What is Psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy involves talking with someone who is trained to listen in a particular way. Its origins are in psychoanalysis, which emerged in the early part of the twentieth century in the work of Sigmund Freud. Since then the field has evolved to include many branches of knowledge. But the core tenets of clinical practice - the value of being heard and understood in a caring, attentive, non-judgmental environment, have remained largely unchanged.
Perhaps the most important discovery of early psychoanalysts, such as Freud, was that when it comes to how people think, feel and relate to others, many determining factors are ‘unconscious’.
In other words, whether it’s choosing one path instead of another; one partner, career, dream or vice; so much depends on the influence of things in our psychology about which we are mostly unaware. All the memories, motivations, fears, hopes, desires and drives that move us every day.
The significance of this observation is hard to understate. It means that when we are troubled by our choices, or when aspects of our experience are confusing or overwhelming, it helps to consider the underlying factors which provide context and perspective. Because this leads to more capacity for choice, understanding and self-acceptance.
Against this background, the field of psychotherapy has evolved to include many branches of theory and practice, informed by developments in our collective understanding of phenomena such as trauma and attachment.
︎ 0423 103 659 |︎ danielsilver@mailbox.org
︎Suite 5, 3B Pitt Street, North Hobart.
PACFA Reg. Clinical 28562
ABN 22123206124
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︎Suite 5, 3B Pitt Street, North Hobart.
PACFA Reg. Clinical 28562
ABN 22123206124
