From the author: Psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic therapy - in my opinion, this difference in terms is somewhat arbitrary and reflects the difference in the frequency of meetings (in psychoanalysis 5 times a week, in PA therapy from 1-3 times a week ) and the position of the client (in psychoanalysis - lying on the couch, in PA therapy sitting, “eye to eye”), which can influence the depth of the problem’s elaboration, but the main tools of work (working with Transference, Countertransference, Resistance, Defenses, etc. .) in both cases are unchanged. People turn to therapy for various reasons. Someone wants to sort out their problems, relationships, get rid of fear, anxiety, doubts or difficult memories. And turning to a specialist speaks of a real desire to change something in yourself, in your life, in your relationships, in your career. Psychoanalysis arose at the beginning of the twentieth century thanks to the persistence and originality of the psychiatrist and psychologist Sigmund Freud, and was both a method of studying the unconscious and a therapeutic method that helps people with a wide variety of psychological problems. Psychoanalysis is based on the division of mental processes into conscious and unconscious. Freud showed the influence of unconscious thoughts and feelings (desires and attractions hidden even from oneself) on the health of patients. Consciousness is the “tip of the iceberg”, is subject to the principle of reality and is associated with socially accepted norms of society’s behavior. The unconscious is “its underwater part”, subject to the socially rejected “principle of pleasure”; it is illogical, there are no cause-and-effect relationships, no contradictions, no time and no particles of “not”. The most striking example of manifestations of the unconscious are dreams, in which, through transformations, metaphors and modifications, the inner world sometimes appears in the form of non-existent, non-real events and characters. The main task of psychoanalysis is to understand the psychological nature of the “symptom” (anxiety, anxiety, tension, fear, repetitive thoughts or actions...), its source and dynamics of development. This happens during a conversation, a conversation about... feelings, actions, dreams, fantasies, dreams and experiences... current problems and concerns, work, relationships with others, childhood, parents, and what seems most important to the client (the “Free People” method) associations”) An important role is given to “Transfer” - the relationship that develops between the client and the analyst, because in them the client can perceive the analyst not as a person, but as significant people from his past and experience corresponding feelings for him, positive ones. form affection and respect, negative ones - hostility, anger, envy - they are a tool (one of many) for working in understanding the formation of the problem. Self-awareness and self-understanding are sources of changing uncomfortable attitudes and the formation of new, adequate stereotypes of behavior. But, just as without a mirror you cannot see some parts of your body (for example, the nose, ears, look into your eyes), so without an analyst onto whom these emotions and mental images are projected, it is not possible to discern the deep layers of memory, to turn to the essence of feelings and experiences .Psychoanalysis can be useful for men and women, children and adolescents who have the ability to reflect (self-observation), want to understand their past, are interested in the meaning of life, are able to address their most unpleasant and painful experiences, know how to observe, have a sense of humor, and a desire to become happy and successful. Most often, no one has all these traits at the same time, but there is a desire to know and better understand themselves and other people, a need to change or change something in their life. Psychoanalysis is not limited to a specific time or course of treatment, it all depends on how much time you personally need to study your individual history, determine the real causes of intra/interpersonal problems, and form.