Psychoanalisis Advice

[ReneeWalker]

Hi All,

I have been referred to a Psychoanalysis by my Psychiatrist and Psychologist because they say they cannot help me and I need to see one of them.

I see him in 2 weeks.

Does anyone have experience of seeing one?
Or know of anyone who as seen one?
Or in general does anyone know what they do in there treatments?

Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[oneday]

Hi Renee

I'll try and post something more another day - it's a big question - but in the meantime, you could have a look at these links:

Booklet on 'Understanding Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis' on Mind's website
http://www.mind.org.uk/help/medical...ing_sense_of_psychotherapy_and_psychoanalysis

You could also contact the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP)'s Client Information Helpdesk: 01455 883316 to discuss your queries or concerns - they used to publish a little booklet about counselling and psychotherapy but I don't know if they do still.

I've had several years experience of psychoanalytic psychotherapy myself (among other types of counselling and therapies) and have done training in psychotherapy, so could have lots to say! But I don't have time now.

So in answer to your particular questions - Q1 yes and Q2 yes, and finally Q3 'that would take too long to answer just now - check the Mind booklet for some info on this....

I'll be back. Hope other people have ideas/experiences too.

 

[schiz01]

Psychoanalysis....I spoke to my psychologist about this and in Australia they passed a law or something in government institutions that it was not to be used.
When i first became unwell I attracted a lot of attention and was certainly psychoanalyzed on a daily basis for many months.Problem was after they had tore me apart and broke me down and discovered my inner most secrets ,fears,experiences ect ect.They abandoned me kicked me and out of the hospital .I felt like i had been raped bashed and left in the gutter to die.
I have inquired recently about seeing a Jungian psychoanalyst and was told that it would involve daily visits to start off with then weekly and depending on the person could continue for many years.I have no way of affording this as it is not government funded.

I think it could be a good idea as long as you followed through with the treatment

I look forward to what Oneday has to say about it

 

[oneday]

Renee,

Also noticed the sticky above the 'Recovery...'(etc) section on the forum, posted by admin - that the Mental Health Foundation publish a booklet entitled 'Talking Therapies Explained' which can be downloaded via a link at.....

http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publi...herapies¬

It discusses talking therapies in general, and has a section on "psychodynamic psychotherapy" - 'psychodynamic' and 'psychoanalytic' psychotherapies are basically the same thing.

As the booklet says, you probably need to be interested in devoting time (and mental energy/space, I'd say) to self-exploration to benefit from - well, again, I'd say from all but especially - psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapy.

I remembered that I was involved in putting together a description of the various types of counselling and therapy in a guide I was involved in producing a few years back with local charities and user groups. Under the section 'Psychoanalytic 'Psychotherapy & Psychodynamic Counselling' (and this was approved by the British Psycho-analytic Society), I said:

"On the whole, psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapies are based most closely on the ideas of Freud and other therapists who developed his theories. The psychotherapist or counsellor aims to help you gain insight into how inner conflicts, feelings, thoughts and fantasies are affecting your current life and difficulties. Often this involves exploring the influence of past experiences and relationships, particularly those from childhood, with the aim of enabling you to be freer to make changes in the present.

Psychodynamic and psychoanalytic approaches tend to be more long term (lasting anything from several months to several years). You might arrange to meet a counsellor or therapist for an hour a week (an actual hour or the 'analytic hour' of 50 minutes), while some therapists will prefer to see you two, three of four times a week. Psychoanalysts providing full psychoanalytical treatment (the closest to Freud's own way of working) will expect to see you four or five times a week. There are also group therapies based on psychoanalytic ideas - group analytic therapies.

Jungian analysis, also known as 'analytical psychology', developed by Freud's contemporary Carl Jung, has its own particular theories and focus. The Jungian approach is particularly concerned with areas such as creativity and growth, mythology, spirituality, and a personal search for meaning in life."

Also, at the beginning of the chapter on 'talking treatments' I/we wrote:

"Selecting a talking treatment from the many alternatives out there can be a daunting task. Reading more about what is available can help, as can advice or recommendations. Different approaches can suit different people at different times. Probably the most important thing is to choose someone you feel you can relate to and trust. Make sure he or she is properly qualified or belongs to a reliable professional body."

