Spring Semi-Annual Assembly of Psychoanalytic Institutes Meeting

Presentation Overview

In these last few years we have witnessed unprecedented upheaval in the areas of politics, social justice, the natural world, and public health. It is vitally important in order for our practices and communities to thrive to be informed about what people are looking for in mental health treatment. Therapies of depth, insight, and relationship have been missing from, if not pushed out of, the public conversation on mental health treatment. After decades of attack from multiple fronts, these therapies are misunderstood, undervalued, and overlooked by the general public.

To assess what the public knows about therapy and mental health, and what they really want from treatment, the Psychotherapy Action Network (PsiAN) conducted extensive original research with the general public, both pre-pandemic and post-pandemic. From this innovative and unprecedented effort to “listen” to the public, we learned about the attitudes and expectations people have towards therapy, which benefits matter most, what their misperceptions and biases are, and what they know and don’t know about mental health and therapy.

This presentation will share the findings from PsiAN’s qualitative and quantitative research. It will also offer a blueprint for engaging and communicating with the public, so that the public gains greater awareness, understanding and appreciation for therapies of depth, insight, and relationship.

is a psychologist with a private practice in Chicago. She is Chair and Co-Founder of the Psychotherapy Action Network (PsiAN), a grassroots nonprofit organization that advocates for therapies of depth, insight and relationship. She is a Consulting Editor of Psychoanalytic Inquiry, Clinical Associate Faculty at the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis, and a fellow of the Lauder Institute Global MBA program. She is author and co-editor of Advancing Psychotherapy for the Next Generation: Humanizing Mental Health Policy and Practice, and has published, presented, and been interviewed by the New York Times, Wall St. Journal, NPR and other national media on the value of psychotherapy, the therapeutic relationship and technology, and the public narrative about therapy. Linda has a former career in business, with over 15 years’ experience consulting to organizations in the US and Latin America. In addition to her doctorate degree in clinical psychology from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology, Linda is a graduate of the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute’s Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy program.