Are there any risks?  

All psychotherapeutic processes ask you to think about yourself in different “risky” ways.  Psychoanalysis asks you to analyze your feelings and your life.  This process stirs up all kinds of feelings and memories, some of which are distressing.  This does not mean that therapy is not “working.”  The opposite is actually true.  As you become less defended and more self-aware, you will begin to see yourself more honestly and feel more intensely.  As worn out modes of living begin to drop away, it can feel frightening, and you may ask, “What will replace the familiarity of my old ways?  An analyst believes something better will emerge and grow.  Your authentic self and identity will be formed, clarified and refined. 

Your personal growth may stimulate fear, envy or even jealousy in those around you who may prefer that you remain the same.  Your change forces them to examine their own lives, also.  Familiar misery is sometimes preferable to the novelty of change.  You and I will work through each challenge as it arises.