How Does Psychoanalysis Differ From Other Mental-Health Therapies?

Here are some characteristics that help differentiate this treatment from other forms of psychotherapy:

• Psychoanalysis is not short-term treatment but its results are often lasting with positive effects that are usually realized in the years following the completion of treatment.
• Patients often use the couch, which fosters thinking, emotional experience and self-reflection and allows for privacy and connection in equal measure.
• It is the power of self-understanding in the context of a facilitating therapeutic relationship that allows psychoanalysis to be effective.
• Patients are encouraged to attend frequent sessions during the workweek. This allows for continuity and intensity of focus and is not a measure of the severity of the problem. Psychoanalysts are specifically trained to work in this intensive, dedicated manner in a close partnership with each patient. A wealth of experience and research has confirmed that this is the best way to help patients evolve and change in meaningful ways.