Psychoanalytic therapy in the modern world
In the modern world of mental health, we are often sold “tools,” “hacks,” and “skills” to manage our distress. While these have their place, many people find themselves “policing” their own thoughts—constantly trying to swap a negative thought for a positive one—only to find that the underlying ache remains.
If you’ve ever felt that there is more to your story than a “maladaptive thinking pattern,” you aren’t alone.
The Mystery and the Reality
When people think of psychoanalysis they often think straight to the image of Freud, suits, uncomfortable couches, and Persian rugs. Although I love Persian rugs, there is a lot more to it than speaking into the absence and staring at the ceiling.
Rather than just treating a symptom, this approach looks at the whole person. Here are the core principles that guide my practice and, I believe, offer the truest path to healing.
It’s alive…The Unconscious Lives again.
Even the most self-aware people are moved by forces they cannot see. We respond to questions without thinking. We find small habits in others annoying without knowing why. Hell, we sometimes find ourselves speaking like somebody we know, without trying (I am privy to sounding like my supervisor, or like the most recent TV show character I adore). It’s because we are all imprinted with beliefs formed by the stories of our families, the experience of our parents and their grandparents, societal expectations, and early relationships.
- What do we want to do then?: To illuminate these hidden patterns so they no longer drive the bus while you’re trying to steer. It is to bring choice back into life – choice to be, react, reject, or fall apart.
Moving Beyond “Reason”
We live in a culture that strongly values logic, reasoning, impassioned opinions, and progression and improvement. Standard cognitive therapies (like CBT) suggest that if you change your thoughts, you change your life. Although this isn’t completely untrue, the pressure to continue to control oneself or be a better person can lead people to feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable. It is often because the improvements comes without being connected to our body, our internal drives and interests. The best kind of healing isn’t just a mental exercise; it has to be felt in the body, mind, and spirit.
- The Difference: I believe a person who has to manually “police” or check their thoughts forever isn’t fully healed. Instead it is like a computer system, it works until you need an upgrade, or the app stops working. True healing is organic and spontaneous – it’s wired into your physical self, it knows it’s limits and it’s possibilities.
Integrating Logic and Intuition
Your rational mind is a brilliant “faithful servant,” but it shouldn’t be the master. Good therapy helps you get back in touch with your inner voice—call it the soul, the heart, or the real self.
- The Therapeutic Balance: Healing happens when your intuition and your logic come back into alignment. When you know who you truly are, your rational mind can finally help you manifest that person in the real world. Logic and Intuition are two friend who ride the seesaw together.
Symptoms and Communication
In many frameworks, symptoms like depression or anxiety are seen as “disorders” to be eliminated. In psychoanalytic therapy, we respect the symptom as a friend. They are painful friends, or energising friends, or pieces-of-work we wish to do without. The best thing is, that giving them space to breath and to speak, is what gives you agency over them.
- The Perspective: We don’t berate the part of you that is overthinking or feeling low. We don’t tell it to change, be quiet, or grow louder. We simply ask: What is this part trying to tell us? What does it do, that you can’t say or put to words.
Does it actually work?
Yes. Firstly, it is important to note that decades of research has continued to show what is called the Dodo Effect – this effect shows that all forms of psychotherapy, regardless of orientation or style, are equally effective. Uniquely though, research shows that psychodynamic therapy not only has a strong evidence base for a range of commonly presented issues like depression, anxiety, and eating disorders, but its effects actually increase over time. Unlike treatments that fade once the sessions end (or require “top up sessions”, the “psychodynamic gain” tends to keep growing as you continue to apply your new self-understanding to your life.
What the outcome looks like:
It isn’t just “fewer bad days.”, sometimes it isn’t even “fewer bad days” It is:
- More spontaneity and energy.
- A clearer sense of intuition and playfulness.
- Increased creativity, productivity, and depth.
- A genuine sense of freedom and choice.
- A capacity to feel fully – whatever the feeling – without being swallowed.
A Note on Finding the Right Help
Finding the right therapist is a deeply personal task. “Bad therapy” exists in every modality, and it’s often hard to spot because of the power dynamic involved.
Trust your gut. If a therapist makes you feel like you’re being initiated into a cult or forced into their version of reality, proceed with caution – even the best therapies and therapists have moderate outcomes and require commitment and dedication from both ends. Good therapy should support your attunement to your instincts.
I’ll always invite new clients to attend a few initial sessions before committing long-term. It is vital that you feel I am the right “someone”, or good enough for now, to accompany you into the deep listening this work requires. If I’m not the right someone, I will love to support connecting you to that right someone.
Are you ready to look beneath the surface? If you’re interested in exploring a deeper, more integrated path to wellbeing, reach out.
Kane Solly Psychology 
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