Humans are programmed to live their mental lives through their relationships, from the first experiences with parents and family through all of the complex relationships we form as we grow and develop outside our families. It is from this complex experience that psychoanalytic therapy draws. Psychoanalysts are trained to help people understand more about conflicts between different parts of themselves, often based on different important relationships, and how those conflicts may interfere with their achievement of conscious goals. Through the unique therapeutic relationship with a close focus on the patient, we are able to find the courage to know ourselves deeply, which, I believe, makes it possible for us to change. Psychoanalysis is a school of thought, now many faceted, established over one hundred years ago by Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysts have been working to better their understanding of human development and the mind since. There are currently many schools of psychoanalysis with varying emphasis on different aspects of the mind. My view is that, even when alone, we are relating to others, because our minds are constructed in relation to others, from the beginning.

Our early relationships have a life of their own in our minds, existing long past the actual relationship. How often do we suddenly feel that our mother is observing and reacting to us? How often do we find ourselves warming up quickly to a stranger only to realize later that he or she reminds us of someone important from the past? Psychoanalytic psychotherapy and psychoanalysis are possible because of our human tendency to project our internal relationships into any intense relationship. The therapeutic relationship is unique because both analyst and patient agree to take the patient as their object of study and understanding, unlike in ordinary relationships. This allows the patient's fantasies and emotional responses to the analyst to paint a picture of the patient's inner world, which leads to an understanding and gradual resolution of long-standing conflicts and makes room for a previously stagnant development of the self.

When is Therapy or Analysis Necessary?

All people suffer from distress, pain and frustration at times. Often, individuals can resolve these difficulties without help. Sometimes difficulties persist, causing unhappiness and distress at home or work. I believe this may be caused by deeply rooted fantasies and beliefs that operate outside of awareness, influencing us to make repeated mistakes and poor decisions that result in ongoing suffering. Psychoanalytic psychotherapy and psychoanalysis are based on the belief that we are not transparent to ourselves and that what we do not know or understand about ourselves can hurt us. When people are in pain, it becomes important to work towards more transparency so that the factors outside of awareness that are influencing problematic behaviors, can become better known, allowing for better decision-making. Psychoanalytic therapy is appropriate for both general distress, such as depression and anxiety, as well as specific problems, such as eating disorders, chronic self-sabotage, relationship difficulties, school or work failure, or general dissatisfaction with the course of one's life.

My Approach

My approach to psychotherapy and psychoanalysis is based on my optimism about our capacity for change. Essential to my practice is the belief that we are not transparent to ourselves, that each individual is unique, that the past influences the present -- often in ways we do not understand -- and that our minds are built up in the context of our important relationships. It is this, especially, that supports my belief that change, when our efforts to accomplish it by ourselves are unsuccessful, can occur by establishing a relationship with a psychoanalyst that will offer a unique opportunity to see and understand the individual's unique constellation of inner relationships through the close observation of the developing relationship with the analyst. The goal of treatment is to clear away the obstacles to self-knowledge and open the path to self-fulfillment.