Psychodynamic therapy (or Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy as it is sometimes called) is a general name for therapeutic approaches which try to get the patient to bring to the surface their true feelings, so that they can experience them and understand them.

Like Psychoanalysis, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy uses the basic assumption that everyone has an unconscious mind (this is sometimes called the subconscious), and that feelings held in the unconscious mind are often too painful to be faced. Thus we come up with defences to protect us knowing about these painful feelings. An example of one of these defences is called denial - which you may have already come across.

Psychodynamic therapy assumes that these defences have gone wrong and are causing more harm than good, that is why you have needed to seek help. It tries to unravel them, as once again, it is assumed that once you are aware of what is really going on in your mind the feelings will not be as painful.

What's the difference between Psychodynamic Therapy and Psychoanalysis?

Although similar to Psychoanalysis, in fact it was derived from a similar background!, it tends to differ in two obvious ways. Firstly it is shorter (usually!), and secondly there tends to be a more specific aim to psychodynamic therapy. For example, sorting out a phobia. Whereas, Psychoanalysis will tend to look to affect a lot more of your personality.

Psychodynamic Counselling

What is 'psychodynamic' counselling?

Psychological therapies fall into three general categories:
(1) Behavioural (2) Humanistic (3) Psychoanalytic.

Behavioural therapies work with conscious processes and focus on cognitions and behaviours. Humanistic therapies seek to empower the client through self-actualisation – working with the ‘here and now’.

Psychodynamic model. Psychoanalytic therapies have unconscious processes at the heart of the work. Psychodynamic counselling is derived from psychoanalysis and the psychoanalytic theorists. It is a model that uses psychoanalytic concepts to explain human growth and development, and the nature of psychological problems.

Counsellors are not analysts and they can expect to work in a broad range of settings, with both long and short-term clients.

Psychodynamic counselling uses the therapeutic relationship to gain insight into unconscious relationship patterns that evolved since childhood. Memories, dreams and other evidence of early relationships are used to make sense of current concerns.

The process of change occurs as clients become more aware of the power of the unconscious, including defence mechanisms, instincts and rules for life, to influence behaviour, and hence more able to control their actions and responses.

The therapeutic relationship in contemporary psychodynamic counselling is based on acceptance, empathy and understanding, with an emphasis on developing a good working alliance that fosters trust. The counsellor takes account of the real world of the client, including the impact of trauma, cultural difference, sexual orientation, disability and social context.

Psychodynamic counselling skills and theory can be valuable in many working and social environments. The insight and understanding about human functions gained from psychoanalytic theory, can enhance the life of the client, and can be put to a variety of good uses.

Psychodynamic Counselling may help you with a wide variety of emotional difficulties, some examples are listed below:-

• Assertiveness
• Bereavement and Loss
• Stress at work
• Your relationships
• 'Mid-life crisis'
• Panic attacks and phobias
• Anger and rage
• Sexuality issues
• Living with a life threatening illness
• HIV / AIDS
• Unemployment, redundancy, retirement
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Lack of confidence or self esteem 
• Sexual, emotional or physical abuse
• Emotional or physical exhaustion as a carer
• Trauma, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Difficulty in accessing emotions

History

The principles of psychodynamics were first introduced in the 1874 publication Lectures on Physiology by German scientist Ernst Wilhelm von Brücke. Brücke, taking a cue from thermodynamics, suggested that all living organisms are energy systems, governed by the principle of energy conservation. During the same year, Brücke was supervisor to first-year medical student Sigmund Freud at the University of Vienna. Freud later adopted this new construct of “dynamic” physiology to aid in his own conceptualization of the human psyche. Later, both the concept and application of psychodynamics was further developed by the likes of Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, and Melanie Klein

Core Principles and Characteristics

Although psychodynamic psychotherapy can take many forms, commonalities include[2]: 

• An emphasis on the centrality of intrapsychic and unconscious conflicts, and their relation to development. 
• Seeing defenses as developing in internal psychic structures in order to avoid unpleasant consequences of conflict. 
• A belief that psychotherapy develops especially from early childhood experiences. 
• A view that internal representations of experiences are organized around interpersonal relations. 
• A conviction that life issues and dynamics will re-emerge in the context of the client-therapist relationship as transference and counter-transference. 
• Use of free association as a major method for exploration of internal conflicts and problems. 
• Focusing on interpretations of transference, defense mechanisms, and current symptoms and the working through of these present problems. 
• Trust in insight as critically important for success in therapy