psychoanalyze

American  

[sahy-koh-an-l-ahyz] / ˌsaɪ koʊˈæn lˌaɪz /

especially British, psychoanalyse

verb (used with object)

psychoanalyzed, psychoanalyzing

1. to investigate or treat by psychoanalysis.

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Other Word Forms

• psychoanalyzer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of psychoanalyze

First recorded in 1910–15; psycho- + analyze

Explanation

To psychoanalyze is to use a particular kind of psychiatric therapy to treat mental illness or disorders. When doctors psychoanalyze patients, they encourage discussion of their feelings, childhood, and dreams. If a therapist psychoanalyzes you, you'll probably sit in a chair or lie on a couch while you talk about your feelings. A doctor who practices this kind of therapy is called a psychoanalyst, and her goal may be to help you realize the unconscious conflicts that make it hard for you to feel happy. The first person to psychoanalyze a patient was the Austrian doctor Sigmund Freud, in the 1890s.