Individual Psychotherapy
In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.
Individual psychotherapy is not only the most well-known method of working with patients but also one of the most researched.
There are numerous approaches to individual psychotherapy, and despite some similarities, each may result in a completely different experience. This is due to the fact that there are both common and specific factors that influence the treatment.
The primary goal of interpersonal psychoanalytic psychotherapy is to promote change by increasing the patient's awareness and understanding of their unconscious thoughts and feelings stemming from both their internal and interpersonal worlds. This is accomplished by employing Sigmund Freud's free association technique, in which the analyst's role is to identify unconscious components—usually thoughts, sentiments, emotions, and perceptions—that surface throughout the sessions and, over time, validate them with the patient. Unlike traditional psychoanalysis, which sees the individual as a solitary entity dealing with internal conflicts, interpersonal psychoanalysis focuses on the interpersonal environment and culture and how they shape one's personality.
The interpersonal psychoanalytic theory was developed in the 1930s by two main authors: Harry Stack Sullivan and Erich Fromm, who, along with other pioneers such as Frieda Fromm-Reichman and Clara Thompson, had the vision and merit of combining psychoanalysis and social science, resulting in a refined approach to comprehending the human experience in all its complexities.
