“Some people get so used to their problems and unhealthy behavior that they are not ready to part with them,” says psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Charles Turk, who has been practicing psychoanalysis for over 20 years.
When Charles Turk was a medical student and an intern at a hospital, he noticed that often patients who recovered physically still continued to experience emotional distress. Then he first became interested in psychiatry, which just pays attention to such moments.
He was educated before psychiatry «rediscovered the workings of the brain,» and most of his teachers and supervisors specialized in psychoanalysis — this predetermined his choice.
Charles Turk to this day continues to combine both directions in his practice — psychiatry and psychoanalysis. His work has received recognition in the professional circle. In 1992, he received an award from the National Alliance for Mentally Ill, a professional organization for psychiatrists. In 2004 — another award from the international psychoanalytic organization International Federation for Psychoanalytic Education.
How is psychoanalysis different from psychotherapy?
Charles Turk: In my opinion, psychotherapy helps to get rid of the symptoms that interfere with a person. Psychoanalysis, on the other hand, aims to identify and resolve the internal conflicts underlying these symptoms.
How exactly does psychoanalysis help patients?
It allows you to create a safe space, and the client can freely talk about topics that he has never discussed with anyone before — while the analyst does not interfere in the process.
Describe the process of psychoanalysis. How exactly do you work with clients?
I do not give any formal instructions, but I create a safe space for the client and subtly guide him and encourage him to fill this space in a way that will be most useful for him. The basis of this work is the «free associations» that the client expresses in the process. But he has every right to refuse.
When a person first sees a professional, how does one choose between psychoanalysis and other forms of therapy?
First, he must reflect on what exactly is bothering him. And then decide what he wants to get from working with a specialist. Simply to alleviate or get rid of the symptoms of a problem or to study and explore your subjective state more deeply.
How does the work of a psychoanalyst differ from what specialists of other areas and methods offer?
I do not give advice, because psychoanalysis invites a person to find in himself the key — and he already has it — from the prison that he has built for himself. And I try not to prescribe drugs, although in some cases they can also play an important role in the overall process of treatment.
Tell us about your personal experience with a psychoanalyst.
While I myself was lying on the couch, my psychoanalyst created for me that very safe space in which I could find means and solutions to get rid of feelings of alienation, fear, obsessive stubbornness and depression that had long tormented me. It was replaced by the «ordinary human discontent» that Freud promised his patients. In my practice, I try to do the same for my clients.
I never promise clients more than I can definitely give them.
In your opinion, who can psychoanalysis help?
In our field, it is believed that there is a certain set of criteria by which one can determine who is suitable for psychoanalysis. It is assumed that the method can be potentially dangerous for «vulnerable individuals». But I have come to a different point of view, and I believe that it is impossible to predict who will benefit from psychoanalysis and who will not.
With my clients, I try to unobtrusively begin psychoanalytic work, creating the appropriate conditions. They can refuse at any time if they feel that it is too difficult for them. In this way, the so-called «dangers» can be avoided.
Some people get so used to their problems and unhealthy behaviors that they are not ready to let them go. However, psychoanalysis can be useful to anyone who wants to understand why he gets into the same unpleasant situations again and again, and is determined to fix it. And he wants to get rid of the experiences and unpleasant manifestations that poison his life.
I have had a few patients who had reached a dead end in previous therapy, but after a lot of work we managed to improve their condition — they were able to find a place for themselves in society. Three of them suffered from schizophrenia. Three more had borderline personality disorder and suffered from the severe consequences of childhood psychotrauma.
But there were also failures. For example, three other patients initially had high hopes for the “talk cure” and were in favor of therapy, but gave up in the process. After that, I decided never to promise customers more than I can definitely give them.