Could A Psychodynamic Therapist Help Me?

Everyone’s heard of Freud, right?

If you ask anyone on the high street who they know in the field of psychology, he’s the go-to guy. The default. They might not know much about what who he is, what he said, or his contribution to Counselling & Psychotherapy.

But that doesn’t matter too much. You don’t have to be experts, you just need to know the basics. And to be fair, we’re talking here about Psychodynamic Therapy which has many more contributors than Freud but since he came up with it and he’s so well known, it feels like a good place to start.

For a very long time, there’s been a recognition of the benefits of talking and listening. People have long visited elders, priests, friends and relatives to talk about their troubles, but what Freud tried to do is bring a rationale to this field which you might call science. Whether or not he succeeded in being scientific is open to debate, but in fairness he did make a genuine effort to do just that.

What emerged were some basic principles that still contribute today to our understanding of human distress. So let’s just outline some of these:

1. That our history, particularly our early history, significantly influences our present experience of life.
2. That unconscious processes influence our cognitive, emotional and behavioural experiences of life.
3. That there’s a tension that exists between different parts of our psyche, which we’ll call ‘mind’ for sake of ease.
4. That, when things cause us mental distress, we invoke defence mechanisms to ease that burden. Mechanisms such as denial and repression.

Psychodynamic approaches focus on trying to bring material from our subconscious into our conscious awareness. In other words, we develop greater self-awareness and through that awareness, a greater understanding of our distress.

And with that greater understanding, comes greater opportunity to act in ways that help overcome these issues. And we do that through the process of a talking therapy, which is built around talking and listening with a rationalised approach built around a theory of human psychology.

I’ll be honest, it’s not my favourite approach but there’s no denying its contribution to the field of counselling & psychotherapy and studies do support its efficacy on a number of common issues.

It’s not that I don’t like the approach, it’s simply that there are others I prefer… That I feel a greater affinity with and so can be more genuine when I integrate them into practice with clients.

Much has changed about the approach over the years. Largely gone are the days of the psychodynamic therapist who sits in a corner and says next to nothing. You’re more likely to find the therapists using this kind of approach integrating aspects of person centred counselling with a focus on building a strong relationship with the client. Indeed, these relationship dynamics can be very informative in themselves.

If you’re wondering whether or not this approach might be for you, I suggest asking yourself these questions:

1. Do you have a sense that your past experiences are influential in your present experience of life, particularly those things that cause you distress?
2. Are you curious about some of the things you do, feel or think but are not sure why?
3. Are you happy to engage in an open-ended therapeutic process?

If the answer to these are ‘Yes’ then it’s worth considering as an option.

As ever, my advice when choosing a therapist or type of therapy for you is always the same no matter what your issue. Pick up the phone and talk to the therapist you are considering working with. This gives you a chance to briefly explain your issue and the therapist an opportunity to describe how they might work with you.

In so doing, you get a chance to experience what it’s actually like talking to that therapist and get a feel for whether they’re someone you feel you can talk to. You are likely to be sharing some very personal information so you need to feel comfortable talking to that person.

For this reason, I always offer a free consultation to provide that opportunity at no cost but I’m sure that any good therapist would at least be willing to talk to you briefly on the phone to provide that opportunity.

Watch out for my next article. Everyone’s heard of Freud, right? So, let me take you on a brief tour of psychodynamic therapy.

If you’d like to discuss Counselling & Psychotherapy for yourself or someone you know, contact BroadMinds Therapy and we’ll be happy to answer any questions you have and discuss options for you.

Call 0899420568

Email: help@broadmindstherapy.org

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Web: https://broadmindstherapy.org

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