The Lasting Impact of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Versus CBT and Medication in Treating Mental Health Issues

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) teaches you how to tolerate life when life feels intolerable. Psychiatric medication suppresses uncomfortable symptoms for as long as you take the medicine. Psychodynamic psychotherapy, in contrast, helps you understand how you might be contributing to your own struggles and makes it possible to discover more meaningful, fulfilling approaches to life. The effects of good, long-term psychotherapy endure long after your final session.*

Unlike CBT or psychopharmacology, the psychodynamic approach to therapy

emphasizes early experiences and unconscious processes. It focuses on identifying and repairing root causes of distress (as opposed to simply alleviating symptoms). When a child is neglected or hurt, for example, the effects of those experiences can persist into adulthood and can lead to emotional dysregulation (things like anxiety, depression, anger issues, poor self-esteem, and chronically unhealthy or unsatisfying relationships). Many of our thoughts and feelings may occur outside of our conscious awareness. It's surprisingly hard for us to be consistently aware of how we're feeling and behaving. A good therapist can help you identify and process unresolved emotions, recognize (and break!) unhealthy patterns, and generally change the way you tend to think about yourself and others.

This is why psychodynamic therapy significantly outperforms shorter therapies when it comes to complex mental health issues like depression, trauma and personality disorders.* It doesn't just aim to make the pain go away; it aims to promote real, fundamental, lasting changes in you.

"The Dream" by Henri Rousseau