Psychoanalysis: Treatment, Procedure, Cost and Side Effects

Psychoanalysis is also known as psychotherapy or Freudian Therapy. Psychoanalysis is a type of treatment which relies upon the theories propounded by Sigmund Freud, who is regarded as one of the forefathers of psychology and the founder of psychoanalysis. The therapy basically explores how the unconscious mind influences the thoughts and the behavior of the individual, with the main aim of providing insight to the client seeking the therapy. It tends to look at the experiences of the individual from early childhood to see if those experiences have had an impact upon the individual’s life or contributed to their current concerns. Being a psychological therapy, it is a long term therapy which continues for weeks at times and sometimes even months and years, depending upon the death of concern which is to be explored.

Psychoanalytic therapy seeks to bring about change by helping clients understand their past and how events from their past life could be affecting their present state. A psychoanalyst listens to the concerns of the patient and analysis the events and patterns that might be of significance. Its believed that in this type of therapy all the unconscious feelings and childhood events play a key role in mental distress.

Psychoanalysis has many side effects if it’s not performed properly by the therapist. The negative effects are many for psychoanalysis and the therapist should keep in mind the physical and mental condition of the client before deciding upon the technique to employ and the way it is to be performed. The side effects are mainly divided into two types: Treatment emergent reaction which is an unwanted negative event directly caused by the treatment itself and adverse treatment reaction which is an unwanted event caused by the correct treatment.

Depending upon the intensity of the concern for which you are undergoing psychotherapy, the time may vary from weeks to months and sometimes even years before you can go back to your normal lifestyle, devoid of anxiety, stress and tension.

Since the treatment takes place in sitting which can continue for either months or years, the average estimate price per session ranges from 1000-2000 INR for either a 45 minute session or a 1 hour session, depending upon the therapist you choose to visit.

Nothing is permanent in life and the same goes for the psychotherapy treatment. The symptoms might come back due to a trigger in the situation you are dealing with or the environment. However, psychoanalysis helps you get all your repressed ideas and emotions out in the real world. Continuous sessions help in giving better results.