Psychoanalysis is a group of theories about how humans interact and how their minds work. It is primarily used as a method to help people with the problems they encounter in life. However, psychoanalysis is also a philosophical attitude that can be applied to help understand culture, art, literature, music, philosophy, politics, business, social media, and any number of other aspects of the human experience.
Psychoanalysis is not monolithic. There is a popular notion that psychoanalysis is a singular set of ideas first established by Sigmund Freud. However, Freud himself modified his ideas significantly across his life. Similarly, psychoanalysis has undergone developmental changes from hundreds of contributors to reflect and improve upon modern views of how the human mind and relationships work. In other words, psychoanalysis has been growing since Freud started writing about it around 1891.
There are several major theories within psychoanalysis that influence how therapists help people. Those theories oscillate between competing with each other and complementing each other. Each theory emphasizes some aspect of the human experience and thus influences how therapists help people.
Despite some differences, there are some things that almost all therapists who use psychoanalytic theory have in common. First, psychoanalytically-oriented therapists focus on helping people understand that there are some aspects of our minds and relationships that are not always in our awareness. If you’ve ever done something and then immediately asked yourself why you did that thing (usually with exasperation), you understand this key point of psychoanalysis. While we all want to believe that we understand how our minds and relationships work, the truth is that we are not always conscious of these things. Psychoanalysis suggests that if we can become aware of the things we are blind to, we have the chance to make changes that would help improve our lives.
Second, psychoanalytically-oriented therapists are aware that the ways people relate to each other are also the ways in which they relate to their therapists. Therapists observe patterns of relating as they occur in the relationship with the therapist and then talk about the patterns to understand them better. Since relationships are so important in our lives, it’s often helpful to work out problematic or painful ways of relating in the context of therapy.
Third, psychoanalysis posits that all people do things to help them stave off stress and pain. These ways of coping, often called defense mechanisms, are critical to getting through the difficulties that arise in life. There are hundreds of defenses people use to manage difficulties. For instance, have you ever known someone who uses humor when a serious subject comes up? Sometimes humor is just humor. And, sometimes humor is a way to avoid a serious subject. Psychoanalytically-oriented therapists pay attention to the ways we protect ourselves from stress. They talk about those ways so we can learn to choose the methods of coping that best fit our situation.
Fourth, psychoanalytically-oriented therapists pay special attention to development. People often want to avoid their past, perhaps because there is something painful or difficult in it. However, psychoanalysis suggests that spending time thinking about how our history impacts our present is important because there is value in resolving conflicts, problems, and unfinished business.
Fifth, psychoanalysis relies on the observation and discussion of patterns and themes that emerge when the therapist and person seeking therapy spend time talking together. It is a basic idea in psychoanalysis that we are all sometimes blind to the reasons we do or don’t do things. Therapists strive to help us see these blind spots, including the patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that go with them. One of the most important outcomes of psychoanalytic therapy is that we learn about how our minds work, how unique our minds are, and why they work the way they do. Identifying patterns and themes in our interactions with others and in how we think, feel, and behave can bring a depth of understanding that allows us to better choose what we want for our lives.
Sixth, therapists who work from a psychoanalytic perspective value the details of how we think and feel, what motivates us, where our minds wander, and how we relate to others. Specifically, therapists working from this vantage point want to understand our inner world with all its quirks and nuances. Exploring our fantasy life, including our dreams and wishes, is an important way to get to know someone and help them build the life they want.
Seventh, as with all therapy, psychoanalytic therapy is very interested in understanding how people feel. Emotions are complex. There are nuances, different levels of intensity, different abilities to manage feelings, and infinite combinations of feelings that can be expressed. Psychoanalytically-oriented therapists want to know the “what, when, how, and why” of the expression of emotions. This information helps therapists understand the experience of people and how to best help them.
Eighth, psychoanalytically-oriented therapists value listening carefully. They listen beneath the words used to understand underlying meanings and nuances. They listen for what is not said. They listen to the tone, intensity, and pace of expressions. They listen for patterns and themes. They listen for something new as well as something repetitive. They listen for the timing of when or how something is said. All of this listening occurs in the context of empathy, and this listening informs that empathy. The purpose of listening is to understand deeply to better help but also to convey care and hope. Sometimes the most powerful intervention a therapist can give is careful listening. You might be surprised to learn that many people have never had someone just listen to them.
Psychoanalytically-informed therapy has a beginning, middle, and end. In the beginning, there is a lot of effort to get to know the details of someone’s life. That effort helps to identify the spots in life that a person may want to understand and perhaps change. In the middle, there’s a period of working through the conflicts, problems, and pains. After a period of time working on things, there is a time when it is mutually decided that the goals of therapy have been accomplished. Often there is a period of reflection on the hard work that has been done and an effort to identify what work might remain. When both the person in therapy and the therapist agree that therapy is done, they end this piece of work.
Ultimately, psychoanalytically-informed therapy is a method of helping people understand themselves, solve problems in their lives, enrich relationships, make meaning, and find purpose in life.