Psychodynamic Services
Psychodynamic therapy is a form of psychological talking therapy, that has its roots in psycho-analysis. At its core, psychodynamic thinking informs us that many of the dysfunctional ways people relate to others, and to themselves, which then cause difficulties in various aspects of their lives, can be traced back to difficulties they have had earlier on in life, either through traumatic experiences, or difficulties in relationships with significant others, especially with family members. Such difficulties can often result in the development of mental health difficulties such as Depression, Anxiety or Personality difficulties.
The work in psychodynamic therapy is to help you identify areas within yourself that you are unsatisfied with, or which are causing difficulties in your life, to promote insight and self-awareness with respect to how these problems started originally. With time, the therapist then, at a pace you can tolerate, aids you in instituting wholesale change in the way you see yourself or how you relate to others. It is often a longer-term undertaking, but which results in more lasting, holistic change.
While psychodynamic therapy or psychodynamic-informed treatment can help improve function in those severely impaired by mental disorders, it also benefits people who may not have any diagnosable psychiatric disorder – but are nonetheless impaired in some areas of their lives. For example, some may have persisting and recurrent difficulties in relationships with others, due to unconscious transference from difficult significant relationships in the past. We aim to help people on both ends of the spectrum – after all, a Better Life is not just a life free of the afflictions of mental disorders, but also the freedom to live a fulfilling and meaningful life on one’s own terms, without being unconsciously shackled by their past experiences.
Services for Patients:
Depending on your needs, we offer individual psychodynamic therapy, which will be a regular, intensive form of individual therapy, and possibly group psychodynamic therapy as well, depending on interest and suitability.
Individual psychodynamic therapy typically begins with an assessment phase comprising around 3 sessions, which helps the therapist understand you and your presenting issues better, and allows you to build rapport and feel comfortable with your therapist. After this, the therapist will make a recommendation to you as to whether psychodynamic therapy is suitable for you and will seek your consent to proceed with the therapy proper.
Typically, during sessions you will talk in depth about not just your problems in the here-and-now, but also your experiences in the past, such as your childhood and significant relationships, and how you experienced them. The therapist might often appear not to say very much as he focuses on listening to you attentively, and in time to come may make interpretations to help you make sense of how your life experiences have shaped who you are as a person, and help you make informed choices as to how you want to live your life henceforth.
Services for Mental Healthcare Providers:
We offer Balint Groups for fellow mental healthcare providers. Balint Groups are small group case presentations and discussions facilitated by a leader, which aim to provide a safe and contained environment to understand the therapist-client dynamics, encouraging self-reflection and exploration of meaning with a focus on the afore-mentioned dynamics, and to allow processing of emotions triggered by these dynamics, helping to reduce burnout and feelings of isolation in the therapist.
Please peruse the following papers for more information on Balint Groups:
https://www.cfps.org.sg/publications/the-singapore-family-physician/article/1255_pdf
http://www.smj.org.sg/article/general-practitioner-burnout-singapore-and-role-balint-groups