What is psychoanalysis?

The short answer

Psychoanalysis is a form of therapy, and a theory of the mind, developed by Sigmund Freud in Vienna beginning in the 1890s. Its core idea is that much of what drives us is unconscious, and that talking freely, over time, brings those hidden wishes, fears and patterns into view where they lose some of their grip. It's the original talking cure, a phrase coined not by Freud but by a patient, Bertha Pappenheim, known in the case literature as “Anna O.” Even the branding came from the client.

The couch, explained

In classical psychoanalysis the patient lies on a couch and the analyst sits behind them, out of sight. The idea is to make it easier to follow your thoughts wherever they wander, without watching someone's face for a reaction. Freud's own couch is now in the Freud Museum in London, which makes it one of the few pieces of furniture with its own fan base.

Free association: say the thing

The basic rule is free association: say whatever comes to mind, however embarrassing, trivial or seemingly unrelated. The analyst listens for patterns, slips, dreams, and the moments you suddenly change the subject. Yes, the change of subject is the subject.

The time commitment

Traditional psychoanalysis means several sessions a week, classically four or five, often for years. Most people today who get this kind of treatment receive psychodynamic therapy instead: the same underlying ideas, usually once or twice a week, face to face, no couch required. Research supports psychodynamic therapy for conditions including depression, which is more than can be said for most furniture.