While in practice I often integrate theories to come to a best understanding of how to work with each patient / client and method of doing so, I identify as predominantly a ‘psychodynamic’ psychotherapist / counselor. I think the quote below does a good job of explaining one aspect of that.
It comes from a short piece I found very interesting, relatable, and helpful for explaining how I work (and what I understand) in many, though not all, therapy situations. I do think that its reach could be extended—simply replace ‘abuse’ with ‘emotional neglect’, ‘adverse experiences’, and so on. I give a snippet quote below. The full piece is at the URL at the bottom of this post. Here is the quote:
“…my conscious thoughts weren’t the problem. What was troubling me was much deeper, more unconscious, than that. What was troubling me was hidden from everyone – even me.
Abuse survivors are left, often without realising it, with a sense that there is something toxic or bad about them, something rotten that caused another person to treat them badly. This was never something I thought. It was something I felt; something pre-rational that I knew in my bones to be true. Because these assumptions are unconscious, they play out in every relationship we form without us knowing it.”
– Lucia Osborne-Crowley (Ed. by Marina Benjamin)
https://psyche.co/ideas/psychodynamic-therapy-helped-me-overcome-trauma-when-cbt-couldnt