The Beginning Phase of Psychoanalytic Therapy

 The Beginning Phase of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy.......When you come to therapy the first thing the therapist usually asks is, "How can I help you?" Once you reply the process has begun. You may not know what to say. You may not even know what help you need. But you likely know that you are hurting in some way. You are either experiencing uncomfortable feelings or relationships. It is the therapist's job to help you sort out your feelings. It may also be that what you think you came to therapy for ends up not being the problem at all. There is something else causing you emotional pain.

The next thing the therapist is going to want to know is how long your problem has been going on. When did the symptoms start? When did you first feel anxious or depressed? What happened in your life recently that is putting undue stress on you? It could be that the answer to this question is very clear For instance you may reply, " My Mother passed away a year ago and I find myself still grieving her death." But it could be that you are not sure when your problem began. There could be events from the past, from childhood and teenage years that are the root cause. Therapists are trained to help you find out when and how your problem began and to explore that with you.

Thirdly, the therapist want to get to know you. This entails doing a detailed history of your life. They will begin with your birth and walk through your life with you up until today. Such knowledge involves asking you about your early history, especially the first 10 years of life. Were there any tragedies? Was there trauma? Any deaths in the family? Did you move often? What was your relationships to your parents like? All these events of early childhood play a significant role in who we are today though most of us have little idea how important these childhood years really are.

After exploring your life story the therapist will want to know about your psychological treatment history. She will ask about any previous therapy you may have had, and how it turned out. He will want to know if you have ever seen a psychiatrist and what medications you have taken in the past. These questions will help the therapist get to know you better in order to better help you as the treatment goes forward.

You might be asking, "Then what happens?" The answer is that now your therapy actually begins. We call this beginning part of the process the Assessment Phase. Once the real therapy begins your simply come in and share whatever is on your mind. You share what is bothering you, what is giving you distress. The therapist will empathically listen to your stories and help you process and work through your difficulties.

This part of therapy is when real change takes place. As your work through your problems and come to understand them, you get better! When you learn where they come from and how they are still affecting you now, then you are able to make changes in your life that will lead to your improved living, emotional maturity, and strength for the journey.( I will write about this second/middle phase in my next post.)