About Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is a specialized type of psychotherapy used to help people correct or understand certain emotional problems and to help people progress in their lives by developing a deeper sense of self-awareness or insight.  A person’s ability to make good decisions is limited by their assumptions about themselves and their circumstances.  Psychoanalysis is a treatment used to examine these assumptions in order to understand their origins and to modify them if necessary. Ultimately, the goal is to help people make better choices for themselves.

Many people, for example, may be highly functional at work and home, but troubled inside.  Being worried, having long-standing internal conflicts, or being curious about yourself and how your mind works are all valid reasons for considering psychoanalysis.

The intensity and duration of a psychoanalysis varies, but many therapists and patients find that more frequent visits are helpful at addressing core problems.  Frequent visits, which often rage between three and five times per week, are important to keep the process going and deepening.

Recommended Reading:

• The Examined Life: How We Lose and Find Ourselves by Stephen Grosz (2013)

• Practical Psychoanalysis for Therapists and Patients by Own Renik (2006)