The Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Association of Australasia

The PPAA is a federated body composed of member organisations from most Australian States and New Zealand, as well as the Child Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Association of Australia. The Association was formed in 1980 with the aim of maintaining high standards of practice, training and ethics in psychoanalytic psychotherapy.

Through our member organisations there are over 200 psychoanalytic psychotherapists involved in the PPAA. These psychoanalytic psychotherapists come primarily from professional backgrounds in psychology, medicine, psychiatry and social work. Our members treat people suffering from a wide range of emotional and mental disorders including depression, anxiety states, phobias, psychosomatic disorders, disorders of the self and self-esteem.

Our members have undergone training programs which are operated by the Member Organisations and ratified by The PPAA. In both Australia and New Zealand, training programs in this discipline are at a post graduate level and are modelled on, and have links with established and highly regarded training programs overseas.

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is a distinct discipline with a long history, and a tradition and body of knowledge and practice, which is constantly evolving as new information is absorbed. In trying to define our theoretical approach to the treatment of emotional problems we would include a premise that many emotional and cognitive functions and experiences take place in the unconscious and can be modified by insight or self understanding. A further premise is that the therapy takes place in the evolving relationship between the therapist and patient where transference and counter- transference issues in that relationship can be explored to shed light on the patient’s characteristic ways of functioning and lead to healthier and more effective solutions.