Psychodynamic psychotherapy (otherwise known as contemporary psychoanalytic psychotherapy) is the most powerful treatment available for addressing underlying psychological issues that manifest in unfulfilling patterns of being/relating and as symptoms of depression and anxiety.

The key tenets of psychodynamic therapy are: (1) an understanding that symptoms of mental illness/self-defeating behaviors are important indicators that something deep inside is amiss or has gone unseen, and (2) that these deeper issues are kept out of our conscious awareness because, somewhere along the way, we came to feel that we could not afford to confront them head-on.

In essence, our symptoms and the defenses we mobilize to maintain obliviousness to the roots of our problems are a kind of compromise we unwittingly construct: “I will tolerate numbness, insomnia, social anxiety, irritability, somatic pain, low self-esteem, a loss of interest in life, aimlessness, panic, unfulfilling relationships... so long as I don’t have to grapple with this loss, this need, this fallibility, this longing (read: these core aspects of humanity)...”

Over time, the therapeutic alliance at the center of psychodynamic treatment makes it possible to examine what the heart of the matter really is. We can identify where this compromise has begun causing more problems than it’s solving. Within the supportive structure of the therapeutic alliance, you can enhance your capacity to think what was once unthinkable and speak what was once unspeakable. Thus, your symptoms can finally abate since they are no longer needed as a proxy.

Moreover, in the process of addressing what had previously been put out of your awareness, you can come to find new, more adaptive ways of being that may have never occurred to you otherwise. You can feel more connected to yourself and others, and learn to make better use of your emotions and the unique essence you bring to the world.