– Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Therapy in Individual Counseling Services

Last Updated on May 15, 2018 by Chris Roberts

A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF PSYCHOANALYTIC AND PSYCHODYNAMIC THERAPY IN INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING SERVICES

References “Current Psychotherapies” Eighth Edition.  By Raymond Corsini and Danny Wedding.

The term Psychoanalysis can stir up uncomfortability even in the most educated and open minded person, and much more so for the common person who is simply looking for help from individual counseling.  And rightfully so.  Social perceptions of psychoanalysis and innocuous portrayals of the matter in the media do not usually engender a feeling of warmth, compassion, and care.  Even caricatures of Sigmund Freud, credited as the Father of psychoanalysis, are usually more harsh and negative than perhaps is reality.  At Freud’s heart, was a relentless passion to learn about human behavior and actions in a way that had never been conceived of before.  Corsini and Wedding sum it up well when they write, “[Psychoanalysis] has inspired thinkers and therapists who disagree with Freud’s premises to come up with methods of their own.” (p. 16)  In fact, so many thinkers and therapists who have created entirely new and different branches of psychotherapy even to this day, will start with Freud’s theories and use those as the basis for creating something “new.”

Corsini and Wedding quote Freud as saying, “The division of the psychical into what is conscious and what is unconscious is the fundamental premise of psychoanalysis.” Through individual counseling, they go on to state that, “Although the concept of the unconscious mind predates psychoanalysis, Freud’s unique contribution was to discover how the concept could be used to understand and inform the treatment of psychological problems.” (p. 16)  This is the ultimate work of Freud.  Freud wanted to create a science and categorical system, much like medical doctors who treat our physical bodies, whereby others could replicate his theories and ideas to treat common psychical abnormalities in an effective and helpful way.

Freud also discussed the concepts of psychodynamics in individual counseling.  Psychodynamics refers to the mental processes inside a single person, and that oftentimes the mental processes within a person can be conflictual.  Corsini and Wedding write, “The term inner or intrapsychic conflict refers to conflict between parts of the self that hold opposing perceptions or emotions, one or more of which is out of awareness.  This may result either in problematic behavior or in symptoms.  For example, a patient may express the conviction that he loves is wife and would never do anything to hurt her, while having affairs outside of the marriage.  Or a patient may get a headache whenever Monday comes.  The symptom may express a conflict between the part of her that knows that she must go back to work and the part that dreads doing so.” (p. 17)

Psychodynamics helps a therapist normalize the experience that there may be unconscious thoughts driving our outward actions.  Psychoanalysis is one of the treatment modalities that used psychodynamics in individual counseling as its basis and viewed symptoms and problematic behaviors as clues to inner struggles that may be going on within a person.  It is actually a very kind way of understanding why people do things that they consciously wouldn’t consider doing.  At Two Trees counseling Nashville, we do not use the formal process of psychoanalysis, which usually consists of meeting 3 to 4 times a week for several years with the client typically lying down.  However, we take some of the original tenets of psychoanalysis and use a form of dialogical therapy now referred to as psychodynamic psychotherapy.  This means that client and therapist sit in chairs, face each other, and discuss the client’s concerns in a more conversational manner.

At Two Trees counseling in Nashville, TN, we employ several therapeutic positions in individual counseling in working with clients, one of which is analytic and psychodynamic based therapy.  If you have questions about analytic or psychodymanic counseling or counseling in general, we would love to be of assistance.