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FREEDOM

Much of psychoanalytically oriented work is dedicated to developing the ability to be as aware as possible of what one is thinking and feeling at any given time. Ones awareness, or consciousness, becomes highly developed in the therapeutic relationship as one becomes more and more aware, over time, of what and how one thinks and feels.

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy also pays close attention to the root causes or unconscious motivations for thoughts, feelings and actions. Once the unconscious motivations become evident to both patient and therapist in the treatment, through the inevitable reenactments of our habits, assumptions and beliefs, the doorway to self awareness and freedom is opened.

One also comes to understand and have compassion for the reasons for one's thoughts, feelings and actions. One does this by simply talking with a person who is trained to listen on many levels. One talks in therapy in the service of freeing or liberating oneself from habitual conditioning and beliefs which trap one in "ways of being" that are often unhelpful at best and painful at worst.

Once one is truly able to talk about what one has resisted seeing, thinking and feeling, one is no longer bound to incessantly repeat and reenact those "ways of being". By identifying and coming to accept that which was once hidden and deemed unacceptable, one begins the process of freeing oneself from patterns of self blame and attack. One feels freer and freer to accept all thoughts and feelings, while becoming more and more able to choose how one wishes to think, feel and act.

The process of seeing and accepting oneself within a therapeutic relationship can profoundly affect, change and enrich the quality of one's life.