What Is Psychodynamic Therapy?

As a licensed psychotherapist and trained psychoanalyst, my approach is grounded in the psychodynamic tradition — a way of working that focuses on deep emotional insight, lasting change, and greater self-understanding. When people think of therapy, they often imagine talking about childhood or exploring dreams. That image may seem cliché, but it's rooted in a powerful, time-tested approach: psychoanalysis. Psychodynamic therapy draws on the same principles in a shorter, more accessible form — helping you understand how unconscious patterns, often rooted in early relationships, continue to shape how you feel, think, and relate to others today.

Traditional psychoanalysis typically means multiple sessions a week, often over several years, allowing for sustained exploration of the unconscious. Psychodynamic therapy draws on the same foundation but is usually once or twice a week and can be time-limited — a more flexible way to work toward the same goal: not just symptom relief, but real, lasting change through self-understanding.

Looking Beneath the Surface

You might begin therapy with anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, or difficulty in relationships. But underneath those struggles are often untold stories and patterns formed long ago that continue to shape your present — why you keep ending up in the same situations, what you're avoiding, what you truly want. One of the most powerful tools in this work is the relationship between us: as trust develops, aspects of your inner world begin to play out in the room, giving us the chance to observe and understand those patterns together, in real time.

This approach may be a good fit if you want more than symptom relief — if you value depth and emotional insight, have noticed recurring patterns you want to break free of, and are open to exploring how your past shapes your present. I offer both psychodynamic therapy and traditional psychoanalysis, and we can begin with one and shift toward the other over time, depending on what you need. If you're curious how this approach might help you, I'd be glad to talk.