Psychodynamic Therapy Explained
In addiction treatment, psychodynamic therapy is used to help uncover deep-seated emotions and thought patterns of an individual to understand the reasons that led them to addiction. The basis of this kind of individual therapy is that there are unconscious parts of the brain that affect everyday life that one cannot fully understand.
The key to this session is accessing early memories from the past or other crucial situations that adversely affect the individuals conscious mind. Once this is done, the psychodynamic therapist’s goal is to help the patient make connections from their unconscious mind to their present behaviours.
If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, doing psychodynamic therapy can help them uproot the source and driving motivators that lead to their actions. Understanding how their minds work is crucial to assisting them to create better choices and a toolkit of healthy coping strategies.
Read on to learn how psychodynamic therapy works in addiction treatment and how someone can benefit from it.
Why Use Psychodynamic Therapy in Addiction Treatment?
The belief behind psychodynamic therapy’s effectiveness in addiction treatment is because of how it can dig deep into the root causes of a person’s addiction. Uncovering these root causes is highly personal and helps patients gain awareness of their unconscious thoughts and behaviours. Through this kind of awareness, one can understand the triggers of their behaviours and later on create healthier defence mechanisms to avoid the pattern of substance abuse.
What Happens During Psychodynamic Therapy?
In psychodynamic therapy sessions, the first thing that happens is an assessment. This is where the individuals childhood, family background, and current life are brought to the table. Down the line, the therapist will encourage the individual to freely explore different areas of their life that come to mind. The key in this session is to let them freely share what’s on their mind without holding back or forcing the patient to share about a specific trigger. The therapist will then compile this information and help the individual understand their unconscious thought patterns and processes that can be connected to their struggle with addiction. The goal is to bring up the unconscious and connect the dots on their conscious actions.
What lies behind us and what lies before us are
tiny matters compared to what lies within us
What to Expect from Psychodynamic Therapy
In this kind of therapy, you should expect that sessions can be a safe space to share about difficult emotions and memories. Individuals will share personal details about their lives that may be hard to discuss at first, but the good thing is that they will be treated with compassion all throughout.
Many therapists, in fact, have personal experiences with addiction, may it be personally or through a loved one. Trust that they understand, and it is their job to ensure that their client feels safe sharing about their vulnerable sides. In psycho-dynamic therapy, individuals will be equipped with the knowledge to understand the connections between their life experiences and their current predicament.
How Effective is Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychodynamic therapy is effective in treating mental health disorders like anxiety and depression that some people struggling with addiction also experience. This kind of therapy allows individuals the opportunity to explore painful experiences or difficult emotions in a safe space with a trained therapist to help them uncover these. It is believed that accessing these experiences can help identify the triggers of misusing substances and, later on, exhibiting behaviours of addiction.
The awareness brought by psychodynamic therapy helps people struggling with addiction learn how they can cope healthily and address deep-seated emotions and triggers without relapsing. They will be equipped with new strategies that they can use to combat addictive behaviours and also live a better life free from the restraints of addiction.
What Can Psychodynamic Therapy Help With?
Psychodynamic therapy can be used to help with a broad range of issues and mental illnesses. Psychodynamic therapy can help with the following:
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Anxiety
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Depression
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Eating disorders
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Loss of meaning in life
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Panic disorders
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Personality disorders
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Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
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Persistent feelings of loneliness
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Trouble connecting with others or forming relationships
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Sexual issues
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Substance misuse (addiction)
Since the 1950s, a more intense, short-term form of psychodynamic therapy has emerged. Originally introduced in a series of workshops, this method of short-term psychodynamic therapy (also known as intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP)) was eventually developed 20 years later by psychoanalyst Habib Davanloo. His aim was to enhance the efficacy of psychoanalysis and minimise the length of treatment.
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