Psychological Therapy & Psychoanalysis In Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, & All of California
I offer psychotherapy and psychoanalysis in my private practice in Beverly Hills or by teletherapy. If you’re new to my site or psychological therapy in general, here are answers to some questions you might have.
I need psychological therapy but I’m not sure what kind to try. I don’t even know what’s wrong.
Can you help me?
I’d be glad to help you. I understand it’s hard to know what you need. Let’s talk by HIPAA-compliant and secure Zoom for a complimentary 25-minute consultation.
This initial meeting will give you a feeling for how I work. You’ll talk to me, tell me your symptoms and concerns, and share some of your history. I’ll listen closely and give you my thoughts. I hope I'll say things that make you feel understood. And, you'll have a chance to ask me questions.
If you want to work with me, I’ll recommend a therapy structure to meet your specific needs. This will include a suggestion about the frequency of sessions I think will be most helpful. I do psychotherapy and psychoanalysis from one to five times a week. Frequency is a decision based on your symptoms and financial concerns. Once we set a treatment plan, we’ll begin.
Is your psychological therapy like any psychotherapy, or is it different?
Because I’m trained as a psychoanalyst and have practiced psychotherapy for over 40 years, your experience with me, if you’ve done psychotherapy before, might be unlike what you’ve had. My thorough training informs the psychotherapy I offer and gives me the skills to listen differently and say things you may not have heard. This is the attention I provide in each of your sessions. If you’d like to know more about what to look for in a therapist, click and read here.
Some psychotherapies focus on your everyday life. In other words, to what is on the surface. These therapies offer you skills or practical techniques. The therapy I practice is insight-oriented, not advice-based. I use psychoanalysis techniques in all the work I do, whether psychotherapy or psychoanalysis.
These include:
- Attending to the unconscious source of your symptoms and difficulties.
- Working with your dreams, if you remember, to see what they tell us.
- Looking at how your early past is unconsciously lived in the present.
- Seeing how old feelings come alive in new relationships, even with me.
Yet, each psychotherapy or psychoanalysis is unique to you.
There is no particular “rule” or way therapy is “supposed to” unfold. It is your own.
What is a psychological therapy session like?
A psychotherapy session lasts for 50 minutes. This is a time for you to express whatever is on your mind. There is no “right or wrong” about what you bring in, say, feel, or want to tell me.
For some of you, it may be a new experience to have a place where there are no “rules” about how to be. It might take time to relax into that idea. You will. And, as we talk, I’ll tell you what I hear. What I say won’t always be obvious to you. My goal is to help you understand and work out what is underneath the surface of your symptoms and in the places where you are stuck.
Over time, themes will unfold that allow us to look at your problems in the context of your early history. As therapy continues, we’ll work out the stumbling blocks at the root of your problems.
If your difficulties have gone on for a long time, you might consider psychoanalysis. The frequency of sessions and depth of that experience offer the best opportunity for lasting change.
Psychotherapy or Psychoanalysis?
Do you wonder what the difference is between psychotherapy and psychoanalysis? Or, what exactly psychoanalysis is? Is it outdated? And, if it’s not, what psychoanalysis techniques are different than the ones you use in psychotherapy?
In a nutshell, psychoanalysis is a deeper and more comprehensive therapeutic process.
With a frequency of 3-5 sessions per week, psychoanalysis is effective for persistent symptoms, traumatic histories that haunt you and disrupt your life, or for thorough self-exploration and change.
So, what is psychoanalysis like? It’s not your New Yorker cartoon with a silent analyst leaving you to do all the work. With me, you are not alone. I’m active. I talk. And, I’m engaged with you throughout each session. That’s true whether you choose to do psychoanalysis or psychotherapy.
However, some psychoanalysis techniques work more effectively with increased frequency. These include: (1) finding the unconscious source of your symptoms and (2) working out how your difficulties unconsciously play out in your relationships – in love, at work, with yourself, and with me.
Choosing psychotherapy or psychoanalysis is a decision you and I will make together in our initial consultation. Factors such as how long your symptoms have persisted, the severity of your distress, and the amount of anxiety you feel when alone with your feelings are all important considerations.
What can I expect from psychoanalysis?
