Psychoanalysis involves frequent hour-long sessions with the patient, using free association to reveal the unconscious self. The analyst helps the patient process unconscious material to create a deeper understanding of themselves. Psychoanalysts may also prescribe medication and may be involved in research, writing, teaching, and training. It is important to ensure that the analyst has undergone extensive postgraduate training.
What a psychoanalyst can do is highly dependent on training, although there are some basic elements in psychoanalysis that are likely to be similar or the same. It is important to note that in many places anyone practicing therapy can claim to be practicing psychoanalysis because the term is not legally protected. Those wanting analysts with real training should inquire whether they have undergone the extensive postgraduate work involved in this discipline, which is generally available in each country in only a few places.
It is also valuable to understand that psychoanalyst and therapist are not exactly the same terms. Psychoanalysis derives from the tradition started by Sigmund Freud and taken in different directions by professionals such as Carl Jung. Freudian or Jungian orientation are two completely separate things, and people who see an analyst specializing in one or the other can expect very different approaches to the process. What makes them similar is that they both use a related format when working with patients.
Essentially, in psychoanalysis, the aim is to meet with the patient frequently, sometimes almost daily, for hour-long stretches, so that the patient can use things like free association to reveal the unconscious self. The analyst, who may ask questions or ask for clarification, may occasionally direct this, but he also listens carefully to each client. The patient can lie down on a couch that is not facing the analyst, or sometimes face-to-face work with both people seated is used. The analyst’s aim is to help the patient, or analysand, to process the unconscious material, creating a deeper understanding of himself and an end to some problems. This can take several years to accomplish.
The psychoanalyst normally sees many patients a week, but given the time required for each patient, the patient load can be much less than that of therapists who meet once a week with many of their clients. Numerous meetings are thought to form a deeper relationship with each analysand, although not all patients complete treatment. As the analyst forms this relationship, he must be wary of projecting his feelings onto patients and must work to keep his countertransferences, wishes, and wishes from influencing the emergence of each client’s unconscious thoughts. Generally, psychoanalysis depends on the creation of the transference relationship and the psychoanalyst tries not to impede this process.
Another thing a psychoanalyst can do is prescribe medication. Many people who come for professional training are physicians or psychiatrists and, as such, may use prescribing as a method of eliminating biologically based disorders. This leaves the client free to work on those issues simmering in the unconscious that are not based on faulty neurotransmitter action or other medical conditions.
Some psychoanalysts manage their own offices and are responsible for making all appointments, billing insurance companies, or collecting money directly from clients. Others may employ an office manager for this job. In addition to practicing analysis, many could be involved in the field in other ways. They may conduct research, write books or articles, and train or supervise entry-level analysts. Some analysts also teach or lecture and are associated with institutions that train in specific psychoanalytic methods.
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