Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is a derivative of psychoanalysis, the therapeutic model invented by Freud. In traditional psychoanalysis the patient and therapist meet multiple times a week. This frequency of sessions facilitates the access to emotions felt in early life. This is important to the healing process because psychoanalysis presumes that our early life experiences create relational patterns that come to shape our adult life.

Freud also introduced the radical concept of the unconscious which posits that we are influenced by psychic material that we aren’t aware of. The unconscious is infinite and can be observed through behavior, dreams and reverie.

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is based upon these same principals but does not require multiple sessions a week. This creates a slower pace and makes psychoanalytic psychotherapy more accessible for most people.

While psychoanalysis can only formally be practiced by someone who has undergone their own analysis and analytical training, psychoanalytic psychotherapy can be practiced by a licensed therapist.

RELATIONAL PSYCHOANALYTIC PSYCHOTHERAPY 

The American Psychological Association defines relational psychoanalysis as “a psychoanalytic approach incorporating aspects of several theoretical perspectives, such as object relations theory and interpersonal theory. It focuses on an individual’s sense of self and patterns of relating to others as developed in early relationships and in treatment it emphasizes the importance of the relationship between a patient and analyst or therapist in helping the patient understand those patterns and form new ones.”

Simply put, our significant relationships from early life form who we become as adults, so with a certain set of conditions, a therapeutic relationship can change who we are. 

In relational psychoanalytic psychotherapy, the therapist actively engages with the patient. The relationship is used as a medium to trace and explore the unconscious. This is done by the creative act of free association. Christopher Bollas, a contemporary psychoanalyst, writes of free association:

“In this moving expression of unbound ideas, the patient not only finds self-expression but, more tellingly, finds or rediscovers the route to unconscious freedom and personal creativity” (1996, p. 69).

FIELD THEORY

Field theory is an emergent line of thought within contemporary psychoanalysis. Developed by a psychoanalyst named Wilfred Bion, field theory views the therapeutic process as occurring in a dynamic emotional and psychological space, referred to as the field. This is a space that both patient and therapist co-create.

In this approach, the therapist aims to provide a sense of containment to the patient. The therapist holds for the patient undigested bits of psychic life called beta elements. The therapist then metabolizes these beta elements to create a more meaningful understanding for the patient.

Reverie is an important part of this work. The therapist is in a position to attune, receive and reflect. Field theory is a spontaneous and intuitive approach to therapy.