What is Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy?

Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy is a long-established therapeutic approach that seeks to understand how unconscious patterns—often rooted in childhood experiences—shape our current thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. It is particularly helpful when surface-level solutions haven’t brought relief or when the same issues keep repeating in your life and relationships.

This approach creates space to explore the deeper layers of your inner world, uncovering thoughts and feelings that may have been buried, dismissed, or misunderstood. These insights are not imposed, but discovered over time through a trusting relationship with your therapist.

How Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Works

The therapy typically involves meeting once or more per week in a confidential, consistent space where you’re encouraged to speak freely. You won’t be handed quick answers — instead, your therapist will listen closely, offering reflections that may help bring hidden patterns into the light.

Key areas explored may include:

• Early life experiences and how they shaped you
• Unconscious beliefs about self, others, and the world
• Dreams, fantasies, and internal conflicts
• Relationship patterns and emotional triggers
• How your past influences your present choices

One of the unique aspects of this therapy is the attention paid to the therapeutic relationship itself. The dynamic between client and therapist often mirrors how you relate to others in life — providing a live, safe space to work through those dynamics.

What Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Can Help With

This approach is particularly effective for:

• Long-term or recurring depression and anxiety
• Emotional struggles with no clear cause
• Low self-worth or inner emptiness
• Repetitive relationship difficulties
• Grief, trauma, or unresolved loss
• Identity questions and existential concerns
• Creative blocks or chronic dissatisfaction

It’s well-suited to those who want a richer understanding of themselves and are open to a slower, deeper process of change.

What to Expect in a Session

Sessions may feel open-ended, with room for silence, wandering thoughts, and unexpected insights. You’re encouraged to say what comes to mind—even if it feels strange, trivial, or unrelated. These moments often hold clues to deeper emotional truths.

Your therapist will not judge or direct you, but instead will hold a safe space where patterns, associations, and meaning can unfold at your pace.

Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at LifeChange, Dublin 2

At LifeChange, several of our therapists are trained in psychoanalytic and psychodynamic traditions. Whether you’re struggling with long-standing emotional pain or simply curious about the deeper forces within you, this approach can provide powerful insight and relief.

Sessions are available in-person at our Dublin 2 practice or online.

Is Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Right for Me?

If you find yourself stuck in the same emotional patterns, or if you’ve always felt there’s “more beneath the surface” that hasn’t yet been explored — this therapy can offer the depth and safety needed to make real, lasting change.