Psychodynamic Approach Versus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: What’s the Difference?

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and the psychodynamic approach both have as their goal to relieve psychological distress and improve mental well-being. However, they use significantly different methods to do so. If you are wondering which one would be better suited for your unique needs, read on. Hopefully, this article will give you a good understanding of the key differences between them so you can make an informed choice.

Focus And Core Beliefs

Psychodynamic approach Psychodynamic therapy is an insight-oriented approach that looks to your past to understand your present. Influenced by Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, it focuses on unconscious processes, early childhood experiences, and the type of bond you had with your parents or primary caregiver.

Its core tenets include the belief that current mental and emotional issues are rooted in unconscious thoughts, feelings, and unresolved conflicts, and that the dynamics of early childhood relationships form a template for how you form and interact in your current relationships as an adult.

The primary goal of psychodynamic therapy is to increase your self-awareness and understanding of how your past experiences are influencing you in the present by exploring the information stored in your subconscious mind and providing you with the necessary insight to be able to connect the dots, break free from dysfunctional patterns, and experience healing and personal growth.

Cognitive behavioral therapy Cognitive behavioral therapy, on the other hand, is a structured, solution-oriented approach focused on current thoughts, feelings, and problematic behaviors, and on providing practical solutions to resolve current challenges. At its core lies the concept that thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interconnected, and changing the way you think can alter the way you feel and act.

Cognitive behavioral therapy’s goal is to help you identify, challenge, and reformat negative thought patterns that are causing current symptoms, and provide you with effective strategies for managing them now, as opposed to looking for underlying subconscious emotions or motivations.

Techniques Employed

Psychodynamic approach The psychodynamic approach is explorative and open-ended, digging deep into your past to uncover what’s at the root of your mental and emotional issues. Three key techniques used to help you get in touch with these subconscious emotional patterns from the past that are influencing the future are free association, dream interpretation, and transference.

In free association, your therapist will help you verbalize your thoughts spontaneously without judging them, to help bring what’s in your subconscious to the surface and enable you to become aware of unresolved emotional conflict and pain, and how the past is influencing the present.

Dream analysis helps uncover desires hidden in your subconscious mind, and transference offers relational insight through how the way you relate to your therapist mirrors the way you interacted with a significant person in your past.

Cognitive behavioral therapy Cognitive behavioral therapy, on the other hand, is focused on equipping you with practical solutions you can effectively apply to current problems you are experiencing today. Techniques include cognitive restructuring, exposure therapy, and learning emotional regulation skills such as mindfulness and relaxation techniques.

Cognitive restructuring helps you identify, challenge, and replace irrational thoughts with more balanced, realistic ones; exposure therapy helps manage intrusive thoughts and reduce fear and avoidance behaviors; and mindfulness and relaxation techniques help improve emotional regulation.

In addition to the above techniques, you are also required to complete homework assignments that involve practicing the skills learned during your therapy sessions in your everyday life.

The Role of the Therapeutic Relationship

Psychodynamic approach In psychodynamic therapy, the therapist has a non-directive, facilitative role, encouraging you to speak freely about your thoughts and feelings as they come up, and offering understanding and support without actually guiding you or directing you.

Cognitive behavioral therapy In cognitive behavioral therapy, you and the therapist work together collaboratively to set and achieve treatment goals.

Structure, Duration, And Required Commitment

Psychodynamic approach Psychodynamic therapy is an open-ended, in-depth, exploratory process that requires patience, persistence, and long-term commitment. Treatment can take months or years, depending on the complexity of the issues being addressed, which leads to a higher financial investment than a short-term approach such as cognitive behavioral therapy. Results may also take longer to appear.

Cognitive behavioral therapy Cognitive behavioral therapy is a short-term, goal-oriented, structured treatment plan that involves homework. The focus is on reducing the symptoms created by specific issues or problem behaviors by equipping you with practical techniques to bring about quick results. The process typically takes 5 to 20 sessions, which makes it a lower investment, financially.

Advantages And Effectiveness Over Time

Psychodynamic approach Psychodynamic therapy helps you gain a better understanding of your feelings and why you act the way you do, which can enable you to avoid following through on harmful impulses or bad decisions that are driven by subconscious emotions or early life experiences.

Though the course of treatment takes longer and may not provide the immediate symptom relief of a more structured approach, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, studies suggest that the psychodynamic approach tends to lead to longer-lasting change and emotional resilience because it treats the underlying causes of the problematic behavior rather than just addressing the symptoms.

The psychodynamic approach is particularly advantageous for people dealing with complex mental health issues such as personality disorders, depression, unresolved trauma, deep-rooted emotional struggles, and other chronic conditions that require deep exploration of past experiences and subconscious influences to identify and address the root causes of their issues, so lasting healing can occur.

Cognitive behavioral therapy Cognitive behavioral therapy provides quick symptom relief and equips you with practical techniques for immediate use, such as stress management skills, learning how to identify and replace negative thought patterns with more positive, realistic ones, and opening you up to seeing things from alternate perspectives. Used consistently, these learned skills can continue to benefit you even after therapy ends.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is best suited for mental health conditions such as anxiety, PTSD, OCD, and other disorders that have distinctive symptoms of immediate concern that can be addressed directly.

Challenges

Psychodynamic therapy The unstructured, open-ended nature of psychodynamic therapy may be challenging for people who prefer more guidance and a step-by-step process. Additionally, the emotional intensity of exploring repressed memories and subconscious unresolved emotional conflicts can feel overwhelming.

Other challenges include the substantial time commitment, financial investment, and what seems like slow progress in the beginning stages of therapy.

Cognitive behavioral therapy Some people may feel the structure of cognitive behavioral therapy to be too restrictive or find it challenging to have to complete homework assignments. Others may find it too surface-level because it does not address underlying emotional issues.

How to Decide Which is the Best Choice for You

Psychodynamic therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy are distinctive approaches that cater to different needs and therapeutic goals. Determining which one would be best suited for your unique wants depends, in large part, on what you hope to achieve.

If you are looking for a short-term treatment that can provide you with symptom relief, practical solutions, and equip you with coping skills you can use right away in your everyday life, cognitive behavioral therapy may be the better choice.

However, if you want to delve into your past to uncover what lies at the core of your difficulties and are willing to embark on a long-term journey of self-discovery, the psychodynamic approach may be better suited to your situation.

If you have questions or are still unsure which approach is right for you and would like to set up a risk-free appointment to meet with me or one of the other faith-based counselors at our location, please give us a call.