Psychoanalysis - Questions And Answers

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

In this material, I have tried to very briefly formulate answers to frequently asked questions regarding various aspects of working in a psychoanalytic format.

Content

1. What psychoanalysis does
2. What problems can be solved with a psychoanalyst
3. Who can benefit from psychoanalysis
4. Who DOES NOT need psychoanalysis
5. How to choose a specialist
6. What happens during the consultation
7. Online psychoanalysis (distance therapy)
8. Meeting frequency
9. Duration of therapy
10. Requests for the client, psychoanalyst and psychoanalytic process
11. Is it more correct to choose a specialist of the same sex or the opposite?
12. How much does the service cost?

13. Myths and misconceptions about psychoanalysis:

    • Psychoanalyst is needed by mentally ill people
    • Psychoanalysis is only about sex
    • The psychoanalyst only gets paid and does nothing
    • You can "get hooked" on psychoanalysis and forget how to live independently
    • There are no issues that need to be discussed for years
    • You can talk about problems with friends, why pay money for it
    • Only rich people can afford the services of a psychoanalyst
    • The psychoanalyst "sees through a person"
    • Psychoanalysis can solve any, even the most difficult problems.
    • "Do something with me, I'm paying you money for it!"

What psychoanalysis does

Psychoanalysis studies the deep processes of the human psyche and their influence on his life in all aspects. Since a huge part of such processes is of an unconscious nature, the mechanisms of their work and manifestations are inaccessible to consciousness. It is in this connection that often difficult to explain problems arise in life.

What problems can be solved with a psychoanalyst

A feature of the psychoanalytic approach is that it is aimed at eliminating the causes of the problem, and not only at eliminating its manifestations. This sometimes causes confusion that requires additional clarification.

The meaning of this approach is that our unconscious, deep conflicts invisible to us manifest themselves in different ways. This can, for example, be depression or eating disorders, bad habits, relationship problems, loneliness, or a complicated love life. There may be several such disturbing manifestations, or they may arise one after another.

And so when we try to solve, for example, problems with eating disorders and go on a diet - we can certainly achieve permanent or temporary success and eliminate overeating.

But the symptom itself (overeating in this case) is only a consequence of a deeper, hidden from consciousness problem, internal conflict. And since we tried to correct the effect, not the cause, then either we cannot do it reliably, or, which may be even more unpleasant, some other symptom may appear, as a signal of the same unsolved deep problem.

And then it turns out that, seemingly eliminating overeating, we suddenly find in ourselves an increase in aggression towards loved ones or the appearance of unreasonable anxiety and fear, or some health problems at the bodily level.

Therefore, it is possible to reliably solve the disturbing problem only by resolving the internal unconscious conflict. And since it is hidden from consciousness, it is usually impossible to solve it without special techniques, conditions and the help of a qualified specialist.

Precisely because psychoanalysis works with deep mental processes and conflicts, and not with their consequences, it helps to solve a very wide range of issues and problems. Moreover, often these visible problems are sometimes solved in parallel and "automatically" - simply because they are the result of one deep internal conflict. And then, for example, along with overeating, the seemingly unrelated question of fear of driving a car or severe, painful chronic conflicts with parents goes away with it.

Clarification and elimination of the underlying causes, and not their consequences in the form of certain problems - this is the main difference between psychoanalysis of other types of psychotherapy

I have listed a few of the most common problems that can be clarified and resolved in psychoanalytic therapy.

Who can benefit from psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is necessary for any person who wants to understand their own deepest problems and motivations. As a rule, as a result, this significantly relieves life from heavy and traumatic emotions, resource-intensive actions, structures goal-setting and, in general, seriously increases the level of mental comfort in all areas. Including psychosomatic manifestations disappear.

Thus, we can say that psychoanalysis is necessary for any person interested in personal development.

Who DOES NOT need psychoanalysis

He is not needed by an absolutely healthy and self-satisfied person (are there any?).

It is not the most effective method for dealing with acute mental conditions.

Psychoanalysis (classical) does not work with mentally ill people.

How to choose a specialist

The choice of a psychoanalyst is not the easiest and most easily formalized question. Here it is necessary to evaluate several areas at once.

