You’re motivated and driven to make something out of your life. You work hard and invest yourself into your endeavors. You might have accomplished quite a bit at this point in your life, and yet, you feel unfulfilled. Something is missing.

Or maybe, despite knowing what you want and working hard towards your goals and dreams, you just can’t seem to get there. You’re not satisfied with your life. Maybe you feel you’re not able to really access your talents and skills to create your life. Or, perhaps you can’t imagine your life, you’re lost, not really being able to envision what you’d like to accomplish or create.

When our ambitions, dreams, or plans fail, that’s when we need to pay attention. When your conscious intentions aren’t helping you to get somewhere in life, it’s time to get curious about what your unconscious has to offer.

If you find it impossible to move forward in life, or struggle to feel a sense of contentment, it’s possible that you have lost connection with your core, your essence. You’re not in a relationship with yourself or your own life’s path.

There is a synergic relationship between who we are and the dreams or goals we pursue.

Put another way: when we lose track of that relationship, we lose ourselves. We don’t feel energized by your own life, we can’t seem to find the spark in our undertakings.

When we lose ourselves, we become more dependent on outside factors – external validation –  to reflect what we are or what we want.

As hard it may be at the moment, this sense of loss and disconnection actually opens a tremendous opportunity to do in-depth emotional work. It’s your chance to invite the  unconscious to inform you and see yourself and your life from a new perspective.

When we give ourselves space to explore our unconscious we can uncover what, despite our best conscious intentions, is not working.

Your unconscious can communicate things that your conscious mind is blocking, repressing, or denying. It’s likely that something that is not allowed into your awareness is keeping you stuck or small in some ways.

There are many ways to invite the unconscious to the table.

Here are a few ways you can open yourself to explore and understand your deeper world – so, you can to start putting back together the pieces of your core self in way that it can tell its own story. 

1. Dream Analysis: Keeping a dream journal and reflecting on recurring themes or symbols can provide insights into the unconscious mind.

2. Meditation: Regular meditation helps quiet the conscious mind, allowing unconscious thoughts and feelings to surface.

4. Art: Engaging in creative expression – drawing, painting, writing – can help express unconscious thoughts and emotions.

5. Journaling: Expressing yourself on the page – without concern for grammar or structure – can uncover unconscious thoughts and patterns.

6. Mindfulness Practices: Focusing on the present moment and observing your thoughts and feelings without judgment can make unconscious patterns more apparent.

7. Active Imagination: This Jungian technique involves engaging with unconscious content through imaginative dialogue and visualization.

8. Bodywork: Practices like yoga, tai chi, or dance can help release stored unconscious emotions through physical movement.

9. Daydreaming: Letting your mind wander and allowing yourself simply “to be” can melt your resistance and open you to your inner world.

You may find some of these different practices more appealing than others. Trust your wisdom and go with what inspires you. Your mind has an inner wisdom that can reveal the hidden desires, fears, or conflicts you may have been ignoring for a long time.

You can start to recognize some of your concealed emotional conflicts and how you act defensively or reactively from these conflicts instead of showing up to create your life.

Accessing these buried feelings may feel challenging or scary. You may not know what to do with the unconscious material on your own. You need support as you metabolize and integrate these thoughts and feelings as they emerge. A trained psychotherapist can help you navigate this tricky, yet rewarding emotional journey.

In the right therapeutic environment, with a practitioner who is trained and experienced with the workings of the unconscious mind, you can experience tremendous healing and transformation. Rather than relying on intellectual awareness or “changing your mind” it’s possible to gain true emotional shifts. 

You will be able to reconnect to your core and your essence by following a path to healing that weaves together everything that you are: your body, your left and right brain – your consciousness and your unconscious mind.

When you begin to do this inner work, you will find that you’re more connected to genuine goals and dreams that fulfill you. You’ll also feel more connected to your sense of agency. You can recover your ability to invest in yourself, persevere through failures, and accept and learn from defeats. You’ll be prepared to move through life, keep going with a sense of purpose and increased enthusiasm about what you’re here to do.

What kind of therapist can help you do this emotional work?

A therapist who is trained in a psychodynamic/psychoanalytic approach as well as relational-attachment based EMDR can help you.

While a psychoanalytic approach will bring unconscious elements into your consciousness, EMDR can help you metabolize and integrate that unconscious material more quickly and effectively.

Is a more in-depth therapy right for you? 

Many are afraid of working with the unconscious because they think it’s only about uncovering old stories. Others worry that this type of work is an endless process.

The truth is that working with the unconscious is a lengthy journey. It’s a process of unfolding, simmering, working through resistances, facing fears, reconnecting with longings and desires, and digesting challenging, unprocessed experiences. However when EMDR is weaved in, it becomes a shorter and more effective journey.

Yes, this is a lot!  But it is important to understand that an in-depth, inside-out emotional journey provides a profound and meaningful change, not just mere intellectual insight.

While this type of psychotherapy does work with elements of your past, it actually is more about what is still alive in the present. It’s about freeing yourself from the past and about being present now so you can invest yourself into creating your life.

Only when you bring your whole mind on board can you find the deeper fulfillment and wholeness that you long for.

Working through your unconscious conflicts, desires, and fears is worth the effort. The more you’ve in touch with your inner world the better you’re able to craft your unique life. Rather than being at the mercy of your unconscious and the world, you can take responsibility in creating your own life.

When your conscious ambitions and dreams fail, your unconscious mind can help you guide your conscious decisions to create a more fulfilling life, life that resonates with you. 

 

I offer psychodynamic therapy, EMDR therapy (EMDR certified), psychoanalytic therapy (certified), combined with CBT, and grounded in the neuroscience of psychotherapy and relationships. In particular I have an expertise working with creatives, performers, and artists of all kinds – writers,  actors, fine artists, musicians, producers, directors, fashion designers, and creative entrepreneurs. My office is in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. I provide in-person and online psychotherapy to people across California.