Why Psychoanalysis?
Psychoanalysis emerged around the turn of the 20th century and, since then, has proliferated into pop culture as much as (possibly more than) psychotherapy practice. The ideas generated by psychoanalysis, and popular ideas about it, are so prevalent that the myths about psychoanalysis are often conflicting and baseless. When I introduce psychoanalytic psychotherapy, I focus on the practice of psychoanalysis as much as I do other aspects of it, leaving the theories of psychosexual development or metapsychology outside of the therapy room. The practice of psychoanalysis is a kind of listening, with particular attention towards our unconscious life - meaning the client or patient is invited into a relationship in which they can speak as freely as possible. The goals of psychoanalysis are to illuminate and transform a person’s resistance to speaking of their unconscious, repressed aspects of their experience. In so doing, we aim to feel more ourselves and more directly confront our sufferings. It should be clear from this goal, but nonetheless worth stating, that psychoanalysis is not a queer or transphobic practice (however, many practitioners of psychoanalysis have been and still are so).
The International Psychoanalytical Association and the Freud Museum of London both provide good introductions to psychoanalysis.
Why is psychoanalysis a relevant, indeed preferable, approach to psychotherapy?
Psychoanalysis is commonly said to be a treatment that searches for the “roots” of suffering, moving beyond superficial goals of alleviation or remediation of symptoms. In this sense, psychoanalysis is preferable because it is practical and more effective in finding lasting relief from mental suffering. This is on account of how psychoanalysis conceives of symptoms as compared to contemporary psychiatric and psychotherapeutic practices. According to the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5-TR, the symptoms are the problem, and so alleviation of symptoms is the only goal of treatment. This stands in contrast to all other medical disciplines, which understand symptoms as indications or consequences of a disease process. Freud, in contrast to contemporary psychiatry, understood symptoms as “compromises” - most often between our conscious intentions and unconscious desires. In a more plain sense - we have a part of us that wishes for something that another part of us refuses. This compromise is always unsatisfying, and is often distressing - but importantly, is meaningful and significant. Symptoms are a starting point for understanding a fuller version of ourselves - finding the meaning of our symptoms can help us to find anguished and hidden fragments of our humanity. Rather than constantly chasing symptoms that are in continuous need of management or have their relapse prevented, psychoanalysis seeks to make way for more fundamental change within a person.
Beyond finding something that can be more “effective,” psychoanalysis makes a more radical offer to clients and therapists. The unconscious is often home to what is socially stigmatized or oppressed, to what was unacceptable to authority figures in our lives. The joint endeavor of listening and speaking to a fuller version of our human experience can allow us to live more genuine lives.