Psychoanalysis can be likened to a football game. The primary aim in football is to make a touchdown, while the primary aim in analysis is to say whatever is on your mind without editing. Just as in football there are obstacles to overcome while running for a touchdown, most people experience obstacles in analysis when trying to express their thoughts unedited.

In football it is essential to know the players blocking you from the touchdown so you can plan strategies to overcome them. Similarly, in analysis it is invaluable to recognize the obstacles (for example inhibitions, fears, anxieties, embarrassments and shame) that interfere with your ability to express any thought unedited. Often these very obstacles impact the way we feel about ourselves and the way we relate to others. Working through these obstacles is what is referred to as the analytic process.

It is the analytic process that facilitates the transformation within the individual and can lead to the resolution of symptoms....Back