Psychodynamic therapy.

PDT is a conversation-based therapeutic approach that focuses on gaining a deeper understanding of your inner feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. By exploring and processing unconscious patterns and past life experiences, PDT helps you understand why you react in certain ways in different situations. The goal is to create long-term changes in how you relate to both yourself and others.

How does PDT work?

PDT is flexible and tailored to the individual’s needs and experiences. The focus is on exploring emotions, relationships, and unconscious thought patterns rather than following a predetermined schedule or rigid structure. This therapeutic approach is particularly valued for its key benefits:

• Deeper self-awareness: The therapy helps you understand how past experiences influence your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors today.
• Emotional processing: By working through emotions on a deeper level, you gain tools to manage them more constructively.
• Improved relationships: A focus on relationships helps identify and change patterns that affect how you interact with others.

What PDT can help with.

Psychodynamic Therapy (PDT) can be helpful for individuals struggling with long-term emotional issues that affect their quality of life. The therapy focuses on understanding and changing underlying psychological patterns, which can lead to lasting changes. PDT is particularly effective for:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Eating disorders
• Relationship issues
• Personality disorders
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Substance abuse issues
• General mental health concerns

PDT provides tools to address these challenges by exploring deeper emotional and psychological experiences, helping individuals process difficult feelings and build healthier patterns.

Expectations in PDT.

In therapy, you’ll be encouraged to open up and share both the thoughts and feelings that arise in the moment, as well as reflect on past life experiences. It’s not just about talking; it’s about truly understanding the emotional patterns that drive your behavior. Therapy provides tools to help you reflect on how these patterns impact you, enabling deep, meaningful change.

PDT, rooted in psychoanalytic theory, is often a less intensive and prolonged process than traditional psychoanalysis. While psychoanalysis tends to focus heavily on the patient-therapist relationship, PDT also emphasizes the patient’s relationships with others in the world around them.

Short-term vs. Long-term Psychodynamic therapy.

Psychodynamic therapy can adapt to your needs, whether you’re looking for short-term support or long-term exploration.

• Short-term PDT: Focuses on a specific issue, such as relationship challenges or anxiety. This approach is goal-oriented, helping you develop tools to address these challenges within a set timeframe.
• Long-term PDT: Delves into deeper emotional patterns, thoughts, and experiences over several months or even years. The aim is to uncover and address longstanding behaviours or beliefs that may be holding you back, fostering lasting personal growth.

Both short- and long-term PDT offer a supportive space to reflect, understand, and create meaningful change in your life, guided by a therapist who tailors the approach to your unique needs.