Psychoanalytic Therapist in Chicago

Understanding the Deeper Work of Healing

You don’t have to stay on the surface. Real change happens when we explore what’s underneath.

This is a space to slow down, reflect, and grow in lasting ways.

You don’t need to have it all figured out. You don’t even need to know exactly what’s wrong. Psychoanalytic therapy creates space to ask the harder, deeper questions—and to discover that you’re not broken, just in need of understanding.

Part of a Rich Therapeutic Tradition

Psychoanalytic therapy is closely related to psychodynamic therapy—they’re part of the same therapeutic family tree. Both approaches recognize that much of what drives our feelings, behaviors, and relationships happens outside of conscious awareness. What makes psychoanalytic work distinctive is its particular depth and focus on the therapeutic relationship itself as a source of insight and healing.

Whether you’ve heard of psychodynamic therapy or this is your first introduction to depth work, you’re engaging with a time-tested approach that honors the complexity of human experience.

What Is Psychoanalytic Therapy?

What kinds of issues can be addressed with psychoanalytic therapy?

Psychoanalytic therapy can be helpful for a wide range of emotional and relational struggles. People often come to this work when they feel stuck, overwhelmed, or disconnected—but aren’t sure why. You might be dealing with symptoms like anxiety or depression, challenges in relationships, low self-esteem, creative blocks, perfectionism, grief, or chronic feelings of emptiness.

Sometimes the pain is harder to name—like a sense of not knowing who you are, or feeling like you’re living behind a mask. This approach allows us to understand not just the surface-level struggle, but what’s driving it underneath. If you’re longing for more clarity, connection, and meaning, this kind of work can meet you there.

Psychoanalytic therapy is a depth-oriented approach to healing that helps you understand yourself more fully—beyond the symptoms, roles, or patterns you’ve been stuck in. Rather than focusing only on quick solutions or behavior change, we explore the deeper emotional roots of what’s causing pain, confusion, or disconnection.

This kind of therapy asks: What are the unconscious patterns that shape how you feel, relate, and respond? And what might begin to shift when those patterns are brought into the light with care and curiosity?

Let's Talk About What You're Looking For

How It Works in Practice

This therapy often begins by talking about what’s on your mind your relationships, dreams, worries, memories, or even what feels hard to say. We pay attention not only to the content, but also to the patterns and emotional undertones.

Over time, these conversations begin to reveal how past experiences are alive in the present. We notice defenses (ways of handling emotions or relationships that developed early and unconsciously) that once protected you but now hold you back.

We explore unconscious beliefs about yourself, others, and your worth. And we do this with patience, insight, and care.

You lead the way and we make sense of things together.

There’s no rigid structure or checklist. Instead, we build a relationship where you can speak freely, think deeply, and begin to hear your own voice more clearly.

What It Might Feel Like

This kind of therapy can feel different from what you’ve known before. It may feel slower, deeper, or more reflective. Rather than focusing on solving problems right away, it’s about getting to know the self beneath the struggle what drives you, what protects you, and what has been quietly shaping your experience from the inside out.

You may notice:

Depth work opens the door to healing, integration, and meaningful change.

While this work can be challenging at times, it’s also deeply rewarding. It gives you the chance to reconnect with the parts of yourself that may have been buried, silenced, or misunderstood.

Why This Work Matters

You might come to therapy because of anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, or feeling lost in your life. But beneath those struggles, there’s often a deeper story—one that’s waiting to be heard.

Psychoanalytic therapy isn’t about quick fixes. It’s about creating the kind of change that ripples through your whole life—your relationships, your work, your inner world. It helps you understand not just how to cope, but how to grow.

You can heal from more than symptoms. You can come home to yourself.

This work is about becoming more fully who you are less driven by fear, more connected to your feelings, and more able to live from a place of authenticity, depth, and self-acceptance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the same as Freud's couch therapy?

Psychoanalysis has evolved a lot since Freud’s early ideas. While the foundations are rooted in curiosity about the unconscious and the impact of early experience, today’s psychoanalytic therapy is far more relational, flexible, and grounded in the real, emotional dynamics of your life. In my work, I’m not a detached or silent blank slate I’m an engaged partner in the therapeutic relationship.

I listen closely, reflect with you, and at times offer gentle challenges or observations that support your growth. The process is collaborative, human, and deeply respectful of your experience.

Do I have to talk about my childhood?

Only if it feels meaningful to you. This work is always led by what feels relevant and resonant for you. That said, revisiting early memories especially with the support of a therapist who respects your pace and boundaries can sometimes uncover powerful clues about how you’ve learned to relate, protect yourself, or make sense of the world.

While you’ll never be pushed to go anywhere you’re not ready for, I may gently encourage you to stretch. Sometimes the most meaningful insights emerge from places that feel both tender and unfamiliar.

How long does it take?

This kind of therapy tends to be longer-term, but that doesn’t mean it’s endless. You get to decide what you need. Some people come weekly for years, others for a season. Some choose to attend sessions several times a week — an approach that has been shown to deepen the work, accelerate insight, and support more intensive transformation for those who are open to the commitment and curious about truly analytic work.

We’ll work together to decide the right frequency and length of treatment based on your goals, availability, level of interest, and your own sense of what feels right. The goal isn’t forever; it’s transformation.

You don't need to know all the answers. Just bring your questions.

Therapy is a space to wonder, explore, and feel. No preparation needed.