There are formal criteria - specialized education of a specialist, availability of his own training (passing a personal analysis), confirmation of his professional level (diplomas and certificates), recommendations of his colleagues, etc. Also useful in this sense can be the analyst's membership in professional communities - for example,. As a rule, it is impossible for a person from the street to get there, and such organizations serve as an additional filter separating professionals from unskilled specialists and even more charlatans.

There are criteria for an informal level - the recommendations of your acquaintances, your preliminary impressions formed when reading the information about this specialist, etc.

In addition, it is imperative to consider how this particular specialist is right for you. This is a very important parameter - after all, you will have to work together for a long time and it will not be the best way to use your resources to do analysis with a “wrong” analyst (even if it is highly qualified). In this situation, it would be right to hold a test meeting, get acquainted with a specialist and make the final choice based on personal impression.

Thus, the following strategy seems to be correct:

• We receive information about the professional training of a specialist (we filter out non-professionals and charlatans);
• We take into account the recommendations (if any) - while realizing that the specialist who approached your friend will not necessarily suit you;
• We conduct introductory meetings and get a personal impression of the person;
• We make the final choice and begin work.

What happens during the consultation

An analyst's office is a special platform where two people work: the analyst himself and his client. Such an office can be located anywhere, the main requirement for it is to ensure safety, privacy and comfort during the consultation (it is also called a session).

In the classical technique, the client lies on a couch, the analyst sits in a chair out of his field of vision. When working in other formats (as well as at familiarization meetings), communication usually takes place face-to-face. The standard session duration is 50 minutes.

The main (and, in fact, the only one for psychoanalysis) way of working is the conversation between the client and the analyst. This conversation, naturally, is about the most interesting person in the world - about the client, about everything that happens in his life. In the process of such communication, the analyst identifies the possible causes of certain manifestations, which ultimately allows the client to work on himself, relieving him of disturbing problems, situations and relationships.

Online psychoanalysis (distance therapy)

Naturally, the development of modern information technologies has an impact on the field of psychotherapy. External therapy is becoming an increasingly common option. The advantages of this method of contact are obvious - the lack of binding to the meeting place, saving time on the road, and, finally, this is sometimes the only available way of interaction.

For the client, an additional nuance appears here - the need to independently provide himself with a comfortable and safe private space during the consultation. It is important that there is no one there to interfere - be it colleagues, family members, children or even animals. That is, it should be a place where you will be guaranteed to be protected from unexpected intrusions by outsiders. Well, comfort is also important here - therefore, the opportunity to lie down, take shelter and somehow get cozy is also quite significant.

Separately, it should be said that since technical means are used for communication that we cannot fully control, then there is an additional risk of violation of confidentiality by third parties. Unfortunately, although such a risk is more theoretical in nature, it can nevertheless be significant from the point of view of unconscious influence on the communication process. It is impossible to exclude it, so we can only accept it - and work remotely, or not accept it - and choose the option of full-time work.

Meeting frequency

A fundamentally important parameter of the psychoanalytic process is the frequency of meetings between the client and the analyst. This parameter, along with all the others, is negotiated individually with each client. Of course, a modern city dweller, as a rule, cannot afford to work in a classic orthodox format (5-6 times a week), but the frequency of sessions is undoubtedly of great importance both in terms of quality and in terms of the total duration of work.

Here you can draw an analogy with watching a movie in the cinema and on television. In the first case, due to the conditions, maximum immersion and inclusion of the viewer in the plot is ensured, in the second - countless commercial breaks, the opportunity to simultaneously do other things, etc., blur and neutralize the emotional background, in addition, increasing the total duration of the film.

Returning to the question, I will answer as follows. Frequency less than 2 times a week significantly reduces the overall efficiency of work with deep psychological processes. However, this format may still be acceptable in supportive care or in special exceptional cases.

Once again, I would like to note that this aspect of therapy is certainly individual and depends primarily on the wishes and capabilities of the client.

Duration of therapy

The duration of therapy is largely dependent on the client. Depending on the complexity of the problem, the depth of the request, the willingness to move on, its duration can be from several meetings to several years.

Short-term work is a form of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. As for psychoanalysis, it is worth noting that it is working with the deep unconscious processes of the psyche, which were formed throughout the client's life. Therefore, such work, in principle, cannot be short-term - simply because of the complexity and volume of the psyche itself.

Of course, this process is finite, and its duration depends on many parameters. This is the level of the client's problematics, his initial request, changes in the client's life in the process of analysis, of course - the qualification of the analyst, and also (not least) - the client's readiness and work on himself.

