“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” – Carl Jung
Psychodynamic Therapy is a depth-oriented approach that explores how past experiences, early relationships, and unconscious processes influence your current thoughts, feelings, and behaviours—often in ways you may not immediately recognise. Unlike therapies focused solely on symptom relief, it seeks to understand the underlying roots of recurring patterns. The goal is to bring these hidden influences into conscious awareness, creating the possibility for more authentic choice and lasting change. It is a collaborative exploration of your inner world, offering a safe, confidential space to make sense of your story.
Understanding the Psychodynamic Perspective
This therapy is grounded in the understanding that we are not always fully aware of what motivates us. Feelings, memories, and desires can be pushed out of conscious awareness (a process called repression) if they feel too threatening or conflict with our self-image. These unresolved aspects don’t disappear; they continue to exert influence, potentially contributing to symptoms like unexplained anxiety, persistent low mood, or difficulties in relationships. By exploring these dynamics with curiosity and compassion, we can untangle their hold on the present. It’s a process, not about finding fault with the past, but about reclaiming agency over your present and future.
How Does Psychodynamic Therapy Work?
Our work together will provide a consistent, reflective space where patterns can emerge and be understood. We will pay attention not only to what you say but also to how you say it, to emotions that arise in the room, and to the dynamics of our therapeutic relationship, which can often mirror patterns from other important relationships in your life (a concept known as transference). This process is not about receiving direct advice, but about developing deeper self-awareness and insight. It is a gradual unfolding, where together we connect the dots between past experiences and present challenges, fostering greater emotional freedom and resilience.
What Can Psychodynamic Therapy Help Address?
This exploratory approach can be particularly valuable for understanding and transforming deep-seated, recurring patterns:
- Understanding the Roots of Anxiety & Panic: Psychodynamic work can help uncover the unconscious conflicts or unresolved fears that may fuel chronic anxiety or panic attacks, moving beyond mere symptom management to address underlying causes.
- Exploring the Depths of Depression & Low Mood: It can illuminate how early losses, unexpressed anger, or ingrained negative self-beliefs contribute to persistent low mood, offering a path to healing that addresses the emotional history behind the symptoms.
- Unpacking Chronic Stress & Burnout: This therapy can explore internal drivers, such as perfectionism or a deeply held need for approval, that may lead to unsustainable work-life patterns and eventual burnout.
- Processing Trauma & PTSD: Psychodynamic therapy provides a framework for slowly and safely integrating fragmented traumatic memories, understanding their impact on your sense of self and your world, and rebuilding a cohesive life narrative.
- Illuminating Relationship Difficulties: By examining attachment patterns and internalised models of relationships formed early in life, this approach can shed light on why you might repeatedly encounter similar conflicts or dynamics with partners, family, or colleagues.
Is Psychodynamic Therapy Right for You?
This approach is well-suited if you are curious about self-discovery, interested in understanding the “why” behind your struggles, and willing to engage in an open-ended, exploratory process. It is for those seeking not just symptom reduction, but meaningful and lasting personal transformation.
Begin Your Exploratory Journey with a Free Initial Consultation
I offer a free initial call to discuss your hopes for therapy and to explore whether the reflective, in-depth nature of Psychodynamic Therapy could be the right path for your healing and growth.