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Psychoanalytic couple psychotherapy

Psychoanalytic couple psychotherapy is a type of therapy designed for widely defined pairs, so people being together as partnerships, marriages as well as homosexual relationships. A couple and the relationship between the partners is the patient in this therapy.

The reasons why the pair seeks help can be very different. Among the most common we can find:

• Communication problems
• Repeated quarrels and conflicts without a constructive outcome
• Crisis resulting from changes in the couple’s life – the birth of a child, change or job loss, illness, relocation, children move out of the house etc.
• Conflicts in relationships with parents and in-laws
• Conflicts resulting from overloaded roles in life – work, childcare, care of parents suffering from illness
• Verbal and physical aggression
• Lack of emotional closeness and a sense of remoteness, living separately
• Lack of intimacy and sex
• Unfaithfulness.

The aim of psychoanalytic couple psychotherapy is to help partners in listening to each other and better understanding, in recognising of unconscious motives for entering into the relationship and maintaining it, in bringing awareness of the emotional mechanisms and patterns which are present in their relationship as well as in modifying these mechanisms. Therapy involves talking both about the current, often seemingly trivial matters and conflicts, together with previous experiences and history of each of the partners. This stems from the belief that these areas are combined and that within adult relationships you can find traces of the initial relationships, which sometimes block both shared and individual development. During therapy sessions the partners talk about what they find difficult in their relationship and in the partner, about their feelings, desires, hopes, fantasies and expectations. The therapist creates a framework for a casual conversation on the sometimes very painful and intimate subjects, plus shares the thoughts in the form of interpretation.

Psychoanalytic therapy is usually a long-lasting process, usually from one to several years. Its important element is stable framework to ensure a sense of security and creating a space for free and open discussions. The frequency of sessions is once a week, always at the same time and place. The duration of a session is 50 or 60 minutes. Payments for the session is an important element of the frame, also the fee and form of payment is agreed with the therapist during the consultation. All the sessions are paid except for those canceled by the therapist and occasions during holidays or therapist’s vacation.

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is rooted in psychoanalysis. In the the area of ​​treatment the most important attribute is the relationship between the therapist and the patient. Such a relationship is considered as a field where patient’s unconscious conflicts coming from the past play out „here and now” a sighnificant role. The therapist can remarkably change the emotional experience of a patient, person’s sense of being understood and accepted, also help a person in understanding oneself and others. This is a method suitable for a wide spectrum of patients – aiming in the development and improvement of quality of life, solving the mental health problems as well as ameliorating the relationship. Such an approach is applicable to adults, adolescents and children, couples, families and groups. It is a long process, requires a systematic and proper frequency of meetings. As for families and couples the sessions are usually held once a week and last 50 minutes each. In psychoanalytic treatment the patient pays for all sessions except those that fall on public holidays or those that are canceled by the therapist or during the period of therapist’s holiday. All rules concerning psychotherapy and information on how it will proceed are discussed during the initial consultations. Therapists in their work with patients are required to adhere to the Code of Ethics, which demands respect for the patient’s discretion and sets other rules.

Initial consultations

Consultation is a meeting of the therapist and a patient who is reaching out for help. The goal of such an encounter is to reach mutual understanding, to clarify to the patient what the therapy is about, to name complicated feelings and motivations related to seeking assistance. While working with a couple the therapist leads a meeting in the way that each one in the couple could find a space to express own perspective of the problem and could be heard by the other party. The therapist tries to define the problem of the couple, then hearing the expectations of each person attempts to explore possible options that would be adequate to the couple’s expectations. If the couple / family decides to undertake the psychotherapy, the consultation supplies the time to discuss its conditions: frequency, timing, fee and payment rules.

A therapeutical session

A therapy session is a weekly meeting with a therapist, lasting 50 or 60 minutes. It is a time for a couple when the partners talk about what currently comes easily to mind – about their relationship, experiences, emotions, fears, fantasies and associations. Usually conversation is concernig the couple, but it can also be focused on previous experience or individual stories of partners, as well as the relationship between the couple and the therapist. Free speeches, as far as possible not subjected to internal censorship, allow partners to know their inner world and perceive the couple as a whole. Patients together with a therapist try to understand what mechanisms and patterns govern their relationship as well as how different areas of history influence their behavior and feelings to each other. Sessions may proceed differently. Sometimes conversations are very turbulent and painful, full of strong feelings of anger, despair or helplessness. Sometimes for various reasons it is difficult to speak and partners tend to remain silent. The role of the therapist is to carefully observe what happens during the session, mindfully listen to patients and share the understanding and insights in the form of interpretation. The therapist makes sure that the couple remains a center of attention, that both partners have the time and space to present their view. The therapist also protects a secure framework of therapy, which consists of a fixed frequency, place and date of the session, its duration, and the engagement of both partners.