Psychotherapy & Psychoanalysis
The decision to begin psychotherapy or psychoanalysis is a significant commitment to yourself. Careful consideration at the beginning of this process will have a major impact on the success of either treatment. Many people considering treatment have already identified a "problem" while others only have a feeling of anxiety or depression that they cannot accurately tie to a particular cause. Whatever your situation is, it is usually best to have an initial consultation period of one or more sessions to clarify issues and to determine whether we are a good "fit" for one another. This time will give you an opportunity to ask questions you may have of me and for me to form and offer my recommendations. We will then set a course of treatment. If I determine that I do not have the particular skills to help you I will make every effort to help you find someone who does.
Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is usually conducted one or more times each week. Patients are encouraged to freely express their concerns, thoughts and feelings and are invited, along with the therapist, to note patterns of conflict that emerge. From that vantage point both therapist and patient can explore new solutions to such obstacles that may have been lifelong problems.
Psychoanalysis is the most intensive and potentially most effective clinical treatment. Recent research has indicated that this longer-term therapy is more effective than other less intensive treatments. Like psychoanalytic psychotherapy, psychoanalysis is an intimate partnership between therapist and patient for identifying and changing long-standing obstacles to emotional growth. Psychoanalysis involves multiple sessions each week. Patients in psychoanalysis often find that reclining on a couch, with the analyst outside their immediate view, helps them speak more freely. Psychoanalysis is a major commitment of time, finances and emotional investment and, because of this, it can be life altering.