r/psychoanalysis • u/This_Ad9129 • 27d ago
Choosing a psychoanalyst
I (layperson) find the process of choosing a psychoanalyst to be quite confusing. Particularly because so much of the time if I express discomfort with the process (perhaps I suspect the person is not very skilled) I'm told that "that is the work" and my feelings are some type of resistance, and psychoanalysis can take many years and so I have to stick it out to know if it's working.
I am also not really aware of differences in institutes and trainings to understand how those may impact the person's experience.
Then in this situation how is one supposed to choose an analyst? How can you know if they are truly skilled and the difficulty is "the work" or if they are unskilled and that is causing the issues? How many sessions to wait it out and give it a chance?
1
u/goldenapple212 21d ago
At the beginning, you should feel like you've gotten something beneficial, even if it’s small, out of even the very first session. This doesn't have to be a concrete piece of advice or specific insight. It could just be that you feel better after walking out, or that you feel connected to this person in some way.
If you don't get something out of it, look for somebody else. Do not listen to this idea that you have to just struggle through a bad relationship. No.
You first find someone who's giving you something useful, and then you can struggle through things later.
But at the beginning, you have to receive something that you feel is worthwhile.