Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Do you feel like you keep falling into the same patterns in relationships? That you react in ways you don't fully understand? Psychodynamic psychotherapy goes deeper — to the history that has shaped the way you move through the world.

How does it work?

Psychodynamic psychotherapy is based on the idea that many of our struggles have roots in unconscious patterns that formed in early relationships. Your therapist helps you discover them gradually — through careful conversation, attention to dreams and associations, and noticing how you respond to the therapist themselves. The relationship with your therapist is itself a healing tool — it becomes a place where you can experience a different kind of connection than you've known.

What does a session look like?

Psychodynamic sessions have a more open character than structured therapies. You talk about what comes to mind — dreams, everyday events, relationships, feelings. Your therapist listens carefully, asks questions, sometimes interprets what they hear. This is usually long-term therapy — it lasts from a year to several years — because deep change takes time. The regularity and consistency of meetings matter especially here.

Who benefits most from psychodynamic therapy?

Psychodynamic psychotherapy is especially valuable for people who want to understand themselves more deeply — not just get rid of symptoms. It works well for:

  • chronic depression and a sense of emptiness
  • difficulties in close relationships — with partners, family
  • repeating patterns you've noticed yourself
  • low self-worth and identity struggles
  • existential anxiety and a sense of meaninglessness
  • childhood experiences that continue to shape adult life

Frequently asked questions

Is psychodynamic therapy the same as psychoanalysis?

Psychoanalysis is the historical form of this work, requiring several sessions per week over many years. Modern psychodynamic psychotherapy is its evolution — usually occurring once or twice weekly and drawing on the knowledge of many generations of researchers, not just Freud.

Do I have to talk about my entire childhood?

Your past emerges naturally in therapy — it's not an interrogation. Your therapist doesn't walk you through a timeline of your life. You talk about what matters to you now, and threads from your past come up when they're truly relevant.