Psychoanalytic theory refers to the theory of personality organization and the dynamics of personality development which guide psychoanalysis, which is a clinical method for treating psychopathology. It is a long term, intensive form of therapy, in which a person use free speech to explore his inner worlds. The input of the therapist is minimal. The psycho dynamic theory is a psychological view, which explains personality in term of conscious and unconscious forces which create dynamic tension that results in human behaviour and pathology. Psychodynamic therapies are usually short term. An example of psychodynamic therapy is mentalization based treatment.
The main difference between psychoanalytic theory and psychodynamic theory is that psychodynamic refers to both Sigmund Freud's theories and the theories of his followers, while psychoanalytic refers only to Sigmund Freud's theories.
