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Question

I am a very nervous and neurotic person, I feel like my hang ups are partly to blame for a lot of the anxiety I experience on a daily basis. I have been to therapy before but it was very much focused on the present and on learning new ways to think. I feel like I need to get a handle on the past because my past is why I act and feel like I do today. I am interested in psychoanalysis which is what I expected my first try at therapy would be like but wasn’t. What I would like to know is how long I should expect psychoanalysis to take before I start seeing results?

Dr. Shirley Schaye · Accepted Answer

Oh how wise you are. Yes, indeed trying new strategies does nothing to help someone change.It doesn't. All of us repeat the past. Freud had a term for that... Repetition Compulsion ... What we do, you, I, all of us do when there are problems from our past is compulsively repeat the past in the hope of changing it but low and behold, nothing ever changes. Only Psychoanalysis can. Only Psychoanalysts are trained to go back to the past with a person and help them work through their past issues. So you are right on about that.

Ok, so now to your question: How long? To give you an honest answer, I don't know. I don't know because I don't know anything about you. I don't know if your problems stem from early ego development issues or are what we call oedipal issues. So you would need to enter the process over some time to know how long. And even then, it's not always easy to know. But I will say this --- hey, if it's going to help by all means, do it. It is certainly worth it.

I am very glad to help you find someone if you tell me your city, state and zip code. Also, if you need low cost or insurance coverage I can help you with that.

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