Psychoanalytic Referral Service

The Psychoanalytic Referral Service is a free service of the Psychoanalytic Center of the Carolinas. Our therapists strive to provide deep, empathic care to relieve emotional suffering and promote resilience.

To request assistance with a referral for psychoanalytic psychotherapy or psychoanalysis in the Chapel Hill, Durham, or Raleigh area, please call 919-685-1956.

Search our directory of therapists throughout North Carolina and South Carolina.

A psychoanalytic therapist will take an in-depth approach to understanding your concerns about emotions, self-image, work-life, and relationships. The Psychoanalytic Referral Service is designed to help you find a psychoanalyst or psychoanalytically oriented therapist who is a good match for your particular circumstances.

Please note: This is not a crisis line or an emergency service. If you are in crisis or in danger of harming yourself or anyone else, please call 911. Or go to your nearest hospital emergency room and ask to speak with the psychiatrist on call.

You may leave a message on our 24‐hour answering service at 919-685‐1956. A licensed mental health professional will call you back within three business days. Please leave your phone number, times that you are available, and any necessary cautions about our leaving a message for you. We recognize that confidentiality is important, and we respect your privacy. Because your message will be relayed by email or phone, please do not include information that you would consider to be highly confidential.

In a telephone consultation, we will discuss the problems that led you to seek help and the kind of help you have in mind. We will answer questions you have regarding psychoanalytic treatment. We will try to match you with a private therapist, clinic, or program that best meets your needs. This may involve some research and a call back to you with referral contact information.

There is no charge for our telephone referral service. Fees charged for in-person appointments will vary among individual therapists. In some cases, therapists may adjust their fees based on your financial situation

Psychoanalytic therapy includes a broad range of treatments from brief therapy to long-term psychoanalysis. People of all ages, adults, teens, children, and their parents, can benefit from psychoanalytic treatment.

A psychoanalytic approach can be helpful with:

  • Depression, anxiety, or troubling thoughts
  • Self-esteem issues
  • Life or career decisions
  • Difficulties in school or at work
  • Relationship or family problems
  • Addictions
  • Traumatic experiences
  • Insecure attachment

Psychoanalytic treatment provides a unique opportunity to explore and understand your emotional life and behavior with an empathic and highly skilled therapist in a private, confidential setting.

People are often unaware of the full range of emotions, thoughts, and experiences that contribute to their unhappiness. These unconscious factors can manifest as symptoms (such as anxiety, insomnia, compulsions, etc.), patterns of behavior, problematic relationships, or more general emotional distress.

Psychoanalytic treatment is a therapeutic partnership in which the therapist works with you to become aware of the underlying sources of your difficulties in ways that can lead to deep and lasting change.

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy sets in motion psychological processes that lead to ongoing improvements, even after therapy has ended.

Randomized controlled trials (the most rigorous type of research studies) show that psychodynamic therapy is effective at treating depression, anxiety, panic, eating disorders, substance use disorders, and personality disorders. No other treatment for personality problems has shown such enduring benefits.

Psychodynamic therapies go beyond symptom reduction, helping clients develop inner capacities and resources which allow a richer and more fulfilling life.

Learn more:

The Efficacy of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy by Jonathan Shedler, PhD

Comprehensive list of research studies on the efficacy of psychoanalytic therapies from the American Psychoanalytic Association

To learn more about psychoanalysis, visit the American Psychoanalytic Association.

How can psychoanalysis help you?

Watch the video to learn about how it can unlock the past, inform the present, and expand the future.