Quite often, after a relatively quick study of the initial problem, the client has a desire to continue therapy in a deeper format of psychoanalysis.

Requests for the client, psychoanalyst and psychoanalytic process

There is no formal and final list of such wishes and, probably, cannot be. There are some restrictions that must be observed in terms of efficiency and, which is also important, safety of work.

For the client, this is, first of all, the need to comply with the established rules of work (arrive on time, do not miss sessions, pay according to the agreed conditions, etc.), as well as do their part of the work - i.e. discuss everything that requires discussion, despite sometimes the trauma and pain of the material.

From the point of view of work safety (by the way, mutually important), it should be said that there are restrictions that must be observed unconditionally by both the client and the analyst:

• Absolute confidentiality regarding everything that happens during the session;
• A complete ban on any contacts between the client and the analyst outside the sessions (of course, random meetings cannot be ruled out - but they can be just and only random);
• During the session, the rule “we talk about everything, we do nothing” works, the contact between the analyst and the client can only be visual and verbal.

Is it more correct to choose a specialist of the same sex or the opposite?

It seems that the word "more correct" is not quite appropriate here. Analysts undergo extensive training and are able to effectively work with clients regardless of their gender. If the client, in principle, cannot work with an analyst of a certain gender, then, of course, this is not necessary. But this is a question that would be worth working out one of the first.

In general, I can only say once again about the need to choose an analyst that is right for you. And the gender of the analyst is not so important here - after all, this difference (or coincidence) can both interfere and help the process. By the way, at different stages of work, this factor can change its sign to the opposite. In general, it all depends on the client's problematic and willingness to work it out.

How much does the service cost?

The psychoanalyst undergoes a long, complex and rather costly professional training. In addition, in this area it is impossible to learn once and for all - learning continues continuously, this process is very important for maintaining and developing competence.

Because of this, the services of an analyst are relatively expensive. It should also be added that the cost is determined by each specialist individually, including it can be formed by agreement with the client.

Myths and misconceptions about psychoanalysis

Psychoanalyst is needed by mentally ill people

This is wrong. Mentally ill people need the services of a psychiatrist. The psychoanalyst deals with work with ordinary, normal, healthy people. As a rule, clients need to increase psychological comfort, solve existing problems and, in general, improve their lives, and they are ready to spend their strength and resources on this.

You can draw an analogy with the services of a dentist - you can ignore the condition of your teeth and treat them only when there is no other way out (or not at all), but you can regularly go to the doctor and simply prevent serious problems from arising, at the same time eliminating the existing ones …

Naturally, the analogy is very conditional - like any such comparison (you can remember about a car and a car service, cosmetology, fitness classes and other not the most vital services), nevertheless, there is a certain meaning in such comparisons.

Psychoanalysis is only about sex

The myth that psychoanalysts reduce everything to sex on the one hand is nothing more than a myth, on the other, it still has certain grounds. The whole problem is in the terminology and literal understanding of professional terms.

The fact is that, indeed, sexual attraction (libido energy) underlies many processes of the human psyche and in a variety of ways affects the seemingly unrelated human behavior.

But sexuality in psychoanalysis is a very wide area of mental and physiological manifestations, including what is commonly understood as sexuality in everyday life (relationships and actions associated with procreation). Naturally, when, for example, in psychoanalysis, it comes to talking about child sexuality by a non-specialist, this is perceived as an absurd statement.

Thus, this myth is based on a misunderstanding of the term "sexuality", which coincides with the generally accepted name of a very important and sensitive (but still quite narrow) sphere of adult life.

The psychoanalyst only gets paid and does nothing

The psychoanalyst takes money for the fact that during the session he will carefully listen and analyze what the client presents to him - be it verbal or non-verbal material, behavior, etc. This is his job.

It is the totality, the depth of inclusion in the client at the session that is the most difficult and important factor in psychoanalytic work. Such inclusion is almost impossible to obtain in everyday life and its provision requires many years and complex preparation, which, moreover, does not end once, but continues throughout life.

You can "get hooked" on psychoanalysis and forget how to live independently

In the case of psychoanalysis, this conditional dependence is akin to "dependence" on good food, well-being, good mood, and so on. That is, it is possible to live without it, but it is not always so comfortable.

