Description
Assess, treat, and help prevent mental and emotional disorders using psychoanalytic theory and techniques to uncover and resolve unconscious conflicts.
- • Conduct comprehensive psychoanalytic assessments, including history-taking and diagnostic interviews.
- • Provide intensive psychoanalytic psychotherapy, often multiple sessions per week, using free association and interpretive methods.
- • Interpret dreams, fantasies, slips, defenses, and recurring themes to explore unconscious processes.
- • Analyze transference and countertransference to guide interventions and deepen insight.
- • Develop and update individualized psychodynamic formulations and treatment plans.
- • Maintain the therapeutic frame, boundaries, and confidentiality throughout treatment.
- • Document sessions and maintain clinical records in accordance with legal and ethical standards.
- • Collaborate with psychiatrists, psychologists, and other clinicians; refer for medical evaluation or medication management when indicated.
- • Counsel patients in office settings and manage crises within an analytic framework.
- • Evaluate treatment progress and outcomes; adjust interpretations and techniques as needed.
- • With consent, communicate clinically relevant information to families or significant others when appropriate.
- • Teach, supervise, attend case conferences, pursue continuing education, or contribute to psychoanalytic research.
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Healthcare & Human Services
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O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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Last reviewed: Jan 2026
