While psychoanalysis began as a tool for relieving emotional suffering, it is also a method for learning about the mind as well as a theory of human development. Many do not realize the significant contribution that psychoanalysis has made to our everyday thinking. Psychoanalysis provides insight into a wide range of human activity, both in psychotherapy and in the world at large. In doing so, psychoanalysis continues to have a profound impact on many aspects of contemporary culture. A psychoanalyst can help people:

• Get relief from painful emotional problems
• Improve personal relationships
• Become more productive in the workplace
• Take more pleasure in life
• Prevent the past from interfering in the present
• Stop self-destructive patterns of behavior
• Gain greater control over their lives
• Unlock their creative potential
• Understand themselves and others around them
• Feel understood
• Feel secure in who they are and what they want

Adapted from "About Psychoanalysis," American Psychoanalytic Association 2004 (APsaA)