The core of psychoanalytic treatment is the concept of the unconscious determinants of behaviour and the influence of the past on the present. These factors can be a source of distress and unhappiness, sometimes in the form of recognisable symptoms and at other times as troubling personality traits, difficulties at work or in love relationships, or disturbances in mood and self-esteem.

The method is based on concepts concerning unconscious mental processes. It was originally created by Sigmund Freud and has been developed over the last hundred years by many experienced followers.

Most psychoanalysts also apply their training in the practice of other forms of treatment, such as brief therapy, group therapy, or family therapy. Likewise, they work in various fields, such as medicine, psychiatry, clinical psychology, and education.

Child and adolescent psychoanalysis follows the same principles but also relies on developmental processes that structure the psychic apparatus, its psychodynamics, and its psychopathology, considering it as a disturbance in the development of the child or adolescent patient’s personality.

NEST members who offer this approach: