Therapy Approach
Explore the unconscious patterns and past experiences that shape your present behavior. Gain deep insight into why you feel and act the way you do — and create lasting, meaningful change from the inside out.
What Is Psychodynamic Therapy?
Psychodynamic therapy is rooted in the understanding that our present-day struggles are often shaped by unconscious processes, early experiences, and unresolved emotional conflicts. By bringing these hidden patterns into conscious awareness, we can understand them — and change them.
This approach explores how your early relationships, attachment patterns, and formative experiences have created the emotional blueprint you operate from today. It's particularly powerful for people who find themselves repeating the same relationship patterns, feeling emotionally stuck, or struggling with a persistent sense of emptiness or disconnection.
Unlike short-term approaches, psychodynamic work goes deep — creating not just symptom relief, but genuine transformation in how you relate to yourself and others.
Core Concepts
Much of what drives our behavior, emotions, and choices operates below conscious awareness. Psychodynamic therapy brings these hidden forces to light so they lose their power over you.
How you bonded with caregivers in childhood creates a template for all future relationships. We examine your attachment style and how it shows up in your adult relationships today.
We unconsciously recreate familiar dynamics — even painful ones — because they feel known. Understanding this pattern is the first step to breaking it.
We all develop psychological defenses to protect ourselves from pain. Therapy helps you recognize these defenses and choose more adaptive ways of coping.
The relationship between therapist and client is itself a powerful tool for healing. Patterns that show up in your relationships often show up in therapy — and can be worked through safely here.
The goal is not just intellectual understanding, but emotional integration — feeling the truth of your insights in your body and relationships, not just your mind.
Is This Right for You?
Psychodynamic work is some of the most meaningful I do. When a client has that moment of genuine insight — when they finally understand *why* they've been doing what they've been doing — it's transformative.
This isn't about blaming your past. It's about understanding it deeply enough that it no longer runs your present. That's real freedom.
— Kellie Hatch, MA, RMHCI
Investment
Straightforward, transparent pricing. Insurance superbills available upon request.
Common Questions
Psychodynamic therapy is typically longer-term than brief approaches like SFBT. Many clients work for 6–18 months to achieve deep, lasting change. However, even shorter-term psychodynamic work (12–20 sessions) can produce meaningful results.
Psychodynamic therapy is related to but distinct from classical psychoanalysis. It uses many of the same concepts (unconscious processes, attachment, defenses) but is more flexible, collaborative, and focused on present-day functioning alongside past exploration.
We'll explore your history as it's relevant to your current struggles — but at your pace and comfort level. You're never required to discuss anything you're not ready for. The process is collaborative and client-led.
Yes — Kellie often integrates psychodynamic principles with RTT, Solution Focused techniques, and relationship coaching to create a fully personalized approach. Many clients benefit from this integrative style.