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Therapy Explained

The Therapeutic Process

In therapy, one of the most important things we explore is how the mind protects us. Freud believed that repression was one of the most powerful of these protections — a way the mind pushes painful or threatening feelings, memories, or urges out of awareness (Freud, 1915). These experiences don’t disappear; they simply move underground, shaping our emotions and behaviour from behind the scenes.

Jung agreed that we hide parts of ourselves, but he added something important: not everything we repress is negative. Sometimes we bury our creativity, joy, or playfulness too: what he called aspects of the Shadow (Jung, 1933).

What Happens When We Repress Something?

Freud suggested that when something is pushed out of awareness, one of three things can happen (Freud, 1915):

1. It stays completely hidden.

2. It resurfaces as an emotion, often one that feels confusing or out of proportion.

3. It transforms into anxiety.

It’s the second and third outcomes that tend to bring people into therapy. When repression “fails,” the mind sends signals: panic, irritability, shame, numbness, or a sense that something is wrong but hard to name. These signals aren’t flaws; they’re invitations to look deeper.

Therapy helps bring these hidden experiences into the light, gently and safely. As Freud famously said, the work is about making the unconscious conscious.

Defence Mechanisms: The Mind’s Creative Shortcuts

Repression is just one of many defence mechanisms. Others include denial, projection, reaction formation, and displacement. These aren’t signs of weakness; they are creative strategies the mind uses to protect us from emotional overwhelm (Cramer, 2015).

But over time, these strategies can become rigid or outdated. Therapy helps you understand what your mind is doing and why, so you can choose new ways of responding.

How Therapists Work With the Unconscious

Classical psychoanalysis used tools like:

• free association

• dream interpretation

• parapraxes (Freudian slips)

• Rorschach inkblots

• resistance analysis

• transference analysis

Some of these have been caricatured in films and TV, but in reality, they’re simply ways of helping people access parts of themselves that are hard to reach consciously.

In modern counselling, especially in time-limited or relational therapies, we use these ideas more flexibly. What matters most is not the technique, but the relationship — the trust, safety, and curiosity we build together.

Resistance: When Part of Us Wants to Look Away

Resistance is a natural part of therapy. It might show up as:

• changing the subject when things get close

• missing sessions after a breakthrough

• intellectualising instead of feeling

• asking the therapist personal questions to shift the focus

Rather than seeing resistance as a problem, therapists view it as information. It tells us where the pain is and where the healing might be.

Transference: The Past in the Room

Freud noticed that clients often reacted to him as if he were someone from their past: a parent, a teacher, a critic, or a protector. He called this transference (Freud, 1912).

In contemporary relational therapy, we see transference as something that happens between therapist and client, not just inside the client. It’s a living, dynamic process. When explored gently, it can reveal deep patterns in how someone relates to others and to themselves.

But it must be handled with care. If a therapist uses the authority a client projects onto them to push change too quickly, it can create dependency rather than growth. The goal is always empowerment, not influence.

And just as clients experience transference, therapists experience countertransference — emotional reactions stirred up by the client. A skilled therapist uses this awareness responsibly, ensuring it supports the client rather than intruding on the work.

Why This Matters for Your Healing

Much of what shapes us lives outside our awareness. Therapy offers a space where these hidden patterns can be explored safely, compassionately, and at your pace.

You don’t need to know the theory. You don’t need to understand defence mechanisms or transference. You just need to bring yourself: your questions, your fears, your hopes, your confusion.

Together, we can make sense of what’s happening beneath the surface and help you move toward a more grounded, integrated, and authentic life.

If you feel ready to explore your inner world with support, you’re welcome to reach out. You don’t have to do this alone.

References (APA 7)

Cramer, P. (2015). Understanding defense mechanisms. Psychodynamic Psychiatry, 43(4), 523–552. https://doi.org/10.1521/pdps.2015.43.4.523 (doi.org in Bing)

Fonagy, P., Gergely, G., Jurist, E., & Target, M. (2002). Affect regulation, mentalization, and the development of the self. Other Press.

Freud, S. (1912). The dynamics of transference. In The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (Vol. 12, pp. 97–108). Hogarth Press.

Freud, S. (1915). Repression. In The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (Vol. 14, pp. 141–158). Hogarth Press.

Freud, S. (1959). Inhibitions, symptoms and anxiety (A. Strachey, Trans.). Hogarth Press. (Original work published 1926)

Jung, C. G. (1933). Modern man in search of a soul. Harcourt, Brace & Company.

Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self regulation. W. W. Norton.

Schore, A. N. (2019). Right brain psychotherapy. W. W. Norton.