In psychoanalysis as in psychotherapy, I tend to the details of what you say to me, linking these to your history, and working out what’s getting in your way. Psychoanalysis allows for a greater opportunity to understand and resolve the unconscious reasons behind your difficulties.
Many of you spend your lives living out unconscious fantasies that interfere with having the life you want, fantasies that don’t seem like fantasies at all. Like: “I’m a complete failure.” “No one loves me.” “I’m doomed to be alone forever.” “I’ll never get what I want, so why should I try?”
When you believe those thoughts, you find “proof” everywhere. Psychoanalysis makes it possible to unveil these convictions for what they are, where they came from, and the purposes they serve. You have a chance to see yourself and your beliefs differently and to get to the other side.
I’ve had patients come to me after working in various types of therapies still tormented by obsessive thoughts, depression, poor self-esteem, and struggles with success, all due to childhood histories that continue to live on inside their symptoms. This shouldn’t happen in an effective therapy.
I practice psychoanalysis, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, and psychoanalysis techniques because these processes don’t give you only cognitive skills (like behavioral techniques do). Just practicing these skills risks bypassing the roots of your symptoms and feelings. Knowing your feelings is critical to understanding yourself, the root of your symptoms, and lasting change.
Why do I need to come 3-5 times per week for psychoanalysis?
That’s an important question. Believe it or not, I’ve heard many times: “Three to five times a week? Isn’t that only for crazy people? Once a week must be enough. Are my problems that serious?”
The real benefit of coming frequently is that it provides an opportunity to work out problems that “won’t leave you alone” and have persisted for too many years. And, if you’re quite anxious or depressed, 3-5 sessions per week help you not to feel so alone or overwhelmed between your visits. Taking a deeper look requires courage. I’ll be there with you every step of the way.
Psychoanalysis reaches deeply into ways you’re struggling and gives you knowledge about yourself you didn’t have before. Psychoanalysis also brings you into contact with the feelings you’ve had to block, rationalize, or tell yourself to “get over.” This emotional work is critical to healing.
Feelings are human. Access to blocked feelings and parts of yourself is the key to overcoming your problems. You might even call them a different kind of “skill.” The frequency of psychoanalysis gives you space and safety, with me as your analyst, to allow those feelings to be felt and known.
Will I have to come in and lie on a Couch?
I do have an analytic Couch. But you don’t have to lie down on it. It’s there to use if you find it helpful.
The Couch is a tool, not a must.
Why do I have a Couch? Because there are benefits to using it. Sometimes it’s hard to look at me, especially if you tend to gauge people’s reactions, try to give them what you think they want, or might experience my gaze as a demand. That doesn’t leave you free to express your thoughts.
Many people think of the Couch as “the Freud Couch,” since its use as a psychoanalysis technique began with Freud offering it as a tool for “free association.” Much has changed since Freud, but his instruction not to censor what comes into your mind is still important. And, when it’s hard to be open with your thoughts, lying on the “Freud Couch” encourages something close to dreaming, which can give you more access to what is below the surface of your mind and the freedom to say it.
Yet, the Couch might feel too lonely. If you’ve had a traumatic childhood with abandonment, neglect, abuse, or failure of love, trust is difficult. You’ll have concerns about who I am, what I’m thinking, or if you can count on me. Seeing me might be the only evidence that I am here. Or, that I'm not judging you. Keeping me in your visual range helps you build trust in my presence.
The most important thing about psychoanalysis, and any psychological therapy, is that the process must become yours. Besides our commitment to scheduled times and a fee, there are no “rules.”
How long does it take for psychotherapy & psychoanalysis to work?
Many people can feel better even after the first few sessions. Talking, and being understood, helps. Plus, the fact that you’ve decided to get help is a big step – and that’s always quite relieving.
I know that uncertainty can make anyone anxious. But I find that once therapy is underway and a relationship between us is developing, it’s much easier to settle in and allow the process to do its work. Talking to me about your feelings and concerns as we go along – about anything – including any impatience you feel, is welcome, necessary, and a key part of successful therapy.
I want to learn more about these options. How do I get in touch?
You can call me at (310) 273-4827. Or send an email to sandracohenphd@gmail.com. I will respond the same day unless you contact me late in the evening or at night.
Let's arrange a complimentary 25-minute Zoom consultation to answer your questions.