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View synonyms for psychoanalysis

psychoanalysis

[ sahy-koh-uh-nal-uh-sis ]

noun

  1. a systematic structure of theories concerning the relation of conscious and unconscious psychological processes.
  2. a technical procedure for investigating unconscious mental processes and for treating psychoneuroses.


psychoanalysis

/ ˌsaɪkəʊˌænəˈlɪtɪk; ˌsaɪkəʊəˈnælɪsɪs; ˌsaɪkəʊˈænəlɪst /

noun

  1. a method of studying the mind and treating mental and emotional disorders based on revealing and investigating the role of the unconscious mind


psychoanalysis

  1. A method of treating mental illness, originating with Sigmund Freud , in which a psychiatrist (analyst) helps a patient discover and confront the causes of the illness. Many psychiatrists believe that these causes are buried deep in the unconscious of the patient and can be brought to the surface through such techniques as hypnosis and the analysis of dreams. Psychoanalysis emphasizes that mental illness usually originates in repressed sexual desires or traumas in childhood.


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Notes

Psychoanalysis is sometimes simply called analysis.

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Derived Forms

  • psychoanalytic, adjective
  • ˌpsychoˌanaˈlytically, adverb
  • psychoanalyst, noun

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Other Words From

  • psy·cho·an·a·lyt·ic [sahy-koh-an-l-, it, -ik], psy·cho·an·a·lyt·i·cal [sahy-koh-an-l-, it, -i-k, uh, l], adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of psychoanalysis1

From the German word Psychoanalyse, dating back to 1905–10. See psycho-, analysis

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Compare Meanings

How does psychoanalysis compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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Example Sentences

You can see why this kind of character shading—and the armchair psychoanalysis that comes with it—might be intriguing to many who watched in horror as the Epstein saga unfolded.

From Time

I am sorry for the tens of thousands of people who have had to consider psychoanalysis without Miss Malcolm’s guidance.

While schools are a great place for mental health and psychological intervention — they’re often the first place that families go when they need help with social services — they’re not necessarily the best place for psychoanalysis, he said.

So I can understand where some of the disdain for psychoanalysis came from.

So I turned to psychoanalysis to find any kind of systematic attempt to study subjective experience and to infer what kinds of mechanisms lay behind it.

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psychoanalysepsychoanalyst