
Talk Therapy
Psychodynamic Therapy
Matthew Nordin, LICSW
While many clients engage with me in EMDR, which often makes them feel emotionally stable and allows them to return to their daily functioning quicker, they definitely prefer traditional talk therapy over the long haul. Formally known as psychodynamic therapy, talk therapy has been around since the days of Freud. But lying on a couch while verbalizing your stream-of-consciousness, with the therapist saying little or nothing, sounds quite cold. Today you'll find a much warmer experience. You get to know your therapist as a person rather than just a "blank slate." Your therapist can offer you insights in-the-moment. And, as renowned therapist Irvin Yalom teaches us, it is actually the relationship between client and therapist in which the healing occurs.
Research supports the use of psychodynamic therapy, too. A review of multiple studies found that psychodynamic therapy has a statistically meaningful effect on clients, with the positive effects lasting years.
But some people worry engaging in psychodynamic therapy will mean we'll spend all of our time blaming their parents for their perceived mistakes. I don't find that at all. For one thing, we want to look at early life experiences as a whole. We're not just putting the spotlight on parents. We're looking at what your interactions were like with peers growing-up as well as siblings, coaches, and teachers. Yet it's not so that we can blame them. Our goal is to understand how your brain perceived something long ago and how your adult brain gets triggered when something similar happens in the present.
Schedule a free consult today so that we can talk about how psychodynamic therapy may benefit you, while seeing if we're a good fit.