Psychoanalytic Therapy

Informally, psychoanalytic therapy is also referred to as the 'talking therapy' or the 'talking cure', as this form of treatment relies on verbal interaction between the therapist and the patient. At times, talking about your problems to someone makes you feel better - that's human nature, and this therapy banks on this very fact about our nature. This therapy, developed by Sigmund Freud, is one of the several therapies used by the modern-day therapists to cure a range of mental disorders.

What is Psychoanalytic Therapy?

Also referred to as psychoanalysis, it is a term used for the process of the studying human mentation and human development, and its application to reveal the unconscious thoughts and feelings which affect the conscious behavior of an individual. Determining these factors and treating them is crucial as they have the tendency of resulting in neuroses. In a broad sense, it refers to the study of human psychological functioning and behavior, and applying the same to cure a range of mental problems.

Some of the most prominent theories which form an integral part of this psychotherapy. include topographic theory, ego psychology, conflict theory, object relations theory, self psychology, interpersonal psychoanalysis, inter-subjective psychoanalysis, modern psychoanalysis, etc. This form of therapy was developed by an Austrian neurologist - Sigmund Freud, way back in the 1890s. Since then, it has been practiced by numerous therapists across the world. Over time, several new forms of this therapy have also been developed.

Application
Several therapists use psychoanalytic therapy as a method of investigation of the mind and the way one thinks, and to study the various theories of the human behavior. Its most common use, however, is the treatment of psychological or emotional illness. This form of therapy stresses on the fact that events from our childhood, our unconscious feelings, our thoughts, etc., play a crucial role in the mental illnesses we suffer from. The therapist makes the person talk about these thoughts, feelings, dreams, fantasies and other aspects of the mind, which help in tracing the unconscious conflicts which trigger the mental health problems. As a part of the treatment, the therapist also interprets these unconscious conflicts to the patient in order to make him understand the problem. In this way, all the pathological defenses, wishes and guilt of the patient are clarified. It is quite useful for the treatment of various disorders, including anxiety disorder and borderline personality disorder.

Criticisms
Over time, this form of treatment has also been subjected to severe criticism on various fronts. A lot depends on the individual's willingness to provide the information, and making this happen is a bit difficult as people suffering from a mental disorder are not quite convinced that they need any sort of help. The critics of this therapy also highlight the long period of treatment and the cost incurred on it as its major drawbacks. The fact that psychoanalytic therapy relies on the ambiguities for data, along with the lack of empirical evidence, also makes the case weak for this therapy.

Over the course of time, things have changed considerably with the frequency of visits to the therapist being reduced, and the traditional couch, meant for the patient to sit, being replaced by a proper chair. That, however, hasn't created much of difference in the efficiency of this method. Many therapists claim that it is one of the most effective method of treating personality disorders even today, and these claims are backed by several studies.