Request Information

Name:
Phone:
Email:
Comments:
Security Code:   (Enter the code in the image below)

NYC Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis

Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalytic psychotherapy and psychoanalysis are based on the recognition that people are unaware of many of the unconscious factors that determine our feelings and emotions. What we are aware of is what we call "symptoms" such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and "personality traits" such as the inability to get along with people, have a relationship, or find fulfilling work. These symptoms and life problems let us know that something is wrong. Because they are caused by unconscious conflicts, talking to friends or reading self help books usually doesn’t provide lasting relief.

 

What happens in psychotherapy or analysis?
Through frequent conversations psychoanalytic psychotherapist and psychoanalysts help people get at these underlying, unconscious factors which influence all our relationships and cause us to become stuck in repetitive, destructive patterns. At their own pace, each person explores the history of their symptoms and patterns of behavior. In the course of their treatment, the patient becomes aware of the underlying sources of his or her difficulties not simply intellectually, but emotionally.

In psychoanalysis and psychotherapy the person seeking relief is asked only to talk about every thought and feeling, past and present that comes into their mind. All ideas, memories, dreams, even passing thoughts are considered important. Over many sessions, as the person continues to speak without censorship, unconscious sources of difficulties begin to become clear to both patient and therapist. Once a person has identified unconscious sources of past difficulties, they can begin to see similar or related unconscious sources appear in current functioning or relationships and perhaps trace them back to their historical origins, and thereby deal better with the present.

 

What is the role of the psychotherapist/psychoanalyst?
The psychotherapist/analyst is an involved partner who provides a supportive environment where the person seeking help can feel safe enough to speak freely. Each psychotherapist/ psychoanalyst brings their years of training and experience to the process of listening and reflecting back to each person particular aspects of what they are discussing.

 

How do I know which to choose, psychoanalysis or psychotherapy?
Most people begin by having a consultation with a therapist and discussing each process. Both offer an opportunity to foster personal development. Often a person will begin with the less intensive of the two, psychoanalytic psychotherapy in which a person meets with a therapist once or twice a week and sits face to face. Psychoanalysis is more intensive. It requires three, four, or sometimes five sessions per week. A person in analysis will most often lie on a couch facing away from the analyst. In this way, the analyst fades into the background and the person is released from the convention of ordinary conversation and able to connect with their thoughts and feelings more deeply. It is also easier to speak about difficult, troubling things when you are not facing someone directly. Frequent sessions support deeper work; patients can talk without fear of running out of time or loosing continuity between sessions. Psychoanalysis is often helpful for those who have tried psychotherapy but found only partial relief or for those still stuck in repetitive patterns of self-defeating behavior or for those nagged by negative feelings that impact on their ability to work or relate to others, or both.

 

Who needs treatment? Why?
If you are someone who has experienced repeated failures outside of conscious control in work and relationships, or you are someone who has self-destructive patterns of behavior, or you are significantly impaired by long-standing symptoms: depression or anxiety, sexual incapacities, or physical symptoms without any demonstrable underlying physical cause, you may be able to find relief through psychotherapy or psychoanalysis and should consider a consultation with a psychoanalytic psychotherapist. If you find that your character/personality is limiting your ability to enjoy life and make healthy choices for yourself, consider meeting with a psychoanalyst to explore whether analysis is right for you. Research has shown that people who have not responded to other therapies or medication have been helped by both psychoanalysis and psychotherapy to develop the capacity to take greater satisfaction and pleasure from work, love, and play. However, because psychotherapy and psychoanalysis is a highly individualized treatment, it is very difficult to predict with certainty what the individual benefits will be which is why it is important to seek out a consultation with an experienced psychoanalytic psychotherapist or psychoanalyst.

Both therapeutic endeavors, psychoanalytic psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, involve a unique setting, circumstance, and partnership through which remarkable personal development is possible. Self-awareness can flourish; psychic pain and conflict can be reduced; coping, decision-making, and interpersonal skills can grow flexible and strong. And crucially, through psychoanalysis or psychotherapy, a person can develop to the best of their abilities.

Tags: nyc psychotherapist, nyc psychotherapy, psychoanalysis nyc, psychotherapist nyc, psychotherapy nyc