Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
Adolescence is a time of profound transformation, marked by shifts in identity, relationships, and emotional life. At Psychotherapy Dublin, we offer adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapy, an approach that provides a space for young people to explore their inner world, navigate challenges, and better understand themselves.
Understanding the Adolescent Experience
During adolescence, questions of identity, autonomy, and belonging become central. This period often brings increased emotional intensity, internal conflict, and difficulties in relationships with family, peers, and authority figures. While these challenges are part of natural development, they can sometimes feel overwhelming, leading to anxiety, depression, self-esteem struggles, or behavioral difficulties.
Psychoanalytic psychotherapy does not view these struggles as mere symptoms to be managed but as meaningful expressions of unconscious conflicts. By listening carefully to what is spoken—and unspoken—therapy helps adolescents articulate their experiences, make sense of their emotions, and find new ways of relating to themselves and others.
A Space to Speak
Adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapy offers a confidential and non-judgmental space where young people can speak freely about their thoughts and feelings. This process allows them to recognize unconscious patterns, understand the impact of past experiences, and work through anxieties and fears that may not always be easy to express in everyday life.
The therapist does not impose solutions or advice but instead helps the adolescent explore their unique experience at their own pace. This approach fosters deeper self-awareness and emotional resilience, supporting the adolescent in forming a stronger sense of self.
Common symptoms that our therapists have experience of working with include:
Importantly, we do not believe that each person’s mental suffering can be described by a mere label, such as ‘anxiety.’ Decades of clinical experience tells us that each person’s symptom is entirely individual to them. One person may experience anxiety as pains in their chest, another may suffer from a repetition of a specific thought, another may wake at a certain time each night. With such a variety in the experience and cause of mental distress we begin to see how important it is for each person to work to the root of their very singular issue.
Why Choose Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy for Adolescents?
Unlike directive or behavioral approaches, psychoanalytic psychotherapy recognizes that each adolescent’s experience is singular. Sessions are tailored to the individual rather than following a rigid structure, allowing therapy to evolve based on the adolescent’s needs. The length of sessions may vary, and as the work develops, sessions may sometimes increase in frequency to facilitate deeper engagement.
If you are a parent concerned about your adolescent’s emotional well-being or a young person struggling with difficult feelings or patterns, psychoanalytic psychotherapy offers a meaningful way to explore these challenges. If this approach resonates with you, we invite you to reach out and begin the conversation.
