Psychodynamic Therapy and Psychoanalysis in Chicago

You may have heard that psychodynamic therapy and psychoanalysis are old-fashioned or unscientific. Actually, the new version of psychodynamic therapy is more powerful and works better than many other therapies.

Recent research shows this type of therapy works best for many problems. The changes in psychodynamic therapy have been found to last longer than in more symptom-focused treatments. Read about the research in this paper by Jonathan Shedler.

How psychodynamic therapy works

Psychodynamic therapy gets to the emotions you are not aware of. These are problems you can’t think your way out of.

Our therapists work directly with feelings that come up between you and your therapist. This work lets you “show’ your therapist what’s wrong. Then you can work out the problems directly in the room.

Why go back to the past?

You’ll sometimes talk about painful events from your childhood, such as your relationships with your parents.  Bringing up past emotional memories helps “update” your mind. What you learn about your past will change how you feel and act in the present.

How we work

Our psychodynamic therapists have advanced training in how to work with the unconscious mind.. We get below your “rational” conscious thoughts so we can work with old emotions you don’t know you feel.

Brain research shows us most of our mind works outside our awareness. This paper by Mark Solms will help you understand the mind-brain connection from a psychoanalytic point of view.

During psychoanalysis, sometimes the client lays on a couch to help them focus

Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Therapy

In psychoanalysis, you will come to therapy more often.  More frequent sessions (three to five a week) help you understand yourself better so you can address more complex problems.  Some clients may want to lie down to help get in touch with unconscious parts of their mind. Psychoanalysis takes more time, but it is the best way to help some people change long-standing patterns.

Please contact us to see if this way of working is right for you!

Low Fee Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

Low Fee Psychoanalytic Therapy

Lakeview Center offers low fee  psychoanalytic psychotherapy with our trainees. We can see clients 3-5 times per week at an affordable weekly fee. Contact us to set up a free phone screening to see if reduced fee psychoanalytic therapy is right for you.

Contact  Niquie Dworkin, PhD

For an introduction to psychoanalysis, watch this short video.