5 min read
Imagine standing at the base of a vast, formidable mountain. At its peak lies a breathtaking vista: clarity, peace, a deep understanding of yourself. You desperately want to reach it.
You could try to climb straight up the rock face—a direct, Sisyphus-like ascent, brutal and seemingly efficient. You’d expend immense energy, hit countless dead ends, and likely tumble back down, exhausted and defeated. This feeling of being stuck is why so many people end up hesitating to start therapy.
This direct climb is how many of us try to solve our deepest emotional problems. We grapple with conscious willpower, trying to “just fix” anxiety, or “just stop” a destructive pattern. But the mountain we’re trying to scale isn’t a simple slope; it’s our own mind, and a significant portion of its terrain—the most treacherous, yet also the most foundational—lies hidden in the unconscious.
This is where therapy, much like a well-designed switchback hiking trail, offers a profoundly different, and ultimately more effective, path.
A client once told me, “I came in to talk about my marriage, and somehow we ended up talking about my dad.” He said it like he’d taken a wrong turn. But that’s often how therapy works — you follow the thread that presents itself, and it leads somewhere you didn’t plan to go but needed to arrive. The insight that mattered most wasn’t something I told him. It was something he said out loud for the first time.
The Unconscious Mountain: What Lies Beneath
From a psychodynamic perspective, our unconscious mind is like the vast, unseen bulk of that mountain. It’s the repository of our earliest experiences, forgotten memories, repressed emotions, and the defense mechanisms forged in childhood to protect us. It shapes our perceptions, drives our habits, and influences our relationships, all without our conscious awareness.
Trying to address issues stemming from the unconscious through sheer conscious effort is like trying to move a landslide with a spoon. The resistance is too great, the forces too powerful. If you push directly, your defenses (the thick brush and sheer rock faces of our metaphorical mountain) will push back harder.
The Art of the Switchback: Indirect Access
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Schedule your free consult →A switchback trail doesn’t tackle the mountain head-on. It recognizes the impossibility of a direct assault and instead takes a series of deliberate, gentle turns across the slope. It works with the terrain, rather than against it.
It recognizes the impossibility of a direct assault and instead takes a series of deliberate, gentle turns across the slope.
This is precisely how therapy, particularly psychodynamic or mindfulness-based approaches, helps us access the unconscious:
- The Gentle Ascent: Instead of directly asking, “What’s in your unconscious?”, a therapist helps you talk about your conscious concerns: a recurring conflict with your partner, a sense of aimlessness, persistent anxiety. These are the immediate, visible parts of the mountain.
- The Lateral Movement (Exploring the “Now”): As you talk, the therapist listens for patterns, repetitions, and inconsistencies—the smaller rocks and roots that hint at deeper structures. They might gently bring your attention to:
- Emotional Reactions: “You seem to get very angry when we talk about your father.”
- Body Sensations: “Notice what happens in your stomach when you mention that.”
- Relationship Dynamics in the Room (Transference): How you interact with the therapist might mirror how you interact in other key relationships, providing a safe, live laboratory for exploring old patterns.
- The Turn (Making Connections): These lateral movements are the “switchbacks.” Instead of pushing straight up to a painful insight, you gain perspective by moving around it. You might discuss a dream, a childhood memory, a seemingly insignificant slip of the tongue. Each “turn” isn’t directly the “unconscious,” but it offers a new vantage point, a slightly higher elevation, revealing a bit more of the landscape.
- Integrating the Vista (Insight): Slowly, through these repeated turns, things become clearer. You begin to see connections you couldn’t before. “Oh, my avoidance of conflict isn’t just because I hate arguing; it’s because it reminds me of feeling helpless as a child.” The unconscious material doesn’t burst forth fully formed; it emerges in fragments, hints, and eventually, coherent insights. It’s like finding a small clearing on the switchback where you can look back and see how far you’ve come, and how the landscape below is connected to where you are now.
Why Switchbacks Work Better
- Respects Resistance: Direct confrontation triggers defenses. The switchback honors them by not forcing a direct assault. It allows the unconscious material to emerge when it feels safe enough to do so.
- Builds Trust: Each gentle turn with a supportive therapist builds trust, reducing the need for rigid defenses. You learn that the mountain isn’t trying to defeat you; it’s just waiting to be understood.
- Sustainable Progress: It’s a slower, more deliberate path, but it’s sustainable. You gain strength and perspective with each step, rather than collapsing from exhaustion.
The unconscious mind holds both our deepest wounds and our greatest resources. We often fear what lies hidden in its depths, imagining monsters. But often, what we find is simply a younger version of ourselves, waiting to be understood and integrated. Therapy, like that wise switchback trail, doesn’t rush you there. It guides you, one deliberate step at a time, towards a fuller, more complete understanding of the mountain that is you—in person or through online therapy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the switchback trail metaphor mean in therapy?
The switchback trail is a metaphor for how real psychological growth works. Rather than a straight climb to the summit, therapy moves in gradual, winding steps—revisiting familiar terrain from new vantage points. Each pass deepens understanding, and what feels like going backward is often a necessary part of moving forward.
What is the unconscious mind and why does it matter?
The unconscious mind holds the memories, emotions, and patterns that operate beneath our awareness. It shapes our habits, reactions, and relationships in ways we often don’t recognize. Psychodynamic therapy works to bring these hidden influences into consciousness so they can be understood and transformed rather than unconsciously repeated.
How does psychodynamic therapy access the unconscious?
Psychodynamic therapy uses techniques like free association, exploring dreams, examining recurring relational patterns, and paying attention to what emerges in the therapeutic relationship itself. Over time, these approaches help reveal the unconscious narratives and defense mechanisms that shape a person’s life.
Why does therapy sometimes feel like it’s going in circles?
This is actually a sign that deeper work is happening. Like a switchback trail, therapy revisits core themes from different angles. Each time you encounter a familiar issue, you bring greater awareness and new tools. What feels repetitive on the surface is often progressive deepening—understanding the same wound at a more profound level.
How long does it take to see results from psychodynamic therapy?
The timeline varies for each person. Some people notice shifts in self-awareness within weeks, while deeper structural changes in personality patterns typically unfold over months or longer. The goal isn’t a quick fix but lasting transformation—building a more authentic relationship with yourself and others.
About the Author
Jonah Taylor, LCSW, CST is a psychodynamic therapist and AASECT Certified Sex Therapist in Pittsburgh. He specializes in Emotionally Focused Therapy for couples, sex therapy, problematic sexual behavior, and men’s psychology — bringing analytic rigor to the deep patterns that shape how people relate, desire, and get stuck. Book a free consultation.
