Psychodynamic psychotherapy is also known as psychoanalytic psychotherapy. The aim is to “make the unconscious conscious” by exploring thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and life experiences – particularly early life experiences – that impact how you experience yourself and the world today. By identifying patterns that have developed over time, we have increased freedom to explore these patterns and how they operate, in the context of a safe therapeutic relationship, and to change patterns that are unworkable.

In addition, attachment theory and object relations theory inform my beliefs about why it’s important to explore early life experiences and relationships. There is a wealth of contemporary research that supports the notion that early childhood attachment experiences shape our interpersonal functioning and expectations in adult relationships, and that misattunement in early child/caregiver relationships can be influential in adult interpersonal difficulties.

Sometimes people struggle because emotional intimacy can feel terrifying, and this prevents them from having the meaningful relationships they desire. Sometimes people struggle because they are fearful of being alone or feeling abandoned, and this leaves them searching for closeness in ineffective ways. And sometimes individuals experience a combination of attachment struggles, leaving them feeling confused, lonely, anxious, angry, and/or shut down.

If this sounds familiar to you, psychotherapy can help by assisting you in identifying your own relational patterns, exploring how they play out in your current relationships, learning new skills for managing your own feelings and reactions, and practicing new ways of relating in a safe, confidential environment.