Ariane Potvin

I approach psychotherapy holistically, from the position that our emotions, thoughts, and behavior hang together in ways that make sense emotionally, even if this is not always apparent to us. Many of us who seek therapy come because we find ourselves repeating unwanted behavioral, emotional, and relationship patterns without understanding them or being able to change them. I believe, on the basis of research and my clinical work, that getting to the root of unwanted patterns is a matter of facilitating a kind of experience of their meanings for us. In psychoanalytic therapy, this experience is transformative.

A central idea of psychoanalysis is that through the challenging task of trying to say whatever comes to mind, people gradually become acquainted with parts of themselves—with ways of thinking, feeling, and being—that are ordinarily unconscious. I offer patients a space for uncensored expression, where they are free to say whatever comes to mind.

In such a space, I can help my patients express themselves in words instead of troublesome symptoms. The ultimate aim is freedom: freedom from patterns of thought and behavior that no longer fit one’s circumstances; and freedom to act authentically. If you think you might be interested in pursuing this kind of work together, I’d be happy to speak with you.