Are there any pros-cons for traditional psychoanalytic method vs more modern/mainstream methods ?

@sweetCharity I'm disappointed no 7 Cups therapist has replied yet. Maybe 2 days is not enough time over a weekend. Perhaps @7CupsCommunity will know.

I've spoken to therapists about this in the past, and the impression I get is that no therapist completely trusts other therapists' methods. Most of the very bad therapists I know of say they use psychodynamic (psychoanalytic) approaches. A couple of the very good therapists I know of say they use Jungian approaches, also a type of psychoanalytic approach. I've occasionally come across people who were harmed by psychodynamic therapists who kept them in therapy for many years when it wasn't helping.

Modern approaches are usually short, so at least they are unlikely to do as much harm. (Although a recent post in these forums describes permanent harm done by a counsellor who may have been trying to use modern methods.) But many therapists who try to use modern methods work from treatment manuals, and what I've heard is that this is less likely to be effective.

So my personal feeling is that having a therapist you trust and who is genuinely interested in you as a person is more important than the method they are using, and you might have to be prepared to use trial and error to find the right therapist. Therapists who drown you in paperwork at the start are perhaps best avoided, because it will take longer for you to be able to get to know them personally. Therapists who offer a fixed number of sessions are perhaps likely to be working from a treatment manual.

All of this is just my personal impressions. Feel free to message me, if you like, or reply here in the forum if you'd like to discuss this some more.

Charlie

@sweetCharity

What great questions! @RarelyCharlie apologies for the delay. I haven't been as active as checking this forum so I will learn my lesson and check-in more with you all from now on, I'll also reach out to more therapists so you get a varied response of answers :) Please feel free to tag me if you have a question.

Therapy works differently for different people and what you might experience might be completely different for the next person. I would say that I echo what RarelyCharlie said about finding the right fit because then you know that your therapist is for you. It is also important for you to research different therapeutic approaches as talking in depth about the past might not be something that you want to do and instead you want to focus on what is happening now for you.

So a little bit of background information... Psychoanalysis is a subset of psychodynamic theory. According to the APA, psychoanalysis is a type of psychodynamic theory created by Freud that is focused on unconscious motivations and conflict. It is usually very long and intensive (sometimes 3-5 times per week). Psychodynamic theory is a broad therapeutic orientation that consists of self psychology, object relations, ego psychology, psychoanalysis (and more). Behavior is explained in terms of past experiences and motivational forces. Actions are viewed as stemming from inherited instincts, biological drives, and attempts to resolve conflicts between personal needs and social requirements. The British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) suggests that the difference between psychoanalysis and psychodynamic theory is the frequency of sessions with psychoanalysis having many sessions per week (as mentioned above).

The psychoanalytic approach has been around for a long time! I have not used this approach in my own methods as I use more of an eclectic approach combing Rogerian therapy approaches (person-centred approach) and combining this with CBT so I might not be the best person to answer this but I'll give it a go. I believe that a person with childhood issues may find the psychodynamic and the person-centred approach equally as beneficial. Although, the psychodynamic approach will look at the unconscious elements of the individual and combined with the early childhood experiences. CBT may look at thought patterns affecting behaviour so anyone that is struggling with a certain issue for instance intrusive negative thoughts might find CBT really useful to unravel patterns and to develop coping skills. Perhaps a person that wants to analyse their childhood and their caregives really in-depth might find the psychoanalytic approach really works for them.

The psychoanalytic approach relies on behaviour that is really fixed from our childhoods so if an individual does not believe that their childhood contains all of the clues to how we behave they might want to explore other approaches. Nowadays, psychotherapy isn't so fixed and rigid so you might find this information is changing often. Please let me know if you have anymore questions.

@sweetCharity

Hello,

I apologize in advance if I misunderstood the question, but here is my answer. To my knowledge traditional psychoanalysis is not used any more because over Freud's life it changed into a less practical approach. There are, however, modern variants of psychoanalysis that rely heavily on Freud's traditional psychoanalytic theories. I am not aware of the extent to which training is offered, number of therapists who are training in psychoanalysis, or anything like that. If I had to guess why there are a limited number of psychoanalytic therapists out there is because of politics; psychoanalysis is a long-term treatment method and insurance companies are unwilling to pay for clients to attend therapy for an indeterminate amount of time. Instead they want modern, shorter-term methods that offer results (which is often CBT, because it has stacks upon stacks of research papers behind it).

Psychoanalysis is rooted in theories that are not really supported any longer by the mental health field because of the nature of how the therapy worked. Psychoanalysis had no real focus in the later stage of the approach, the therapist and the client both lacked direction in therapy, and the therapist didn't really help the client with their problem in the long run (when we consider Freud). That being said, psychoanalysis has laid the groundwork for many of our modern approaches to therapy. Psychodynamic approaches are modern variants of psychoanalysis that use clinically-tested approaches.

No one therapy approach is suitable for everyone, and a good therapist will know that. A therapist should use an eclectic model of therapy, meaning they pull elements from multiple difference approaches to help the client in the best way possible. In my opinion one of the more important elements of traditional psychoanalysis that remains today in other therapy approaches is the specific focus on the problem and how the client experiences it (used in nearly every short-term approach).

In general psychodynamic approaches tend to be less sought-after than methods like CBT, ACT, or DBT because they tend to be a longer treatmment plan (there are exceptions though). Most of the time clients will see a public mental healthcare provider who has to use short-term treatment approaches for insurance purposes.

To answer your original question about pros and cons: it depends on the person and the therapist. Some clients have really good results with psychodynamic therapy, others not so much. Over and above a specific therapy approach, research actually shows that one of the most influential factors in a positive outcome for a client is the relationship with the therapist; if a client has a good relationship with the therapist, you're halfway there according to research.