What Happens in a Session?
Psychodynamic therapy is often unstructured in the sense that there may not be a set agenda. Clients are encouraged to speak freely—what therapists call “free association.” This might sound directionless, but it’s a powerful method for uncovering deeper themes.
The therapist listens not just for content, but for patterns, emotional undercurrents, and what might be left unsaid. Over time, clients often begin to notice the ways they relate to others, how they manage emotions, and how their past is alive in the present.
Who Can Benefit?
Psychodynamic therapy is particularly helpful for people who:
Struggle with recurring relationship issues
Experience chronic anxiety or depression
Feel stuck despite trying other approaches
Want more than symptom relief—they want to understand themselves more deeply
It’s also beneficial for those interested in personal growth, self-awareness, and creating a more meaningful life.
A Slower, Deeper Path
Psychodynamic therapy is not a quick fix. It’s more like tending a garden than installing new software. There’s a slowness to the process, but within that slowness is depth, richness, and enduring change.
If you’ve ever felt like your emotions do not make sense, or your patterns seem out of your control, psychodynamic therapy might be worth exploring. It invites you not just to cope, but to understand—and from that understanding, to truly transform.
Liza Linder, MSW, LCSW, is a therapist with 30 years of experience serving the LGBTQ+ and PLWHIV communities. Liza is in person only, in our Philadelphia offices. For more information about Liza, please click on the therapist’s bios.