What Is Psychodynamic Therapy?
Psychodynamic therapy is a form of talk therapy used to treat mental health conditions. It's actually the most commonly referenced type of therapy in pop culture, often linked to the phrase 'how does that make you feel?' In today's mental health practices, it has ironically become much less widely used than other types of therapy. The most common therapeutic methods used today are interpersonal therapy (IPT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
With psychodynamic therapy, the goal is to understand how past experiences influence current behaviors. Therapies like CBT and IPT are used to eliminate symptoms of disorders, while psychodynamic therapy's goal is to foster an understanding of how those disorders developed in the first place.
Defining Psychodynamic Therapy
Therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy are based on behaviors. They aim to help patients stop engaging in behaviors and unhealthy coping mechanisms that cause harm to them and those around them. Psychodynamic therapy, on the other hand, isn't based on external behaviors. Instead, it focuses on what happens inside the patient's head before anything is externalized. It analyzes their emotional and mental processes. The theory is by helping clients find patterns and causes for their behavior, they can gain self-awareness and insight.
This clarity can help them to break the pattern in the future. One of the core aspects of psychodynamic therapy is the theory that early experiences have extremely strong influences over how an individual's emotions and thoughts develop. The client is meant to find the puzzle pieces that help them understand themselves, and then turn those puzzle pieces into a more positive identity.
Similarities To Other Therapies
Psychodynamic therapy has some similarities and differences with other commonly used therapies. It's very similar to psychoanalytic therapy, which is a kind of in-depth talk therapy that attempts to bring deeply buried or unconscious thoughts into the conscious mind, allowing patients to examine their repressed emotions. However, psychodynamic therapy tends to be shorter in both the frequency and duration of sessions, and it has a greater focus on the patient's relationship to themselves than to their therapist.
By contrast, cognitive behavioral therapy is based on symptoms and the learning of skills to stop problematic behaviors. Rather than feeling the need to choose CBT or psychodynamic therapy, a healthy treatment plan might involve both types of therapy in conjunction. With CBT, the patient explores their problematic behaviors and receives important information about how to cope. With psychodynamic therapy, the patient is given a better understanding of themselves, their thoughts, their emotions, and their overall identity. These two things can exist in conjunction without one undermining the other.
