Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
People can have variety of experiences which impact on the mind, particularly those early relational experiences of childhood. Feelings associated with hurt, loss, disappointment, and shame often become buried from the conscious mind. Although hidden, these feelings can cause havoc in your current life, often resulting in a wide array of problems including a devalued sense of self, difficult relationships with others, mistrust of others, anxiety and depression. Within the safety of the psychotherapy session, these events and feelings are brought to light and their toxic effects on the mind can be neutralized. Incidents can occur that can leave a child feeling inadequate, disappointing, or that s/he was at fault or “to blame,” for the problem. These situations and feelings can be re-experienced and re-interpreted in the therapy. This work is an important and effective way to heal the mind of an individual. I believe the mind has an immeasurable capacity to heal and, through the therapeutic relationship, both you as the patient and I as your therapist work together to create a unique psychic process toward balance and peace of mind. This is a brief snapshot to explain my understanding of the formative powers of psychoanalytic psychotherapy and how I work within this paradigm to heal.
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis requires a significant commitment by the patient, as the office visits are more frequent (4 times per week) than psychotherapy. While this is a serious investment of time and money, the rewards of such an intense and transformative therapy can be invaluable. As your analyst, I seek to be closely tuned in to you, your feelings, and moods, and I am empathic to the issues that are currently troubling and interruptive for you. This therapy gives you an opportunity to share and unburden yourself of the problematic behaviors, attitudes, and relationships that have weighed heavily on you. At times, in psychoanalysis, these feelings, attitudes/moods, and behaviors are perceived and directed toward the therapist. Since this is an important component of psychoanalytic work, it is important to find a therapist who you can trust to help you process and work through these powerful feelings and I am committed to that end. I also stay attuned to the ways you relate to me in the treatment. The relational patterns developed and revealed within the protected environment of the treatment are likely to be representative of the larger relational patterns you experience with others in the outside world. Working through those relational patterns in psychoanalysis allows you to let go of the ones that prevent you from finding joy and satisfaction in life.
