Therapy types
Psychodynamic therapy vs. psychoanalysis: how they differ and how to find a clinician
Psychodynamic psychotherapy usually means meeting one to four times a week, sitting face to face; psychoanalysis typically means several sessions a week, often on a couch. Treatment can last a few months or several years. Psychoanalysts train for years, with their own analysis, coursework and supervised cases. Atlanta’s Emory University Psychoanalytic Institute is the main training institute in our four states.
Psychodynamic therapy is one of the oldest forms of talk therapy and still widely practiced. It’s usually less structured than CBT and can be longer. The table below compares it with psychoanalysis, its more intensive form. After it come cost, training, where to look, which one fits you, and questions to ask.
At a glance: psychodynamic therapy vs. psychoanalysis
| Psychodynamic psychotherapy | Psychoanalysis | |
|---|---|---|
| How often | most often one to four times a week, per the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsA). Some meet once a week | typically several times a week. Emory’s institute says often four to five times |
| Setting | usually sitting upright, facing the therapist | often lying on a couch |
| Session length | typically 45 to 50 minutes, per Emory | the same |
| How long overall | Emory says sometimes a few months, sometimes several years or longer. Kentucky’s Lexington Psychoanalytic Study Group describes weekly or twice-weekly sessions for several years | usually several years |
APsA says psychodynamic therapy is practiced by social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses.
Cost and access
Because psychodynamic therapy can be frequent and long, cost matters. Ask about insurance, sliding fees and training clinics; NIMH suggests asking whether there’s a sliding scale based on income. Our insurance guide and sliding scale guide cover the details.
How psychoanalysts train
APsA describes psychoanalytic training as three parts: the clinician’s own personal analysis, a course of study, and intensive supervised clinical work. Its standards call for:
- the trainee’s own analysis three to five times a week
- about four years and 450 hours of coursework
- at least two supervised analyses, with at least 150 hours of supervision
APsA says trainees already have a graduate mental health degree and experience as therapists.
Board certification for psychologists. The American Board of Professional Psychology certifies psychologists in Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Psychology, with a further subspecialty in psychoanalysis, recognizing competence beyond licensure. Its directory lists all current certified psychologists; very few are in our four states.
Where to find a psychodynamic therapist or analyst
APsA’s Find a Psychoanalytic Clinician directory can be filtered by state, institute, insurance accepted, profession and more. As of November 5, 2026, it listed about 7 clinicians each in Kentucky and Georgia and 2 each in Tennessee and Alabama.
Institutes and groups in or near our states:
| Group | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Emory University Psychoanalytic Institute and the Atlanta Psychoanalytic Society | Atlanta | an APsA-approved training institute. Emory says institute training clinics routinely offer sliding-fee treatment |
| New Orleans-Birmingham Psychoanalytic Center | New Orleans, serving Birmingham | offers personalized referrals after a brief talk with a trained clinician (nobpc.org) |
| Saint Louis and Nashville Psychoanalytic Society | St. Louis and Nashville | an APsA affiliate society |
| Lexington Psychoanalytic Study Group | Lexington, Kentucky | lexpsychoanalytic.org |
Many psychodynamic therapists aren’t psychoanalysts and don’t appear in APsA’s directory. Search LunahUP by city and ask about their approach. Check any clinician’s license on your state board’s site; our fit guide explains how.
Which one fits you?
Choose by how often you can meet, for how long, and what you can spend:
- Psychodynamic psychotherapy usually means one to four sessions a week, sitting face to face, for anywhere from a few months to several years. Social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses practice it, and many aren’t psychoanalysts.
- Psychoanalysis usually means several sessions a week, often on a couch, for several years, with an analyst who trained for years at an institute. It asks the most of your time and budget, so ask an institute about its training clinic’s sliding fees first.
If you’re not sure which you want, an institute’s referral service, such as the New Orleans-Birmingham Psychoanalytic Center’s, can talk it through with you. Then search LunahUP by city and ask each clinician which they practice.
Questions to ask
- “Do you practice psychodynamic psychotherapy or psychoanalysis?”
- “How often would we meet, and for how long might treatment last?”
- “Where did you train? Are you a graduate of a psychoanalytic institute?”
- “Do you offer a sliding scale, or does a training clinic near me?”
The short version
- Psychodynamic psychotherapy usually meets one to four times a week, face to face. Psychoanalysis meets several times a week.
- Treatment can last a few months or several years.
- Psychoanalysts train for years with their own analysis, coursework and supervised cases.
- Emory’s institute in Atlanta offers sliding-fee treatment through its training clinics.
Questions before your next step
What’s the difference between psychodynamic therapy and psychoanalysis?
APsA says psychoanalysis typically involves several sessions a week, often on a couch, while psychodynamic psychotherapy usually meets one to four times a week, sitting face to face.
Link to this answerHow long does psychodynamic therapy last?
Emory’s psychoanalytic institute says treatment sometimes lasts a few months and sometimes several years or longer, with sessions of 45 to 50 minutes.
Link to this answerHow do I find a psychoanalyst?
Search the American Psychoanalytic Association’s Find a Psychoanalytic Clinician directory by state, or contact an institute such as Emory University Psychoanalytic Institute in Atlanta.
Link to this answerIs there low-cost psychoanalytic therapy?
Emory says psychoanalytic institute training clinics routinely offer sliding-fee treatment. Ask the institute nearest you.
Link to this answerSources & approach
LunahUP Directory wrote this guide to explain practical search and appointment choices. Public health and professional references support the general information; the directory’s own workflows describe how LunahUP works. Provider-specific facts are supplied on the linked profiles. This guide has not been clinically reviewed and does not offer individual medical advice.
- APsA, About psychoanalysis
- APsA, Psychoanalytic psychotherapy
- APsA, Training
- APsA, Standards, revised April 14, 2024
- APsA, Careers
- APsA, Directory and state counts
- Emory University Psychoanalytic Institute, treatment
- Lexington Psychoanalytic Study Group
- New Orleans-Birmingham Psychoanalytic Center referrals (nobpc.org)
- New Orleans-Birmingham Psychoanalytic Center referrals (apsa.org)
- New Orleans-Birmingham Psychoanalytic Center referrals (apsa.org), part 2
- ABPP Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Psychology
- NIMH Psychotherapies
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