Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis in Berlin

Dipl.-Psych. Josef Auerbach
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychoanalyse, Psychotherapie,
Psychosomatik und Tiefenpsychologie (DGPT)
Deutsche Gesellschaft f. Individualpsychologie (DGIP)
Bernstorffstr. 5
13507 Berlin

Thank you for your visit. Here you will find some brief information about psychological treatment in my practice. All services are offered in English.

Please feel free to contact me to arrange for an initial consultation:
by telephone (030 434 090 37)
fax (030 434 090 38)
email
or letter.

I can offer flexible scheduling with evening appointments available.

What is psychoanalysis?

As a technique of psychotherapy, psychoanalysis seeks to discover connections among the unconscious components of patients' mental processes. The analyst's goal is to help liberate the patient from unexamined or unconscious barriers of transference and resistance, that is, past patterns of relating that are no longer serviceable or that inhibit freedom.

The basic method of psychoanalysis is the transference and resistance analysis of free association. The patient, in a relaxed posture, is directed to say whatever comes to mind. Dreams, hopes, wishes, and fantasies are of interest, as are recollections of early family life. Generally the analyst listens, making comments when an opportunity for insight on the part of the patient arises. In listening, the analyst attempts to maintain an attitude of empathic neutrality, a nonjudgmental stance designed to create a safe environment. The analyst asks that the analysand (patient) speak with utter honesty about whatever comes to awareness while interpreting the patterns and inhibitions that appear in the patient's speech and other behavior.

The aim of psychoanalysis is to cure patients - to free them from maladaptive and destructive repetitions that dominate their lives and behavior. To liberate patients from recurrent emotional states means that they will have a fuller range of feelings, be more in touch with objective reality, and may be successful in love and work.

Psychoanalysis can be helpful e.g. for:

Pathological anxiety
Impulsive actions
Depressions
Work disturbances
Sleep disorders
Eating disorders
Sexual disturbances
Obsessive or compulsive behavior/disorder
Relational disturbances with partners or children
Repeated professional failures
Psychosomatic conditions: Pain, high blood pressure, heart complaints, etc.
Emotional deadness

Cost and length

The cost of psychoanalytic treatment is fully covered by the statutory German health insurance, as well as most private health insurance companies.

Length of treatment varies. While Time-Limited Dynamic Therapy limits treatment to 30 sessions, full-fledged psychoanalysis generally lasts up to 300 sessions. The optimal treatment length depends on the individual's needs.

Qualified Psychoanalyst

In Germany, the designation "psychologischer Psychotherapeut" is protected by federal law. Graduate psychoanalysts trained under the auspices of the "Psychotherapeuten-gesetz" (Psychotherapist Bill) have had very rigorous and extensive clinical education. Candidates accepted for training at an accredited training institute must meet high ethical, psychological, and professional standards.