 

[ReneeWalker]

thanks

Thanks for the replies.

Will let you know how it goes.

I see him on the 16th of this month.

Hope he helps. I am in such a bad state. Extremely suicidal

 

[oneday]

Hi Renee,

If you're feeling suicidal, remember you can find someone to talk to before you see the therapist. In the UK we have the Samaritans helpline available 24/7, and you can visit their local centres to talk to someone in person. I know there's an equivalent in Australia that someone told me about, but don't remember the name - you probably know.

Anyway, take care, and keep talking and getting support.
Oneday

 

[oneday]

Hi Renee,

I've posted this elsewhere you asked, but in case you miss it - and/or in case other people find this info useful, I'm posting it again.

For more about my 'recovery' journey, you might want to see my postings in the 'Introduce yourself' section: 'Introducing... oneday', which are probably on the 2rd or 3rd page by now. Briefly, after a major breakdown in my early twenties, I took myself along to a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, eventually seeing several such therapists, both one-to-one and in groups, as well as therapists and counsellors practising other forms of therapy. Subsequently I undertook several years of study and training in psychotherapy and counselling myself (starting with a 10-week intro to counselling course at a local adult education institute), finally qualifying in a psychotherapeutic discipline which included training placements working within NHS psychiatric settings.

For the past 12 years or so I have worked, instead, for mental health service user/survivor run projects and organisations, including putting together the handbook I quoted from above, and, latterly, managing and working on an information helpline.

For myself, I can't imagine coming through all the distress and confusion in my life without having someone to go to regularly (at least weekly) who listened to me and who I felt accepted by, as well as gently challenged, to help me work out the whys and wherefores, the meanings, of my distress.

But I guess what I don't believe in doing, what I couldn't do, is recommend psychoanalysis for you, for anyone. This is because:

- Every person is different (and as I posted: different approaches suit different people at different times.)

And this includes:

- Every therapist is different (so I'd repeat what I posted: the most important thing is to choose someone you feel you can relate to and trust. - Trust that 'click', the kind of click you feel when you think 'I could be friends with this person'. But of course, being friends and/or trusting people may be something you find particularly difficult, if so, talk to the therapist about finding it difficult to trust them, about your anxieties, and see how you feel about how they handle it)

- Me seeing/talking too certain people and finding it useful, doesn't mean that someone else talking to other people is going to work for them, I couldn't recommend psychoanalysis for anyone any more than I could recommend what kind of music they’re going to like, or hobby is going to suit them - at least without knowing someone pretty well first).

I can understand that you are feeling pretty anxious about seeing the psychoanalyst. This is natural. I know it's easy for me to say, but why not just take the plunge - the one meeting at least - be curious about it? It’s a new adventure in your life. And remember you can talk to the therapist about your anxieties - that's all part and parcel of therapy, it's what you can learn a lot from.

And, again, I would recommend reading more about psychoanalysis/therapy if you are worried... and I've already posted the links to start to find some useful reading matter, including the Mind booklet on their site and the Mental Health Foundation booklet.

There are also lots of books in which people describe their experiences of psychotherapy. I’m picking two off my bookshelf – long time since I read them, but one is ‘One to One – Experiences of Psychotherapy’ by Rosemary Dinnage (ed) in which she presents 20 people’s various stories and (mixed) experiences; and ‘The Words To Say It’ by Marie Cardinal, an autobiographical novel about her experience of psychoanalysis, and considered something of a classic.

Anyway, I hope some of this helps.
Take care,
Oneday

 

[oneday]

Psychoanalysis....I spoke to my psychologist about this and in Australia they passed a law or something in government institutions that it was not to be used.
When i first became unwell I attracted a lot of attention and was certainly psychoanalyzed on a daily basis for many months.Problem was after they had tore me apart and broke me down and discovered my inner most secrets ,fears,experiences ect ect.They abandoned me kicked me and out of the hospital .I felt like i had been raped bashed and left in the gutter to die.
I have inquired recently about seeing a Jungian psychoanalyst and was told that it would involve daily visits to start off with then weekly and depending on the person could continue for many years.I have no way of affording this as it is not government funded.

