Therapist Uncensored Podcast TU156: What Actually Heals in Therapy with Psychoanalyst Nancy McWilliams – Replay
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Sep 15, 2021 
In this engaging discussion, Nancy McWilliams, a distinguished psychoanalyst, shares her insights on the transformative power of depth-oriented therapies. She critiques the limitations of evidence-based models and illuminates the importance of understanding trauma and memory in therapy. McWilliams emphasizes the crucial role of trust in the therapeutic relationship, advocating for long-term connections over quick fixes. Her reflections on navigating emotional complexities in therapy provide valuable guidance for practitioners seeking to foster genuine healing.
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Therapy Aims Beyond Symptom Reduction
- Psychoanalytic and attachment-informed therapies aim beyond short-term symptom change to rebuild secure attachment, affect regulation, and self-cohesion.
- Nancy McWilliams warns cost-cutting models that reduce therapy to brief techniques miss these broader, long-term mental-health goals.
Trauma Often Hides In Body And Emotion
- Severe trauma can shut down the hippocampus so episodic memories may be inaccessible while emotional and body memory remain.
- McWilliams urges against fruitless searches for repressed episodic memories that can retraumatize clients.
Psychotherapy Saves Societal Costs Long Term
- Front-loading psychotherapy reduces long-term societal costs like missed work, illness, addiction, and incarceration according to Susan Lazar's findings.
- McWilliams highlights political and financial incentives that favor short-term savings over long-term mental-health benefits.