Psychoanalysis is the oldest form of talk therapy and the foundation from which most modern approaches to psychology grew. At its core, it is a method of careful, sustained conversation aimed at understanding the deeper forces that shape how we think, feel, and behave; many of which operate outside our conscious awareness.
Where some therapies focus on managing symptoms or changing specific behaviors, psychoanalysis is interested in origins. The assumption is that the patterns causing difficulty in your life today have a history, and that understanding that history, rather than working around it, is what makes lasting change possible.
In practice, psychoanalysis is less structured than most people expect. There is no agenda, no worksheet, no technique to practice at home. Conversations range widely, from the events of the week to long-forgotten memories, from recurring fantasies to the details of a dream. I also pay close attention to moments of resistance: the impulse to avoid a topic, to arrive late, to go quiet. These moments are not obstacles to the work, they are often the work itself.
What emerges from all of this is not instruction but understanding and over time, a greater freedom to live differently.
Some people come to psychoanalysis after trying other approaches that brought partial relief but left something unresolved. Others come because they sense that what troubles them runs deeper than a specific symptom; that anxiety, or repeated relationship failures, or a persistent feeling of emptiness, is pointing toward something worth understanding rather than simply managing.
Psychoanalysis tends to suit people who are curious about themselves, willing to tolerate uncertainty, and interested in genuine understanding over quick results. It is not the right fit for everyone, and that is worth saying plainly.
It is also a significant commitment. Psychoanalysis typically meets three times per week. That frequency is not arbitrary; it is what allows the work to develop the depth and continuity that distinguishes analysis from other forms of therapy. The investment is real, and so are the results for those who are ready for it.
If you are considering psychoanalysis, I would want to meet with you first. The initial consultation sessions are an opportunity for both of us to assess whether this kind of work is the right fit and to begin building the foundation that any good analysis depends on.