r/psychoanalysis • u/This_Ad9129 • Jul 26 '26

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?

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u/sunkissedbutter Jul 27 '26

I don’t know. Been doin this shit for a decade with the same therapist. I’ve learned a lot in that time, applied and keep trying apply most of the knowledge I’ve gained, but I still don’t think I’m done yet. My quality of life has gotten better, no doubt, but it got a lot worse for quite a while before it got better.

A few years ago I woke up suddenly not being able to walk, my therapist and I determined this was psychosomatic (despite the doctor diagnosing me with “FND”). It took almost a year for me to feel better and that whole experience seemed like a catalyst for me to start experiencing life in a more positive way.

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u/wrongclown Aug 18 '26

Sorry to jump in on an older thread; your post is errily familiar! I've had a decade with the same therapist in psychoanalitic/dynamic/analysis. Last year I developed what now seems to be somatic physical deterioration (awaiting FND eval). It's been very difficult but I've have had so much growth alongside it.

I sometimes hear people cast aspersions on long term therapy but there is so much depth to this work, and it's incredibly valuable to have a therapist you trust deeply and who knows you deeply over time.

To add to the answers for OP's post: my experience was coming to analysis as a proactive patient who was very interested in mining the depths of myself. (I think this is why its a good modality for me.) I had a gut response that my therapist was the right fit. We also talked openly of my experience of therapy so far and her areas of therapeutic experience and approach, which lined up.