Sigmund Freud’s theories have given rise to a very broad set of psychotherapeutic interventions. Many people classify as “psychoanalysis” any treatment derived from Freud’s ideas, but nowadays psychodynamic therapies have acquired great relevance, overcoming basic limitations of traditional psychoanalysis.

It is neither simple nor entirely appropriate to differentiate between psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapies since both types of intervention share key aspects and largely overlap. Even so, we can establish a series of differentiations that give an idea of the distance between the dynamic therapies that exist today.

What is psychoanalysis?

Psychoanalysis is a set of therapeutic theories and techniques that aims to treat mental disorders through the analysis of unconscious life. It is one of the oldest psychological therapies, dating from the last decade of the 19th century, and introduced approaches that were later taken up by many psychotherapeutic approaches.

Authors like Jean-Martin Charcot and Breuer influenced the emergence of psychoanalysis, but the term and its foundation are attributed to Sigmund Freud and his book The interpretation of dreams , from 1899. Later Carl Gustav Jung, Alfred Adler, Karen Horney and other disciples of Freud developed psychoanalysis in different directions, moving away from the master.

According to psychoanalysis, personality is largely determined by childhood experiences, which have a significant influence on thought, emotion and behaviour. The therapeutic objective is to bring this unconscious material into consciousness through the analysis of involuntary behaviour, dreams and transference.

The most characteristic type of intervention of this current is the psychoanalytic cure-type, in which transference neurosis is analyzed in depth. Classic elements of psychoanalysis, such as the use of the couch, the abstinence of the therapist, the globality of the therapeutic focus and the long duration of the treatment, are identified with the cure-type.

Psychodynamic therapies

Psychodynamic therapies are a series of interventions based on certain concepts of psychoanalytic theory. In particular, this type of psychotherapies focuses on the active influence of unconscious processes on the conscious behaviour, thinking and emotions of the present moment.

These psychotherapies share fundamental elements with psychoanalysis, especially the emphasis on the unconscious and the theoretical anchoring of the contributions of Freud and his followers. However, the term “psychodynamic therapy” is used in opposition to “psychoanalysis” to differentiate the classical method from other more modernized and scientific ones.

There are a large number of therapies that fall into this category. These include Rogers’ client-centred therapy and Klerman and Weissman’s interpersonal therapy. More recently, other influential psychodynamic therapies have emerged such as mentalization therapy and time-limited psychotherapy .

Differences between psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapies

It is impossible to make definitive distinctions between psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapies because the two concepts overlap. However, in general terms we can establish a series of characteristics that are frequently used to distinguish between these two types of intervention.

1. Duration of treatment

The duration of treatment is the main criterion for distinguishing between classical psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapies if we focus on an analysis of their practice. Thus, while psychoanalysis can last up to 5 years, psychodynamic therapies are shorter since they focus on the patient’s current problems and not on his or her personality as a whole.

2. Frequency of sessions

Psychoanalysis is a much more intensive treatment than psychodynamic therapies. The psychoanalytic cure is practiced 3 or 4 times a week; on the other hand, the sessions of the psychodynamic therapies have a more variable frequency, taking place weekly or even in a less habitual way.

3. Framing the therapy

Traditionally in psychoanalytic treatment, the couch has been used, which facilitates the patients’ concentration and access to unconscious material without the distractions of direct interaction with the therapist, who is also not very participative.

The evolution of psychoanalysis towards psychodynamic therapies has encouraged a flexibilization of the framework . Thus, therapists who apply this type of intervention tend to be more active and direct, and in many cases this and the patient are placed face to face. In summary, psychodynamic therapies are more adapted to each particular case.

4. Depth of analysis

Psychodynamic therapies have been developed to a large extent as ways of applying the approaches of psychoanalysis to the management of specific problems. This makes them much more efficient and, according to some people, superficial, since the traditional objective of modifying the personality structure as a whole is abandoned.

5. Therapeutic focuses

This difference is linked to the depth of analysis. While many psychodynamic therapies focus on the unconscious processes related to the client’s reason for consultation , in psychoanalysis the need to handle multiple and mobile focuses: the unconscious thoughts that arise from the therapeutic relationship and the transference. In a certain sense, psychoanalysts propose to intervene in conflicts that the patient does not know he or she has (something not exempt from controversy).

6. Theoretical foundation

At present, when we speak of psychoanalysis we refer to interventions that focus mainly on Freud’s contributions. On the contrary, psychodynamic therapies take up to a greater extent the advances of later authors such as Klein, Jung, Lacan or Winnicott, emphasizing concepts such as attachment or defense mechanisms.

7. Techniques used

The classic techniques of psychoanalysis include free association, dream interpretation or resistance and transference analysis. Psychodynamic therapies include these contributions but in many cases they are of a more eclectic nature, including techniques from other orientations, such as behavioural, cognitive and experiential.

8. Efficacy research

Psychoanalysis has historically been characterized by its rejection of experimental and scientific methods, based mainly on the theories developed by key authors. However, some of the hypotheses put forward by psychoanalysts have subsequently been validated by scientific research, such as attachment theory.

In contrast, many psychodynamic therapies are based on scientific evidence on the effectiveness of the methods. The size of the effect of these therapies is clearly superior to that of psychoanalysis in the treatment of most specific disorders.

9. Therapeutic indications

Traditionally, psychoanalysis has focused on two main groups of disorders: neurosis and hysteria. Developments in certain psychodynamic therapies have allowed the application to a greater number of psychological disorders, including personality disorders and psychoses.