Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and EMDR Explained
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
What Is It?
Psychodynamic psychotherapy is a talk-based therapy that focuses on helping you understand the unconscious patterns that shape your emotions, relationships, and behaviour. Often, these patterns are rooted in early life experiences and continue to influence how you relate to yourself and others in the present — sometimes without you realizing it.
This approach gives space to explore your inner world at your own pace, helping you gain insight into struggles like anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, relationship difficulties, and long-standing emotional pain.
How It Works
In sessions, you’re encouraged to speak freely — about anything that comes to mind. The therapist listens closely for patterns, contradictions, and emotional dynamics that may be just beneath the surface. Together, you and your therapist make sense of these experiences, uncovering how past wounds may be influencing your current struggles.
Rather than focusing only on symptoms, psychodynamic therapy aims to get to the root of your difficulties. The work unfolds over time and can lead to deeper self-understanding, emotional relief, and longer-lasting change.
Research Support for This Approach
Psychodynamic psychotherapy has been widely studied and shown to be effective for a range of issues, including depression, anxiety, trauma, and personality difficulties. Its effects are often long-lasting and continue even after therapy ends.
Key findings include:
-
Psychodynamic therapy is as effective as other evidence-based therapies, with lasting improvements over time.
-
A 2010 review by Dr. Jonathan Shedler found that clients in psychodynamic therapy continued to improve even after treatment ended, suggesting meaningful, internal change.
Learn More
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing
What is it?
EMDR is a structured therapy that helps people recover from trauma and distressing life experiences, including PTSD, anxiety, grief, and phobias. It uses guided eye movements or other bilateral stimulation to help the brain reprocess memories so they’re no longer emotionally overwhelming.
How It Works
In EMDR, you’ll be asked to recall a specific disturbing memory while simultaneously focusing on bilateral stimulation (often through side-to-side eye movements, tapping, or sound). This helps the brain “reprocess” the memory and store it in a way that’s less emotionally charged. Over time, the memory loses its emotional intensity, and new, healthier associations can form.
EMDR is an eight-phase therapy, but it's flexible to your needs. You don’t have to talk in detail about the trauma — which many clients appreciate — and it can be integrated with other therapeutic approaches.
Research Support for This Approach
-
EMDR is strongly supported by research and is recognized by organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), American Psychological Association (APA), and Veterans Affairs for its effectiveness in treating trauma.
-
Studies show EMDR can reduce trauma symptoms faster than traditional talk therapy in many cases.
Learn More