Psychotherapy for adults
More and more, the idea that attending a psychologist is synonymous with being crazy is a thing of the past. It is even starting to spread the healthy idea that everyone in their life would need to go to psychological therapy, either because they feel some kind of confusion or emotional pain, or because they present symptoms that without becoming defined clinical disorders, generate discomfort and suffering.
Not all the psychological cases present disorders, in many occasions difficulties appear which, when not attended to or are attended to late or only with psychopharmaceuticals, become disorders and end up leading to chronic mental illness.
Many of our patients feel overwhelmed by their problems, and come to therapy because they need coping tools or strategies to deal with a particular situation. Over the past 20 years we have cared for a large number of people who were suffering and had disabling symptoms, who had some kind of discomfort, but have managed to improve their quality of life.
Our psychotherapeutic style: Third generation psychodynamics
This type of therapy is transpersonal, focusing on the interpretation of the physical and emotional reality experienced by the person and the defense mechanisms used to cope with external and internal demands.
It is a set of therapeutic techniques of support and elaboration that facilitates the commitment and the action of the patient to work for their own care and quality of life. Through listening, the person expresses their complaints, sufferings, frustrations, fears, which have to do with what is most peculiar to them and their experiences. Instead of keeping quiet or responding to the patient’s complaints, work is done on them, and a space is offered for their expression and elaboration.
The patient’s complaint covers up a part of their history that positions them in a certain way with regard to life. The opening to a different discursive space is facilitated, through the word and the emotional containment, the re-elaboration of the patinetes life history, the exploration of their fantasies, desires, dreams, etc. in order to promote an active and satisfactory positioning in front of life.
A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY
Psychodynamic therapy has its origin in the orthodox psychoanalysis of Freud, Brücke, Charcot, Breuer and Bernheim. In the 19th century, the scientist was still basically an observer of the processes, placing themselves “behind”, or at least “outside”, the experience they undertook. In the 20th century, the era of a new scientific spirit began, in which the researcher became directly involved in the event under investigation, a postion which is now being evaluated even in the so-called “hard” or nature sciences. Not to mention psychology, or more specifically, psychotherapy, where the study of intersubjectivity becomes crucial.
In the case of Ida Bauer or “Dora” (1900), Freud can be seen to have discovered the importance of transference for the psychotherapeutic relationship. This expression is used to designate what develops between a patient and their therapist, where the psychologist is involved in the process of healing.
From there it was conceptualized with the terms of transference and countertransference, and affectivity began to take a leading place in the psychotherapeutic process. In general terms, it could be said that before Freud the illness was cared for and not the patient, while after him the patient was also cared for.
Psychodynamic psychotherapy has had many variations in this last century, both in terms of the diversity of schools and its application to different pathologies.
As main premises that are still in force we can name:
1) All human beings are basically equal in terms of the basic forces that move us (drives). Our differences depend on what we do with them by virtue of our (internal) genetic endowment and external influences. But there are also decisive universal moments in psychic development, moments of structural organization that can mark the rudiments of the mind.
2) These rudiments (base and skeleton of the personality) are formed in childhood, with puberty and/or adolescence being the most significant first moment of expression.
3) The unconscious is the governing and decisive part in understanding and modifying behavior.
4) Understanding a subject in psychotherapy is important, but authentic psychodynamic psychotherapy must not resign itself to an understanding or description of a certain psychopathological picture. It has to aspire to explain it, in the most complete and structural way, that speaks to us of the deterioration of the decisive moments in the formation of the psyche.
In the first interviews, the indication for treatment is confirmed and diagnostic hypotheses are developed.
It is important that the subject brings to the therapy:
1) The awareness that something is wrong.
2) Have a locus of internal control (take responsibility for their decisions and actions)
3) Desire and motivation for change.
4) Responsibility for what happens to them.
5) To come to therapy voluntarily.
Naturally, to the extent that it meets all or most of these conditions, we can predict a good future process in psychotherapy.
Our responsibility is to be able to describe, explain, predict, classify and modify the behaviour that is generating the emotional distress.
The process of psychological evaluation is a process that involves different axes, moments and tasks, which is organized through scientific methodology and whose main objective is treatment planning.