Many therapeutic techniques used to treat mental health disorders, including psychodynamic therapy, are still used today because they are effective in helping people improve their lives. When a person seeks help for addiction and mental health issues, they are likely to encounter various types of therapeutic support.
How it Works
Psychodynamic therapy is a technique used by therapists and counselors in support of a person who is working to overcome mental health issues. The concept focuses on the unconscious processes (including thoughts and emotions) that may drive human behavior. If a person is engaging in unhealthy behaviors, he or she needs to uncover the unconscious processes causing those behaviors. Psychodynamic therapists help people examine and understand unresolved conflicts, experiences, and emotions from the past which may still be present today.
History of Psychodynamic Therapy
Originally based on the works of Freud, his theory centered around psychoanalytic therapy with a focus on sexuality, including exploration of any underlying sexual frustration toward one’s parents. Like Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, psychodynamic therapy assumes there are unconscious thoughts and emotions driving behavior. The similarities don’t continue between the two as psychodynamic theory mainly focuses on how human beings are complex beings, driven by much more than sex and aggression. The focus becomes more on how to solve a problem and develop personal insight with the help of psychodynamic therapy.
Long Lasting Benefits
Psychodynamic therapy requires a person to recall past events, which may be painful for some people. In cases of substance abuse, many people with addiction have originally turned to drugs or alcohol as a way to escape painful events and memories. Returning to these memories during psychodynamic therapy may be difficult for many people. It is suggested a person only become a patient of the process in a controlled environment, including drug rehab, or once the person has been able to abstain from drugs or alcohol for a period of time. If that person is ready to work through past events, psychodynamic therapy can be an excellent tool for expression of emotions, analyzing those feelings, and determining some root causes with tools to overcome the challenges. Through discussion of past experiences, those hurts can begin to heal, creating a freshly paved foundation for a healthy future.
The Springboard Center addiction treatment programs are tailored to meet the needs of each client. We seek to support your needs by using a diverse set of therapeutic and medical tools by trained therapists. We will help you work through addiction recovery one step at a time. Call us to get started: 432-620-0255
