What Is Psychodynamic Therapy?

When It Is Used

Psychodynamic therapy is most often used as a treatment method for depression and other debilitating psychological disorders. It's particularly recommended for patients who can't find meaning in their lives, and who struggle to maintain or form personal relationships. Research indicates psychodynamic therapy is also effective when applied to social anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and addiction. With depression, the goal is often to understand why these feelings are persisting. The theory is formative experiences may have caused patients to become detached from the world and those around them, especially in cases of child neglect or abuse. Addiction is often a way of self-medicating another mood disorder, but the form of self-medication might have subconscious roots that can be found in memory. With disordered eating, an affected individual might have internalized body image issues at a very young age because of their parents or the media. Social anxiety disorder is sometimes rooted in a fear of a past embarrassment or painful interaction repeating itself. Isolating these formative memories can help patients work through the trauma of them and start to move on.

Understand the major goals of psychodynamic therapy now.