Adult capable people come to the analyst and work according to clear, transparent and mutually agreed and accepted rules. Accordingly, there can be no question of any dependence - the decision to come and go completely depends on the client, the analyst cannot influence him in any way and it is also beyond his power to form this dependence (even if there was such a desire).

In addition, one of the fundamental differences between psychoanalysis and other types of psychological therapy is that it is aimed at the deep development of the client, as a result of which a rollback (so characteristic of superficial psychological practices such as "personal growth trainings") does not occur. Thus, having deeply worked out their problems, the client leaves them forever and does not need support from the outside.

There are no problems that need to be discussed for years - they are either solved or not

I generally agree with the first part of the question, but with one amendment - "there are no perceived problems …". This is the whole complexity and essence of the work of the analyst and the client - we are not aware of many things that nevertheless affect and disturb us. And it is precisely their identification and "neutralization" that is one of the goals of work in psychoanalysis.

You can talk about problems with friends, why pay money for it

The fact of the matter is that conversations about problems with friends and family go around in circles over and over again, often (certainly) bringing relief, but still not solving the problems themselves. Precisely because your friends and loved ones are involved in a relationship with you, they cannot look at your problems from a distance (and, moreover, skillfully).

In addition, confidentiality is a very significant factor limiting the range of issues discussed in this way. You cannot discuss all the issues that concern you with your friends - you inevitably have to make adjustments for social norms, the possibility of transferring this information to third parties, etc.

As for the freeness of such conversations, this is also very conditional - all the same, in the end, you have to pay for it (with your attention, time, services, etc.). In the case of working with an analyst, you receive not only guaranteed confidentiality, but also professional attention and analysis of your questions on clearly and clearly agreed terms.

Only rich people can afford the services of a psychoanalyst

This is akin to saying "healthy living is only available to the rich."

Of course, the costs of your own therapy are quite significant. But if you look at the resources (not only financial) that are spent on overcoming the consequences or running away from problems, these costs are perceived in a completely different way. After all, bad habits, tension and conflicts with others (and with oneself), confusion in personal relationships are all very costly, especially since money alone cannot solve it. Inevitably, you have to pay for this with your time and health - the most valuable and often irreplaceable resources.

Streamlining your own life, eliminating unnecessary activities, relationships and tension from it inevitably leads to an increase in comfort and development opportunities in all directions. Often, this is reflected in the level of income, making the cost of analytics unprincipled.

The psychoanalyst "sees through a person"

Yes, there is such a delusion that a psychologist (psychoanalyst) immediately and very deeply understands another person. That is, it instantly detects all its problems, weaknesses and vulnerabilities. And in this sense, he is something like a magician or shaman, dangerous and alarming.

This view seems to be based on two points. The first of them is relatively complex and often quite difficult for perception knowledge and emotional experiences with which work is carried out. And the ability to withstand and systematize this can sometimes be perceived as some kind of superpowers. Of course, this is not so - these are just specific professional skills. No more - but no less.

And the second possible justification for this for such a myth is the paradox and illogicality of our deep mental processes. Therefore, when, in the process of work, a relationship is discovered between very different and long-standing problems and events in life, it can seem that it is akin to a miracle.

As for the instant understanding of the problems of another person, this is also not the case. The human psyche is very complex and it can take a lot of time and specific efforts to form an idea of some of its aspects.

Psychoanalysis can solve any, even the most difficult problems

Unfortunately, it is not. Yes, in the process of therapy, very long-standing, difficult and intricate problems of mental and physical comfort and health can be solved, but firstly, this cannot be guaranteed. And secondly, it is impossible to undo what has already happened - if some traumatic event in life has already happened, then it will leave behind at least a scar.

Finally, there are problems and conditions that cannot be resolved, but one can only try to mitigate …

Do something with me, I'm paying you money for it

Unfortunately or fortunately, but no changes in personality can be realized without the participation of the client. And therefore, no, even a super-qualified psychoanalyst can solve the problem FOR the client.

Only joint work, only the presence of motivation to change oneself can help to unravel the accumulated problems. This is certainly not the only, but absolutely necessary condition for productive work.

And in this sense psychoanalysis is not really a service (or not a service at all). It is impossible to change the situation FOR the client, INSTEAD of him and without his motivation and participation.

(c) A. V. Sulyaev