychoanalysis therapy basically aims to find association between the unconscious constituents of patients' mental processes, by tracing out associations between the mind and the mental process, all so in a systematic way. The fundamental concern of this therapy is to discern the unconscious patterns of life as they get exposed through the analysand's (the patient's) free associations. The primary goal of a psychoanalyst is to liberate the analysand’s mind from unexamined or unconscious barriers of transference and resistance and help patient gain confidence through greater trust of the self. The therapy helps patient overcome their fear of death and maintain several seemingly uncongenial relationships. To know more on psychoanalytic therapy, read on.

Psychoanalysts have found this psychoanalytic therapy to be extremely beneficial for dealing with neurosis and personality disorders. It is found to be the most rewarding for treating deep-rooted problems of intimacy and relationship and for those problems in which established patterns of life are tricky. A psychoanalytic therapy covers three to five meetings a week and requires the amount of time for natural or normal maturational change (three to seven years).

 

The primary technique of psychoanalysis is the transference and resistance analysis of free association. In this setting, the analyst creates a comfortable setting for his patient and motivates the patient to say whatever that comes to his mind - dreams, hopes, aspirations, fantasies, reminiscences, anything. The analyst passively sits through the session intently listening and noting, making comments only if called for. The analyst maintains an attitude of emphatic neutrality all through the session, maintaining a non-judgmental stance, without appearing seemingly unconcerned. The analysand is motivated to speak honestly about anything that comes to his awareness, while the analysts sits through carefully considering the pattern and inhibition that appears during the session.

Psychoanalytic therapy uses more insight-oriented techniques with healthier patients and a more supportive technique with disturbed patients. In insight-oriented technique, the analyst makes a comment that entails one or more cluster of unconscious wishes, anxieties and defenses. On the other hand, in a supportive technique, an analyst tries to bring down the anxiety levels of the patient by assuring that they are safe and there is no need to worry. Analysts however prefer to go with insight-oriented interventions more than any other technique, as they believe that such interventions are usually less judgmental than others.

 

Recent psychoanalytic works have been committed to exploring the use of psychoanalytic principles and techniques with other psychotherapeutic techniques such as those of cognitive behavior therapy. Research on the efficaciousness of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy has also become prominent among psychoanalytic researchers.