I think it could be a good idea as long as you followed through with the treatment

I look forward to what Oneday has to say about it

Just wanted to follow up a bit on what you said, schiz01.

I don't know about the law or recommendations in Australia, and I haven't tried to look them up, but I know you will find different kinds of therapy recommended for different kinds of problems (though this won't be without controversy itself). In the UK the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) involves a panel of 'experts' doing meta-analyses of the various research findings in order to make its recommendations. I believe these are available to look at/download online. Some of the controversies? - A medical model bias in the 'experts', and in the research that they look at. There is, for instance, far far more research carried out into drug treatments because the drug companies (which represent huge financial interests - second only to the arms trade) carry out/pay for this research (There is of course no equivalent multinational industry/companies providing psychotherapies); also the marginalisation of the views of the 'experts by experience' - the patient/service user representatives on the panels.

Sorry you had such bad experience of a psychoanalytical approach yourself. I take a critical and sceptical view of (all) psychotherapies myself (and of all 'mental health treatments'). I wrote my final study when I qualified (see above) on 'psychotherapy and psychosis' - there are/were lots of psychoanalytical psychotherapists down the years who worked with people in crisis, in extreme - extremely sensitised - mental states (e.g. Harry Stack Sullivan, Freida Fromm-Reichman - from the States, and RD Laing - from the UK, come to mind) and they adapted the approach accordingly. Approaches used in ordinary psychoanalysis, when people are feeling reasonably 'up together', reasonably mentally integrated, such as interpretation, challenging, exploring meaning, can certainly be too intrusive, too challenging, too much, when we're feeling fragile and need a far more supportive, ordinarily human approach.

Finally, there's no magic anywhere that can make it all better, as someone else wrote - from Freudian psychoanalysis to modern so-called 'wonder' drugs - we haven't really got a clue, and nothing works much better than a person being given something they can have hope and faith in (the important 'placebo' effect), and being given affectionate human attention... and time.

Hope some of that makes some sense.

 

[schiz01]

Just wanted to follow up a bit on what you said, schiz01.

I don't know about the law or recommendations in Australia, and I haven't tried to look them up, but I know you will find different kinds of therapy recommended for different kinds of problems (though this won't be without controversy itself). In the UK the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) involves a panel of 'experts' doing meta-analyses of the various research findings in order to make its recommendations. I believe these are available to look at/download online. Some of the controversies? - A medical model bias in the 'experts', and in the research that they look at. There is, for instance, far far more research carried out into drug treatments because the drug companies (which represent huge financial interests - second only to the arms trade) carry out/pay for this research (There is of course no equivalent multinational industry/companies providing psychotherapies); also the marginalisation of the views of the 'experts by experience' - the patient/service user representatives on the panels.

Sorry you had such bad experience of a psychoanalytical approach yourself. I take a critical and sceptical view of (all) psychotherapies myself (and of all 'mental health treatments'). I wrote my final study when I qualified (see above) on 'psychotherapy and psychosis' - there are/were lots of psychoanalytical psychotherapists down the years who worked with people in crisis, in extreme - extremely sensitised - mental states (e.g. Harry Stack Sullivan, Freida Fromm-Reichman - from the States, and RD Laing - from the UK, come to mind) and they adapted the approach accordingly. Approaches used in ordinary psychoanalysis, when people are feeling reasonably 'up together', reasonably mentally integrated, such as interpretation, challenging, exploring meaning, can certainly be too intrusive, too challenging, too much, when we're feeling fragile and need a far more supportive, ordinarily human approach.

Finally, there's no magic anywhere that can make it all better, as someone else wrote - from Freudian psychoanalysis to modern so-called 'wonder' drugs - we haven't really got a clue, and nothing works much better than a person being given something they can have hope and faith in (the important 'placebo' effect), and being given affectionate human attention... and time.

Hope some of that makes some sense.

Thanks Oneday
Makes perfect sense
I have only just begun my journey of self discovery.
I only discovered the internet and brought a computer a few years back.It has been like opening a window into a whole new world and given me access to a lot of information I was never aware of.
As they say your never to old to learn and I have been doing an awful lot of that lately.

Thanks again for your reply