What is Psychoanalysis? Can it Help with Anxiety?

Psychoanalysis is a word that carries all kinds of associations and images. A therapist who barely says anything at all, whom you know next to nothing about. Hard-to-understand terms that don’t have much to do with real people or real life. Cultural elites in Hollywood films who live in big cities and are self-absorbed, unhappy, and out of touch with the world as most of us know it.

Psychoanalysis, invented more than 100 years ago, is a constantly evolving field of knowledge that can be applied everywhere. It’s used in free clinics and private practice alike. It’s used in family therapy, individual therapy, couples therapy, and in the business world. The therapy I do is usually referred to as psychoanalytic psychotherapy or psychodynamic psychotherapy. (The terms are used interchangeably.) This means that the relationship you and I form can be a vehicle for change.

Here are some ideas about what analysis is, and what it’s not.

Isn’t psychoanalysis mainly for wealthy, highly educated people?

No. Psychoanalysis is for anyone who wants it. Despite the fact that some of its trappings are weighed down by jargon, the ideas are simple, and they pertain to all of us.

Sigmund Freud, who invented talk therapy, is often believed to have focused only on wealthy, sheltered people. But at the beginning of the 20th century, between the two world wars, he and his colleagues founded free clinics throughout Europe that offered a psychotherapy for the people. The clinics served as the model those that can be found throughout the world and still operate today.

Isn’t analysis expensive?

It doesn’t have to be. Many therapists trained this way, including me, charge market rates and reserve a certain number of slots that are sliding scale.

Does analysis work for treatment of anxiety?

Yes. Treatment for anxiety symptoms is often a main goal here.  

Doesn’t psychoanalysis involve exploring the past?

It usually does, yes, but often therapy begins with the present and proceeds from there. If you come for therapy with me, you’ll probably hear me ask the question, What brings you? Why therapy, and why now?

Dealing with the past is how we understand the present, and how we understand the present often involves taking a look at the past from your current vantage point. The most important part—and this point is crucial—is that the therapy you choose should proceed at a pace you’re comfortable with, especially if it’s anxiety therapy. The more feedback you can give, the better. If you and I choose to work together, I’ll be taking my cues from you about how the therapy is going and what you might like from it.

Are psychodynamic therapists open to other modes of thought?

Yes. Analytic therapy to treat anxiety disorders draws from a very big toolbox, and the use of those tools will be tailored to you. In other words, it’s integrative.

Do you have to lie on a couch to have analytic-style therapy?

No. Some purists may disagree, but psychoanalytic psychotherapy can be done perfectly well sitting up. Worth mentioning is that lying down can relax the body and open the mind, and this in turn has the potential to make for a productive and enjoyable way to do therapy.

Does a psychoanalytic psychotherapist stay silent for the whole session?

No. But it’s useful to know that the silences that happen in therapy exist for a few reasons. First, the therapist needs to get a very good and thorough idea of who you are, and that takes a little time. Second, the therapeutic relationship is different than a social or professional one. Unlike many other situations in life, there’s no obligation on your part to make back-and-forth conversation. Third, silence is often helpful in getting you to slow down. Silence can make space for thoughts, feelings, ideas, and emotional discharge.

Can psychoanalytic therapy be done by telehealth?

Yes, it can. Incredibly, it has been many years since lockdown. I’ve been consistently and pleasantly surprised by how much good work has been done by phone or video. That surprise has been one of the few silver linings of the pandemic.

If you’re struggling with anxiety, give me a call at 213-807-6021 to arrange a free consultation about anxiety therapy.

(Photo: Alex Green/pexels)

References

Danto, E. A. (2005). Freud’s Free Clinics: Psychoanalysis and Social Justice, 1918-1938. Columbia University Press, New York.

Gaztambide, D. J. (2019). A People’s History of Psychoanalysis: From Freud to Liberation Psychology. Lexington Books, Lanham, Md.