Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

Understanding Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

Primary Goals and Approach

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy aims to foster insight and self-understanding by enhancing conscious awareness of unconscious material and exploring the interconnection between past experiences and present behavior. This process facilitates personality changes, granting individuals greater freedom in life choices and relief from symptoms. It deeply acknowledges the impact of early life, particularly childhood development, on a patient’s personality, living challenges, and interpersonal struggles. Central to this therapy is the emphasis on the therapeutic relationship in addressing these difficulties.

Features of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

• Less Formal Derivative: Differing from psychoanalysis, this therapy involves fewer sessions (typically 1 to 3 times per week instead of 4 or 5) and a face-to-face sitting arrangement instead of using a couch. While psychoanalysis may take years, psychoanalytic psychotherapy can often achieve similar results in months. However, the treatment methods remain aligned, particularly in connecting past experiences to the present and leveraging the evolving patient-therapist relationship as a catalyst for insight development.

Dr. Oddy’s Training in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

Dr. Oddy received comprehensive training in psychoanalytic techniques, psychoanalysis, and psychoanalytic therapy at the esteemed Cornell – Payne Whitney Clinic and the William Alanson White Institute, both situated in New York, New York.