My 2 long term therapists are/were psychoanalytic. With the issue you mentioned, it might be something that works for you. Therapists with this orientation tend to really give you a lot of space in which you can experience yourself and in an attachment relationship. This is one reason I go with this type, but mostly because i think it is most transformational.

It can be difficult to tolerate for some. I almost recently quit as it got to be too much for me. With the object relations school, withholding stuff you need, which you might not even notice until it's not there, is not uncommon. This can be beneficial since it forces you to work through emotions you'd otherwise not feel (ie anger), but it can be really, really intense and even harmful if the therapist is careless or isn't seeing things clearly. My therapist took the withholding stuff too far at one point thinking i had more ego strength than i did...and it turned out really bad. Another psychoanalytic therapist who I only saw for psychiatry, not therapy, was too extreme and worked in a way that flooded me with dissociated parts as he also thought I had more ego strength than I actually did. I would caution anyone to be careful as I think this therapy can be really harmful.

I've never knew of any who were eclectic. Generally i think they lean heavily towards one of two schools--relational or object relations. No one really practices "Freudian" anymore despite the stuff you read online. It can be confusing because the relational approach also takes from object relations. My therapist was even confused, insisting he was practicing relational psychoanalytic therapy with me, while i insisted he was using the object relations approach. He recently admitted he was not practicing from a relational perspective, admitted he looked it up an agreed with me. I was really surprised he told me this, but relieved, as he's been better with me ever since.

The object relations approach can also be more difficult if you have certain attachment patterns (ie need for closeness), but probably more comfortable if you have a more dismissive attachment (need for more space). Either way, this therapy has a way of drawing out emotions whether you want them to surface or not. But a decent therapist should be able to balance things for the most part. The one I had before made sure he was more supportive when needed, cutting down the exploratory stuff when it got too intense. Balance is important.

Experiencing, discussing, and understanding transference feelings is the primary mechanism of this therapy. They also really know how to dissolve your defense mechanisms. That can lead to feeling a lot of painful emotions. Too much too soon can be-well, too much; but in the end, it makes your mind work differently; in a sense, like you are a newborn.

It is a sloooow process. Another positive thing is that most of this orientation had to do years of this therapy in order to get the certification. It helps them keep their stuff out of your therapy, but nothing is 100 percent, and they can get enmeshed too.

Why not try it? You can always change your mind. Did I mention it is a slow process? People spend years in this therapy. If you are more goal oriented, it might not appeal to you. It can get very intense--emotions you don't ever recall experiencing, that take you way back to feelings from before you had the ability to talk. That has been the most intense part of this therapy for me, but also probably the most interesting. Though not goal oriented, you can do a lot with this therapy if you can tolerate it.