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Understanding Myself Through Psychodynamic Formulation(Date 23rd March 2025)

Psychodynamic formulation involves looking beneath the surface — it’s about understanding a client's unconscious patterns, early life experiences, and internal conflicts that continue to shape their present behaviour. Initially, when I was introduced to this approach, it felt far too theoretical, almost detached from reality. The emphasis on unconscious drives, childhood relationships, and buried emotions seemed abstract and difficult to truly grasp.


However, everything began to shift when I turned that lens inward.


As I started linking my own patterns — my persistent fear of abandonment, my need for perfection — to early family dynamics, psychodynamic thinking suddenly clicked for me. It no longer felt abstract; it felt deeply personal and alive. I could trace how certain childhood experiences had quietly laid the foundation for the emotional reactions I have today. 


Psychodynamic thinking, I realized, is like trying to decode a map drawn in invisible ink. At first, it seems like there’s nothing there. But with patience, curiosity, and the right tools, hidden routes begin to reveal themselves. These routes lead not just to an intellectual understanding, but to a deeper compassion — for oneself and for others. 


By uncovering the "why" behind our struggles, we don't just gain insight; we open the door to healing. We stop blaming ourselves for our flaws and begin to see them as adaptations to circumstances that were once beyond our control. In that realization, true growth becomes possible.


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