Clinical psychology has its roots in psychodynamics, which started back with Freud. Perhaps it is most famously known for introducing the concept of “the unconscious mind”. Psychodynamic theory suggests that the unconscious mind is a major contributor to behaviour, and proposes that developing more insight into the unconscious will be key in helping you transform from psychological difficulties.
…going deeper
The unconscious mind is exactly that – it is the parts of our mind that we are not conscious of (i.e. not aware of). The unconscious is thought to take up much more of our mind than the conscious. The analogy often used is that of the iceberg. Consciousness is only what is above the water, but the main chunk of the iceberg really lies underneath, unseen from the surface.
Psychodynamic theory proposes that the unconscious mind is developed through early life encounters. Within the unconscious, various protective mechanisms are employed to protect us from overwhelming emotions. Later in life, those protective mechanisms serve unhelpful functions. Therapy styles that come from this perspective argue that these unconscious processes will come up within therapy, not just in the material discussed, but in how you relate to your therapist too. The relationship with your therapist can be used to help you understand your own self protective strategies and unconscious struggles.
CBT versus psychodynamic
There has historically been a sort of friction between cognitive-behavioural psychologists and psychodynamically-oriented psychologists. Despite this, even research within cognitive and behavioural psychology has shown that the unconscious is a useful construct to explain a range of interesting human behavioural phenomena. There are certainly still arguments about the reasons for unconscious information processing. For example, maybe it is just for efficiency rather than to protect us from emotional trauma. But the notion of the unconscious remains important in psychology… so it was really a very clever idea from Freud all those years ago!
Some may argue that psychodynamic theory and cognitive-behavioural are at odds with each other. However I find that many of the same themes of psychodynamic theory are found within cognitive behavioural theory too, for example, the important role of early life experiences in influencing current behaviour, the helpfulness of developing insight into mental-emotional-behavioural patterns, and the notion that we develop self-protective safety strategies that may not always be conscious.
Integration (and bespoke therapy)
I believe there is no single theory to best help you to understand your mind. I have a cognitive-behavioural leaning to my practice but there are many helpful perspectives from psychodynamic theory that I integrate. That way, you get a therapy that is more tailored to you as an individual and that works better for us as a team.
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