In psychodynamic therapy, therapists help people gain insight into their lives and present-day problems by paying close attention to emotions, thoughts, beliefs and early-life experiences. The therapeutic relationship is central to psychodynamic therapy. It can demonstrate how a person interacts with their friends and loved ones. It can reveal recurring patterns used to avoid distress or developed defense mechanisms to cope.
Defense mechanisms may keep painful feelings, memories and experience in the unconscious. In addition, transference in therapy can show how early-life relationships affect a person today. Transference is the transferring one’s feelings for a parent, for example, onto the therapist. This intimate look at interpersonal relationships can help people understand their part in relationship patterns. It may empower them to transform that dynamic. It can facilitate healing, growth and flourishing.