Methodology & Science

Psychoanalysis is the oldest and most thoroughly tested form of psychotherapy. Continuously refined over more than a century, it now encompasses a wide range of modern, evidence-based approaches to the treatment of psychological conditions.

Classical psychoanalytic work establishes a protected space in which thoughts, dreams, and feelings may flow freely. The aim is to bring the hidden sources of psychological suffering to light and into conscious awareness.

This process is oriented towards lasting change. Through sustained engagement with one's own biography and current relational patterns, new possibilities for experience and action come into being. The goal is not rapid, surface-level correction, but profound transformation of the personality.

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is a development of classical psychoanalysis. As an equally evidence-based method, it serves the treatment of psychological disorders and acute stress reactions, founded upon a reliable therapeutic relationship.

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy encompasses the diagnosis and treatment of clinically significant forms of distress. In clinical practice, scientifically grounded methods are employed both to address acute crises and to treat chronic conditions with lasting effect.

The therapeutic setting provides a structured framework for the reduction of symptoms and the strengthening of psychological resilience. The aim is the restoration of the capacity to act and the stabilisation of mental health, with due regard to each individual's biographical circumstances.

Targeted professional support for specific questions, decision-making processes, and life-changing situations.

Psychoanalytic counselling offers professional support for clearly defined problems or in acute situations requiring a decision. The focus here is less on thoroughgoing personality change and more on clarification and orientation during a particular phase of life.

Counselling assists in viewing entrenched situations from a new perspective and in understanding the underlying dynamics, so that the capacity for action is preserved.

The efficacy of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy is supported by a substantial body of empirical research.

• Huber, D., Klug, G., von Rad, M. (2001). Munich Psychotherapy Study. In: Stuhr et al.: Langzeit-Psychotherapie. Kohlhammer.
• Jakobsen, T., Rudolf, G., Brockmann, J. et al. (2007). Outcomes of long-term analytical psychotherapy. Z. Psychosom. Med. Psychother., 53(2).
• Leichsenring, F. & Rabung, S. (2008). Effectiveness of Long-term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. JAMA, 300(13): 1551–1565.
• Leuzinger-Bohleber, M. et al. (2001). Long-term outcomes of psychoanalyses and psychotherapies. Psyche, 3: 193–276.
• Shedler, J. (2010). The Efficacy of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. American Psychologist, 65(2): 98–109.