Verve speaks with Ruby Read about dreams, desire and psychoanalysis.
Tell us about psychoanalysis and what you offer at your clinic?
Psychoanalysis helps you learn about your unconscious thoughts or wishes. The unconscious can take the form of dreams, jokes, slips of the tongue, and thoughts or behaviours that may seem out of character. It offers a way for people to understand themselves on a deeper level and address the causes behind their symptoms or distressing circumstances. I work from a clinic on St Georges Bay Rd in Parnell, as part of a collective with other analysts.
What inspired you to train as a practitioner?
After trying various treatments for symptoms of depression and anxiety, psychoanalysis was recommended to me by a friend. “They want to hear about your dreams,” she said, and I was sold! From the first session, I was encouraged to speak freely by following one rule: say everything that came to mind. I became fascinated by the avenues I would end up going down and how seemingly disconnected memories, fragments of dreams and fantasies somehow became connected. I was able to make some kind of sense of my symptoms which became apparent as valid expressions relating to my experiences. And I enjoyed the process! I learned that feelings I perceived as really trivial held a deeper place in my history, and in turn, things that felt monumental turned out to seem quite mundane. Over time, and was able to move beyond the whim of my emotions into a more conscious way of living.
How does psychoanalysis differ from other modes of therapy?
Rather than treating a symptom as a problem to be erased or medicated, psychoanalysis can question what it means to the person. Free association is a method used that makes it distinct to standard forms of therapy. “Say everything that comes to mind” is an appeal to speak not only in an unfiltered way, but as a stream of consciousness.
What do you love about this work?
Every person who visits my clinic has a unique story. It’s endlessly interesting, and I love that neither of us know what they might say next. When someone surprises themself by realising their own unique truth is when I know we are getting somewhere.
How do you take care of your own mental wellbeing?
It’s been a requirement of our training to continue analysis into our first years working in the field. I have also recently become a mother which has made clearer to me the importance of looking after myself to create an environment for others to thrive.
Who is psychoanalysis for?
People of all ages and backgrounds come to resolve inner conflicts, and understand their anxieties, dreams, night terrors, and sexual concerns, working through trauma or in a crisis situation. Psychoanalysis is for anyone who wishes to know more about themself.
