Psychoanalysis is a method of psychological treatment based on the assumption of a relationship between behavior, unconscious motivations, and biological and instinctual drives. The goals of psychoanalysis are to make the unconscious conscious. This allows the person to deal with painful emotions that are causing distress, fostering a deep level of self-understanding and modification of an individual’s character structure.
Such change requires deep probing into the past and usually requires a long-term commitment to therapy.
Although the current theory and practice of psychoanalysis contains much diversity of ideas, traditional or "classical" psychoanalysis can be characterized by the therapist maintaining a neutral stance. This neutrality is believed to foster transference of feelings the client associates with significant others/relationships in his past onto the therapist.
The therapist focuses on identifying the client’s resistances in bringing painful memories to consciousness and provides interpretation so that the client becomes more self-aware. This results in the restructuring and reworking of previous thought and behavior patterns, allowing the client to be able to think and act in new ways.
Psychoanalysis originated with the theories of Sigmund Freud and his followers.
