9 differences between Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Therapy

Theories of Sigmund Freud have led to a very broad set of psychotherapeutic interventions. Many people classify as "psychoanalysis" any treatment derived from Freud's ideas, but today psychodynamic therapies have acquired great relevance, overcoming basic limitations of traditional psychoanalysis.

It is not simple or totally adequate differentiate between psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapies since both types of intervention share key aspects and overlap to a great extent. Even so, we can establish a series of differentiations that give an idea of ​​the distance between the dynamic therapies that exist today.

• Related article: "Types of psychological therapies"

What is psychoanalysis?

Psychoanalysis is a set of therapeutic theories and techniques which aims to treat mental disorders through the analysis of unconscious life. It is one of the oldest psychological therapies, dating back to the last decade of the 19th century, and it introduced approaches that were later picked up by many psychotherapeutic approaches.

Authors like Jean-Martin Charcot and Breuer influenced the emergence of psychoanalysis, but the term and its foundation are attributed to Sigmund Freud and to his book The interpretation of dreams, 1899. Later Carl Gustav Jung, Alfred Adler, Karen horney and other disciples of Freud developed psychoanalysis in different directions, away from the teacher.

According to psychoanalysis, personality is largely determined by childhood experiences, which have a significant influence on thought, emotion, and behavior. The therapeutic goal is to bring this unconscious material to consciousness through the analysis of involuntary behavior, dreams, and transference.

The most characteristic type of intervention of this current is the psychoanalytic cure-type, in which the transference neurosis is analyzed in deep. Classic elements of psychoanalysis, such as the use of the couch, the abstinence of the therapist, the globality of the therapeutic focus and the long duration of treatment are identified with the cure-type.

Psychodynamic therapies

Psychodynamic therapies are a series of interventions based on certain concepts of psychoanalytic theory. In particular, this type of psychotherapies focuses on the active influence of unconscious processes in the behavior, thought and conscious emotions of the present moment.

These psychotherapies share fundamental elements with psychoanalysis, especially the emphasis on the unconscious and the theoretical anchoring in the contributions of Freud and his followers. However, the term "psychodynamic therapy" is used in opposition to "psychoanalysis" to differentiate the classical method from other more modernized and scientific ones.

There are a large number of therapies that fall into this category. These include Rogers' client-centered therapy and Klerman and Weissman's interpersonal therapy. More recently, other influential psychodynamic therapies have emerged such as mentalization therapy and time-limited psychotherapy.

• You may be interested: "The open war between psychoanalysis and behaviorism, explained in 8 keys"

Differences between psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapies

It is impossible to make definitive distinctions between psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapies because the two concepts overlap. However, broadly speaking, we can establish a series of characteristics that are frequently used to distinguish between these two types of intervention.

1. Treatment duration

Duration of treatment is the main criterion for distinction between classical psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapies if we focus on an analysis of their practice. Thus, while psychoanalysis can last up to 5 years, psychodynamic therapies are more brief since they focus on the current problem of the patient and not on her personality as a whole.

2. Sessions frequency

Psychoanalysis is a much more intensive treatment than psychodynamic therapies. The psychoanalytic cure-type is practiced 3 or 4 times a week; On the other hand, psychodynamic therapy sessions have a more variable frequency, taking place weekly or even less frequently.

3. Therapy framing

Traditionally in psychoanalytic treatment, the couch has been used, which makes it easier for patients to concentrate and access to the unconscious material without the distractions of direct interaction with the therapist, which is also little participatory.

The evolution of psychoanalysis towards psychodynamic therapies has promoted a more flexible framing. Thus, therapists who apply this type of intervention tend to be more active and direct, and in many cases they and the patient come face to face. In a synthetic way, psychodynamic therapies are more adapted to each particular case.

4. Depth of analysis

Psychodynamic therapies have been developed largely as ways of applying psychoanalytic approaches to the management of specific problems. This makes them much more efficient and, according to some people, superficial, since the traditional objective of modify the personality structure as a whole.

5. Therapeutic focuses

This difference is linked to the depth of the analysis. While many psychodynamic therapies focus on unconscious processes related to the reason for the client's inquiry, in psychoanalysis, the need to handle multiple and mobile foci arises: the unconscious thoughts that arise from the therapeutic relationship and the transference. In a certain sense, psychoanalysts intend to intervene in conflicts that the patient does not know he has (something not without controversy).

6. Theoretical foundation

At present when we speak of psychoanalysis we refer to interventions that focus mainly on the contributions of Freud. On the contrary, psychodynamic therapies reflect to a greater extent the advances of later authors such as Klein, Jung, Lacan or Winnicott, emphasizing concepts such as attachment or defense mechanisms.

7. Techniques used

The classical techniques of psychoanalysis include free association, dream interpretation or the analysis of resistance and transfer. Psychodynamic therapies include these contributions but in many cases they have a more eclectic, including techniques typical of other orientations, such as behavioral, cognitive and experiential.

• Related article: "What is 'free association' in Psychoanalysis?"

8. Efficacy research

Psychoanalysis has historically been characterized by its rejection of experimental and scientific methods, relying mainly on the theories developed by key authors. However, some of the hypotheses put forward by psychoanalysts have been subsequently validated by scientific research, such as attachment theory.

Instead, many psychodynamic therapies are based on scientific evidence on the effectiveness of the methods. The effect size of these therapies is clearly greater than that of psychoanalysis in the treatment of most specific disorders.

9. Therapeutic indications

Traditionally psychoanalysis has focused on two main groups of disorders: neurosis and hysteria. The developments of certain psychodynamic therapies have allowed their application to a greater number of psychological disorders, including personality disorders and psychoses.