One of the main ideas in psychodynamic therapy is that when something, more often than not, from childhood was very painful we developed a particular individualistic response as a way of protecting ourselves. For some time this strategy or strategies have been helpful, they have kept us from perceived or real harm.
We can become very good at protecting ourselves from variations of these difficult experiences but these same protective mechanisms can become outdated and as such no longer helpful. Moreover, when we experience, challenging real-life situations we can become unstuck as those defences are no longer supporting us and resultingly we can develop symptoms of low mood and/or anxiety in the face of these very situations. In other words, in psychodynamic counselling we believe that these symptoms have their origins in and manifested from our relationships.
Underlying the difficulty is the understanding that there is a repetitive interpersonal pattern that although felt to protect us is paradoxically working against what we really want. For instance, withdrawing from others physically or from holding back our feelings in the face of a fear of being a burden or not having enough to offer but correspondingly, for instance, feeling that we are alone and destined to be lonely. Together we can work out what may be happening in your present relationships and explore the way they can be experienced and thought about differently.
