Psychodynamic Therapists in Dartmouth, NS
Matthew Pitts
Registered Psychotherapist
I work with individuals and couples, focusing on areas like anxiety, relationship conflict, career stress, and recurring interpersonal patterns. My approach is collaborative, reflective, compassionate, and direct when helpful. Drawing from experience in family law, finance, marriage, and parenthood, I help clients navigate conflict, stress, and personal growth.
Mandeep Lalli
Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying)
Are you feeling anxious, overwhelmed or stuck? Something feels wrong? I help people navigate anxiety, depression, ADHD, trauma, and relationship struggles, with culturally sensitive care that honours your full background, including pressures others may miss. As a South Asian therapist with 15 years of experience in the corporate world, I bring lived experience and real-world context to therapy.
Zarifa Andani
MPCC-P, RTC-C
This work isn’t about fixing your parts—it’s about helping you feel more like your whole self again. We can work together to slow down, get curious, and listen deeply. Our internal body wisdom is an integral source of information that speaks more significantly than words. Real change is possible when ALL of you feels safe enough to be seen and supported, just as you are.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Psychodynamic
What is psychodynamic therapy?
Psychodynamic therapy is an approach rooted in psychoanalytic theory that explores how unconscious processes, past experiences (particularly early relationships), and recurring emotional and relational patterns shape current psychological difficulties. Unlike classical psychoanalysis, psychodynamic therapy is typically conducted in weekly sessions face-to-face, is more flexible in its format, and may be shorter or longer depending on goals. It focuses on insight into patterns, the therapeutic relationship as a vehicle of change, and the emotional processing of past experiences.
How does psychodynamic therapy differ from CBT?
CBT focuses on identifying and modifying current thoughts, beliefs, and behaviours, with structured homework and techniques. Psychodynamic therapy explores the historical origins of current difficulties, works with unconscious patterns and defences, uses the therapeutic relationship itself as a primary source of data and change, and is typically less structured and less symptom-focused. CBT tends to be shorter and more focused; psychodynamic work tends to be longer and more exploratory. Both have strong evidence, and many therapists integrate elements of both.
What does psychodynamic therapy address?
Psychodynamic therapy addresses depression, anxiety, personality difficulties, relationship patterns, identity and self-esteem issues, trauma, grief, somatic symptoms with psychological roots, and difficulties with intimacy and attachment. It is particularly valuable for people with complex, long-standing patterns that have not responded to briefer approaches — those who feel they understand their problems but keep repeating them, or who sense there are deeper layers not addressed by symptom-focused work.
What is the transference and why is it important in psychodynamic therapy?
Transference refers to the emotional reactions and relational patterns that the client brings to the therapeutic relationship — ways of experiencing the therapist that are rooted in past relationships rather than the therapist's actual qualities. In psychodynamic therapy, these transference reactions are not seen as problems to be avoided but as valuable data — windows into the client's internalized relational world. Exploring transference in the therapeutic relationship allows patterns to be observed, understood, and changed in a live, immediate context.
How long does psychodynamic therapy last?
Psychodynamic therapy ranges from brief (Short-Term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, 16–40 sessions) to open-ended long-term work over several years. Brief psychodynamic therapy uses a specific focus agreed upon at the start to concentrate the work. Long-term therapy allows more thorough exploration of deeply rooted patterns. The duration depends on the person's goals, the complexity of their concerns, and practical factors. Short-term psychodynamic therapy has strong evidence for depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms.