Psychodynamic Therapy (PDT)

If you are in search of a style of therapy in which there is a strong emphasis on the client-therapist relationship, then the psychodynamic approach might suit you.

Psychodynamic therapy, also known as insight-oriented therapy, focuses on unconscious processes as they are manifested in a person’s present behaviour. It also concentrates on the difficulties arising from early childhood that remain unresolved.

The therapist helps the client to resolve the conflict by creating an environment where the person feels safe enough to talk about their early life and to express feelings and thoughts that have not been released before which have resulted in dysfunctional behavioural patterns and relationships.

This form of therapeutic intervention typically takes some time in the region of 1-2 years of weekly sessions. This is because the goal of therapy is often to change an aspect of one’s identity or personality or to integrate key developmental learning missed while the client was stuck at an earlier stage of emotional development.

MyMind psychotherapist Anita Murphy, who uses the psychodynamic approach, believes in facilitating a “safe, supportive, nurturing environment, enabling the client to find their voice.”

The psychodynamic approach is designed to help individuals with a wide range of problems but tends to be most effective in treating more specific issues such as anxiety disorders (i.e. phobias and obsessive-compulsive disorders) and is one of the main types of therapy used to treat depression.

Psychodynamic Therapy is often used for the treatment of:

• Addiction
• Anxiety
• Compulsions
• Depression
• Obsessions
• Phobias
• Sexual dysfunction
• Relationship problems

To read more about the psychodynamic approach, read our interview with MyMind therapist Geraldine Mulpeter.

Click the button below to book an appointment with a psychodynamic therapist at MyMind, or call us at 076 680 1060 to speak to a member of our team.