Emotional distress is often not simply a response to current circumstances — it frequently has roots in older, unconscious patterns that cannot simply be 'thought through'. Psychoanalytic psychotherapy offers a space in which these patterns can be approached, understood, and gradually changed.

How emotional distress shows up

Emotional distress rarely shows up as one clear problem. It can be a feeling of being flooded, or the opposite, of hardly feeling anything; tension that will not ease, irritability you cannot explain, or tears that come for no obvious reason. Many people describe reacting more strongly than they would like, or finding the same reactions repeating in similar situations. This is not a sign of weakness. It often means that something in you is looking for expression and has not yet found it.

A psychoanalytic view of emotional distress

Wilfred Bion used the term 'containment' for the mind's capacity to process emotional experience rather than simply discharge it. Where this capacity is lacking, feelings remain raw and hard to bear. The therapeutic relationship functions as a space in which this capacity can gradually develop.

In practice, this means the work looks not only at what you feel, but at how you relate to feeling itself — where it gets pushed away, where it overwhelms, where it gets attributed to someone else.

Psychotherapy for emotional distress in practice

The first step is often simply entrusting someone with a description of one's state, without needing to explain or justify it right away.

How I work with emotional distress

In therapy I first listen to what you feel, and only then do we look for where it comes from. Together we observe when the distress appears, what accompanies it, and what would happen if we allowed it to stay. It often turns out that the distress has its own history and its own meaning. Individual sessions are weekly, in Ljubljana or by video call.

Help with emotional distress in Ljubljana

I offer psychoanalytic psychotherapy for emotional distress in Ljubljana or online (by video call). At the beginning we agree on three introductory sessions (45–50 minutes each), in which you see how I work and whether psychoanalytic psychotherapy suits you. After that we agree on regular weekly sessions.

If you are overwhelmed by feelings that are hard to explain or name, we can explore together what lies behind them and why they are so hard to put into words.

More about how psychotherapy works and how to book an appointment.

Frequently asked questions about emotional distress

Does psychotherapy help with emotional distress?

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy for emotional distress does not look only for a way to ease the difficulty, but for an understanding of what it is communicating. I work with the causes of distress and not only with the distress as expressed. Once we find the cause, and during the psychotherapeutic process, symptoms often ease or disappear.

How long does psychotherapy for emotional distress take?

Duration is individual and depends on the therapeutic goal and on how long the difficulties have been present. Psychoanalytic psychotherapy can last from a few months to a few years. One session lasts 45 to 50 minutes; usually once a week, and by arrangement sometimes several times a week.

Can I come if I cannot name my feelings?

Yes. This is often exactly the beginning. Feelings that are hard to put into words can be a sign that something in the background has not yet found words. Together we try to find words for them.