Psychoanalysis is a method of psychiatric treatment for mental disorders founded in the early 1890s by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. It is based on theories and therapeutic techniques (such as free-association, dreams, sexual fantasies) used to study the unconscious mind. Freud retained the term psychoanalysis for his own school of thought, though it has come to mean any general psychiatric treatment where a therapist works to analyze and “translate” a person’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions back to them. This stands in contrast to other forms of psychotherapy, where the therapist lets the patient lead on a cooperative journey of self-exploration and healing.
