Aimed at the unconscious
If your last therapy was weekly check-ins and coping skills, this work goes deeper.
Book a free consultOnline psychoanalytic therapy in MA
Psychoanalytic therapy works through the unconscious roots of your suffering, so you can find lasting relief and live with more freedom and fulfillment.
Fifteen minutes, by phone. No commitment.
Licensed in Massachusetts #10001743 · Verified by Psychology Today
What brings people here
The same pattern with different people, or one hard relationship.
A worry that colors each day, even when life is going fine.
A heaviness or numbness that you can’t quite account for.
Something from the past that keeps showing up in the present.
You know what you need to do, and keep finding reasons to wait.
Even when things go well, something still feels missing.
Also common
These are only some of the reasons people come. Yours may not be listed, and you don’t need a name for it to begin.
Two people can have the same symptom, like anxiety, for completely different reasons. So the work is shaped around you: we work through what is driving your symptoms, so they stop running your life.
What if your most stubborn problem is actually a solution in disguise?
Approach
In this work, your words lead the way. I listen to what you have to say about your experience, without deciding ahead of time what it means. You’re invited to say whatever comes to mind, even the things you’d never say anywhere else. As you do, old patterns start to loosen, often before you can explain why.
Your symptoms and the things you keep repeating have a logic of their own. That’s why coping skills only go so far. Speaking about them, week after week, is how they start to change.
For exampleSay you wake up already tired, and nothing feels like much. Many approaches focus on easing how that feels, with gratitude lists, exercise, or more positive thinking. Some of that can help. Here, we would ask what the tiredness and numbness are about, what purpose they serve, and how they connect to the rest of your life and history. Over time, as you put it into words, the heaviness can begin to lift.
What a session is like
Psychoanalysis is a practice of speech. You say whatever comes to mind, including the parts that seem off-topic, petty, or embarrassing. I listen closely to what you say and to what you leave out, and I help you hear the parts of yourself that have gone quiet.
You set the pace, and we can slow down or pause whenever you want. Little by little, you start acting on what you really want.
I’ll often end a session on a question instead of wrapping things up, because much of the work happens in the days afterward, while you’re still turning it over.
The premise
Symptoms, dreams, slips of the tongue, the patterns of a whole life: they’re all saying something if you’re willing to listen.
A note on fit
About
I’m David M. Freshwater, a licensed mental health counselor in Massachusetts (license #10001743). I have a master’s in mental health counseling from Brooklyn College and a bachelor’s in psychology from Columbia University. I’ve worked for nearly a decade in community mental health clinics and private practice, and I practice psychoanalysis in the Lacanian tradition.
Psychoanalysis is a big commitment. It can be costly, time-consuming, and often uncomfortable. So why do people do it? Many sense that their problems run deep and that another approach might not be enough. Many have tried other things that helped for a while. But the symptom kept coming back, sometimes in a new form, like a zombie that won’t stay down. And some are fascinated by the unconscious, their dreams, and the complexities of the human experience. People who finish an analysis often describe it as life-changing, and as so much less and so much more than they expected.
FAQ
That’s fine. You don’t need to know how it works to start. You just need to be curious about yourself.
We begin with what are called preliminary interviews. There’s no set number of them. I ask what brought you in, what you’ve already tried, and something of your history. Many people arrive asking me to fix something or tell them what to do. Gradually, that request tends to turn into a question of your own: what is this really about, and what do I actually want? There’s no sharp line where the interviews end and the deeper work begins. One slowly becomes the other.
At minimum, once a week, at a regularly scheduled time. Meeting more often deepens the process.
Typically twenty to fifty minutes. Sessions don’t run to the clock. When something important comes up, we stop there, so it stays with you. The fee is the same whatever the length.
There’s no set number of sessions and no end date. Many people notice early shifts within the first few weeks. You can stop at any time.
Remotely. By video or phone.
Individual adults, eighteen and over. I don’t see couples or families.
$200 a session. If you come more than once a week, the per-session fee comes down.
I’m an out-of-network provider, so I don’t bill insurance directly. I can give you a monthly receipt, called a superbill, to submit to your insurance yourself. Whether they reimburse you depends on your plan.
Yes. You can keep doing that alongside this work.
The consult is a good place to ask it. Or call or text me at (786) 527-1616.
The consult
I’ll ask what’s going on and what you’ve already tried. You can ask me anything, including the awkward questions.
If it sounds like a fit, I’ll go over fees and we’ll book a first meeting. If it doesn’t, I’ll say so and try to point you somewhere better. I’d rather do that than take on someone I can’t help.
Rather not use a form? Call or text (786) 527-1616, or write to freshwater.david.m@gmail.com.
Got it. Thank you for writing.
I read these myself and I’ll typically write back within one business day with a couple of times. If you want to say more before we talk, just reply to that email. If you don’t hear from me within a day, check your spam folder.
David