|
|
....Psychoanalysis is a therapeutic process in which we seek and work toward new ways of taking care of ourselves in the context of relations with others. The process can be seen as an intimate dialogue between patient and psychoanalyst where one key objective is to bring out, in the safe environment of the consulting room, the unconscious meanings of our actions, conflicts, and anxieties. Patients usually attend a minimum of twice weekly sessions, set their own pace, and speak as freely as possible of their concerns, dreams, and fantasies, either lying on the couch or sitting up. The joint efforts of the therapist and the patient can result in many kinds of changes for the patient – lessening of anxieties and fears, insights into complex or contradictory feelings, shifts in unproductive ways of thinking, greater awareness of symptomatic behaviours, and repair in relations with others. |