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What is Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy for Couples?

Sometimes, the unconscious processes that developed during our upbringing have more influence on our present relationships than we think. Possibly one or both of you have experienced childhood trauma, abuse, or other kinds of adversity, such as:

● Death or absence of a parent

● Family history of medical or mental health problems

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy for couples draws on the power of in-depth talk therapy between partners as well as the therapist to help reveal underlying thoughts and feelings, and then brings them into the conscious mind. This type of therapy can be instrumental in helping patients find their own unique voice, and who are interested in how they came to be, where, and who they are. Through free association, dream analysis, and the exploration of unconscious processes (as well as the related ensuing discussions), couples learn to understand and appreciate their own individuality along with the unique part they play in the relationship.

As you proceed through psychoanalytic couples therapy, Dr. Samstag will ask both of you a plethora of questions that lead to the discovery and analysis of internal motivations, unconscious processes, and long-held beliefs. You will then learn how your relationship unfolded as you concurrently unearth your own historical narrative. Most satisfying and exciting is that you and your partner can develop ways to help the relationship grow and transform.

Contemporary Psychoanalysis

Although psychoanalysis has been around as an accepted treatment for over 100 years, the strategies that present-day psychoanalysts use to help individual patients and couples have dramatically expanded since the days of Sigmund Freud. It’s no longer just about repressed thoughts and internal sexual drives. It’s based on current scholarly research on psychoanalytic therapy, plus clinical studies in child development, current culture (such as social media), memory, and neurobiology.

Contemporary psychoanalysis emphasizes the value of healing in a spirit of collaboration. Whereas traditional psychoanalytic therapy considers the therapist as an authority, the contemporary psychoanalyst is highly respectful of the subjective experiences and presenting problems of all patients involved in the therapeutic relationship.

As a contemporary psychoanalyst Dr. Samstag, then, is an active participant in the therapeutic process. His sincere curiosity about your personal stories, both individually and as a couple, creates an intensity of experiences that can lead to a positive transformation of the couple's relationship.

Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy: ‘Creative Couple State of Mind’

Researchers at the International Association of Couple and Family Psychoanalysis have emphasized the benefits of a “creative couple state of mind.” This is accomplished through effective facilitation by the skilled psychoanalytic psychotherapist and the hard work and patience of both partners.

When couples first enter therapy, there is often difficulty interacting with and respecting each other as separate and different. The tendency to hold on to fixed beliefs about the relationship can be quite restraining. Through methods such as free association, analysis of dreams, and the development of the capacity to move between one another’s subjective experience, new thoughts and ways of thinking often emerge. Eventually, couples learn to regard their relationship as something that they have created. It’s as if the relationship becomes a new resource or entity in which ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.’

When Dr. Samstag works with his patients, he encourages couples to embrace curiosity so that they can develop their own wonderful ‘creative couple state of mind.’ He also facilitates a safe environment for his patients so that they can have the freedom to explore even the most difficult aspects of a relationship. He embraces the ability to address challenges and find meaningful solutions.

The result? A healthy, intimate, and high-functioning adult relationship.

What is the Difference Between Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis?

The term, ‘Psychodynamic Psychotherapy’ is often used interchangeably with ‘Psychoanalysis.’ The main practical difference is that patients in psychodynamic psychotherapy typically meet less frequently. While patients in psychoanalysis tend to meet three or more times per week, it is common for patients in psychodynamic psychotherapy to meet once a week. What both treatments share is a belief in the unconscious process, the primacy of developmental history in the influence of personality, and the recognition of both therapist and patient as active participants in the therapeutic project.

There is nothing magical about the frequency of sessions, although it is true that for patients who can make use of greater frequency, the work tends to be deeper and the results more long-lasting.