6 Ways to Treat Depression by Psychoanalysis

Many therapists use the psychoanalysis method to treat their patients by seeking into the unconscious mind. So if you want to know more about it, tune in. 

Psychoanalysis and Depression:

Psychoanalysis is an acronym made up of two words and is a set of theories and therapeutic methods proposed by the genius Sigmoid Freud. It is a type of psychotherapy, which is focuses on the recognition of the internal mechanisms of unconsciousness that govern the thoughts, feelings, desires, and memories of an individual.

Treatment of several mental health issues seeks to recognize and connect these implicit processes to the person and any psychiatric or physical symptoms they might be having. While psychoanalysis is a viable therapy for several mental health disorders, many doctors do not see psychoanalysis as a clear solution for depression or other illnesses.

The purpose of psychoanalysis is to bring repressed emotions to the surface and convert the unconscious into conscious, thereby treating the individual. This method can treat depression and anxiety immensely. Psychoanalysis have a cathartic effect on individuals, helping them to heal.

After proposing psychoanalysis, Freud used several tricks to dwell deep into the unconscious mind of his patient. Hence, let’s discuss some of these interesting tricks and methods that might help with the process of psychoanalysis.

Slips of the Tongue or Freud Slip:

When was the last time you were trying to say something else but the tongue slip took things southward? Well, this might be good news because frequent tongue slips is associated with something our unconscious brain is trying to tell us.

In the form of slip-ups, unconscious thoughts and emotions may pass to the conscious mind, and we regard it as a Freudian slip or tongue slip. By saying something that we did not mean to, we show what is actually on our minds.

For example; the 43rd President of the United States of America, George Walker Bush once during his speech said “For seven and a half years I've worked alongside President Reagan. We've had triumphs. Made some mistakes. We've had some sex...uh...setbacks.'' Although this example might sound hilarious it did give us an insight into Bush’s unconscious. 

Freud thought that tongue slips offered an insight into the unconscious mind and every human error or accident had a deep unconscious associated with it. To Freud, the genius used these tongue slips to encode information accordingly. 

Free Association: 

It is a simple psychodynamic treatment method, in which without censoring or editing the flow of thoughts and emotions, you can speak openly about whatever crosses your mind.

This approach involves the reading of a list of terms or keywords by a psychiatrist and the patient answers instantly with the first word that comes to his or her mind. In the process of free association, mostly the traces of repressed memories will surface.

If the client displays reluctance and is hesitant to reveal what he or she is thinking, the free association will not prove beneficial. The appearance of resistance, on the other hand, also gives a clear signal that in his or her mind the client is getting close to a major repressed idea and that further examination by the therapist might be effective.

Freud claimed that this method made his patients relive an emotionally intense and vivid experience. It was like a "flashback" for them, from the memory of past trauma or rape.

Dream Analysis:

Freud claimed that dreams embodied repressed desires. He claimed that the best way to explain the unconscious processes of the subconscious was to analyze dreams. His hypothesis suggested that dreams have two parts: a manifested content, which is the dream we remember after waking up, and latent content, or the dream that we do not recall after waking up, is the part of the unconscious mind.

Freud regarded dreams to be the royal gate to unconsciousness. He used the process of dream analysis to psychoanalyze his patients. His dream analysis was mainly based on his drive-conflict theory.

Therapist Neutrality:

In this specific technique, the therapist tries to express neutrality without showing biased judgments. The therapist will avoid asserting him or herself into the conversation, giving you more ground to brainstorm. In this technique, the therapist tries to keep his or her feelings or thoughts to themselves and listen to your thoughts intently.

Interpretation:

In this technique, the therapist asserts themselves into the conversation and use him or her expertise and knowledge to tackle the dilemma that might have fall. By asserting themselves into the conversation, they analyze the thoughts and feelings of the patient insightfully.

Transference:

Transference is the transfer of feelings and emotions connected with a person, who is an integral part of your life with that of the therapist. You start associating the emotions specific for that person with the therapist. There is positive transference and negative transference. Positive transference can prove to be helpful for the treatment process. Positive transference is the association of positive feelings with a therapist. A therapist can use this transference tool to get an insight into the patient's unconscious.

These are some of the psychoanalysis techniques used by the therapist to dwell deep into your unconscious and to surface the repressed memory. Isn’t it genius? However, we can learn a thing or two from it and try regarding accidents, and tongue slips an unconscious signal rather than an error.