psychoanalytic

American  

[sahy-koh-an-l-it-ik] / ˌsaɪ koʊˌæn lˈɪt ɪk /

Also psychoanalytical

adjective

1. involving or using psychoanalysis, a system of theories concerning the relationship between conscious and unconscious psychological processes.

   This course covers many different methodologies, including sociological, psychoanalytic, and ethnographic approaches to literary criticism.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• psychoanalytically
  adverb
• nonpsychoanalytic
  adjective
• postpsychoanalytic
  adjective
• nonpsychoanalytically
  adverb
• nonpsychoanalytical
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of psychoanalytic

psycho- ( def. ) + analytic ( def. )

Explanation

When you're describing a type of long-term therapy that focuses on the unconscious mind, use the adjective psychoanalytic. The original psychoanalytic practitioner was Sigmund Freud, who developed the theory known as psychoanalysis in the 1890s. A therapist who uses psychoanalytic methods might help you interpret your dreams and explore forgotten childhood events in order to find the unconscious source of your anxious feelings. Psychoanalytic theory is employed outside of psychology, too — it's been used to analyze things like literature and art. Psychoanalytic is rooted in the Greek psykhē, "the soul, mind, or spirit."

Example Sentences

Günter’s optimistic concept of a “life drive” is challenged when he takes a job at the Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026

Dr. Lance Dodes is a former clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a training and supervising analyst emeritus at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute:

From Salon • Nov. 7, 2023

His father, Thomas, was a writer and English teacher, and his mother, Dr. Lucy Bergson LaFarge, is editor of The Psychoanalytic Quarterly.

From New York Times • Jan. 25, 2023

When he moved back to the United States to take a faculty job at Yale, he also became a student at the Western New England Psychoanalytic Institute and Society, in New Haven.

From Washington Post • Nov. 9, 2022

Psychoanalytic treatment may be compared to a surgical operation, and has the right to be undertaken under circumstances favorable to its success.

From A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Freud, Sigmund