Psychodynamic psychotherapy, a form of talk therapy, helps you find the connections between problems that you’re having in your current life and things that may have happened in your past that contribute to those problems. 

When engaging in psychodynamic psychotherapy, you work one-on-one with a mental health provider to explore your fears, desires, concerns, and other feelings. Some conditions and problems that you may be experiencing that benefit from treatment with psychodynamic psychotherapy include:

By analyzing both past and present events, the goal of this type of therapy is to help you see and address patterns of behavior or influences on your current situation that may be having a negative impact on your life. The goal is for you to learn how to analyze and change your current behavior to get more positive outcomes in your relationships - and your life.

In this treatment, you and your mental health provider will explore what’s going on in your life, how to develop coping skills, and events in your past that may relate to or be influencing your current situation. You will be encouraged to speak openly to your therapist about whatever is on your mind. What you say to your mental health provider is private, and you and your provider will discuss boundaries and confidentiality at the beginning of your treatment.

You and your therapist can discuss the benefits of psychodynamic therapy for your individual needs. This can be either a short-term or long-term form of treatment. You may find that this type of therapy may help you on its own, or works best for you when combined with other therapies as part of your treatment plan.