Psychoanalysis Psychoanalysis is the name applied to a specific method of investigating unconscious mental processes and a form of psychotherapy. The term also refers to the systematic structure of psychoanalytic theory, which is based on the relation of conscious and unconscious psychological processes. The technique of psychoanalysis and much of the psychoanalytic theory are based on its application that was developed by Sigmund Freud. His work concerning the structure and the functioning of the human mind had far-reaching significance, both practically and scientifically, and it continues to influence contemporary thought. The first of Freud's innovations was h