Psychoanalysis and Psycho analysis Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic treatment

Psychoanalysis and Psycho -analysis Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic treatment

The Victorian Zeitgeist 1837 -1901 Play the Victorian game n Strict moral standards n Repressed sexuality n n Extreme modesty in dress Verbal/written communication about emotion or sexual feeling not allowed (improper to even say “leg”) Mrs. Brown

Dr Sigmund Freud (1856 -1939) n Oldest of eight children n Married with 3 girls and 3 boys n Physician-Biologist – Scientific and Pathology oriented theory n Jewish, but anti-religion: All religion an illusion used to cope with feelings of infantile helplessness n Lived in Vienna, Austria 78 years, till 1938 n Based theory on personal experiences n lifelong cigar chain-smoker n Died in 1939 of cancer of jaw & mouth

Freud’s Methods n Only worked with adults, usually middle and upperclass women n Tried to be a neutral, objective listener, a blank slate

Freud’s view of human nature n Deterministic (behavior is determined by: ) n Unconscious, irrational motivations n The five psychosexual stages [review] n Biological and instinctual drives n n Libido - the life/sex instinct, goal of life gain pleasure and avoid pain (pleasure principle) Thanatos - the death instinct, the aggressive drive to hurt self or others n Neurotic behaviors are symptoms of the unconscious’s attempt to control the intolerable urges of sex and aggression

Levels of awareness n Freud's Mental Iceberg Conscious n Preconscious n Unconscious n

Freud’s Iceberg n Unconscious more important n Unconscious is root of neuroses n “Cure” means uncovering the unconscious

Foundations of Freudian theory n Plato’s tripartite division of self n n n Logical/Rational Soul (the wise ruler) Spirited Soul (the will – honor, selfpreservation, indignation) Appetitive Soul (the emotion/desire) n n Lust Pleasure Money Physical comfort If there is only one soul, it should be impossible for a person to simultaneously desire something yet also at that very moment be averse to the same thing

Structure of the personality n The id (the pleasure principle) Strives to satisfy desires and reduce inner tension. n life instinct (Libido) n death instinct (Thanatos) n The ego (the reality principle) Solves problems by planning and weighing of pros and cons. n The superego (the conscience) Constrains individual action through internalized social norms & moral forces.

The cause of psychological problems n Fixation in a developmental stage (especially phallic) produces psychic conflict n Later theorists discussed attachment problems as cause of psychic conflict n Psychic conflict (among the 3 systems) produces anxiety n Anxiety leads to defense mechanisms (e. g. repression, identification), and, if unresolved, to neurotic symptoms

Defense mechanisms n Defense mechanisms: Ways people cope or defend against this anxiety Reaction Formation Rationalization ? ?

Personality Assessment n Projective hypothesis (Lawrence Frank, 1939) “When people try to understand vague or ambiguous unstructured stimuli, the interpretation they produce reflects their needs, feelings, experience, prior conditioning, thought processes

Assessment/treatment methods n History taking (face to face) n Freudian slips n Dream interpretation (dreams are wish fulfillment) n Free association n Formal testing (developed later) n n n Rorschach TAT Projective drawings n Symbolic play (for children)

Freudian slips: "A Freudian slip is like saying one thing, but meaning your mother. " n Around for a long, long time e. g. , Henry Peacham, The Compleat Gentleman: “Sir, I must goe dye a beggar” (1634) n Oscar Wilde “Work is the curse of the drinking classes” n Reverend William Spooner, dean New College, Oxford (1844 -1930) n “Noble tons of soil” (in a speech intended to compliment farmers) n “You have hissed all my lectures. I saw you fight a liar in the back quad; in fact, you have tasted the whole worm. ” n God bless the queer old dean” n Fox News: “More likely to give …a curb job than a block party” n George Bush Sr: “We’ve had some setbacks”

Freudian slips: Was Freud right? Freud: “Such disturbances of speech may be the result of complicated psychical influences, of elements outside the same word, sentence or sequence of spoken words. ” ~ The Psychopathology of Everyday Life In other words: It is the unconscious at work, such that slips are unintentional expressions of repressed desire. n There is empirical evidence that “unconscious” slips happen. But why? n Freudian explanation only explains a subset of slips (see here) n Alternative explanations: n Strong habit substitution (Mac. Mahon, 1995) n Anticipation: e. g. , “bake my bike” instead of “take my bike” n Perseveration e. g. , “he pulled a pantrum” instead of “he pulled a tantrum” n Phonological conditioning e. g. , “don’t shell so loudly” instead of “don’t yell/shout so loudly”

Dream Interpretation n Manifest Content: what a person remembers and consciously considers n Latent Content: underlying (symbolic) hidden meaning (believed to be a manifestation of the unconscious)

Dream Interpretation n “Royal road to the unconscious” n What is important in dreams is the infantile wish fulfillment represented in them n Freud assumed every dream has a meaning that can be interpreted by decoding representations of the unconscious material n Dream symbol = represents some person, thing, or activity involved in the unconscious process

Dream Interpretations (common symbols) Knife, umbrella, snake Box, oven, ship Falling Staircase, ladder Penis Uterus Anxiety Sexual intercourse Water Baldness, tooth removal Left (direction) Children playing Fire Robber Room, table with food Birth, mother Castration Crime, sexual deviation Masturbation Bedwetting Father Women

Rorschach

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) n Developed by Henry Murray (1938) n 30 grayscale pictures (each contain a dramatic event or critical situation ) + one blank n Not all pictures are (though all may be) seen by everyone n n n 11 for adults (males and females) 7 for males (adults and boys, BM), 7 for females (adults and girls, GF), 1 each for adult males (12 M), adult females (12 F), children of either sex (12 BG), male child (13 B), female child (13 G) and blank (16) Most subjects see 10 -12 cards, over two sessions n Story themes = Interaction between needs and environmental determinants n Standardization of administration and scoring is minimal n Many variations exist

TAT scoring (sample card) Response 1: This is the story of a little girl who is very disappointed. She’s been struggling to learn to play the violin but she can’t do it. It’s just too difficult. She’s upset and she’s going to tell her mother and father she doesn’t want to take violin lessons anymore. She feels frustrated that she’s tried to play it and has failed. She’s feeling discouraged about the whole thing. Response 2: This is the story of a little girl who intends to play the violin. It’s a very challenging instrument to master but she is determined to learn how to play it – one note at a time. In her mind, in her imagination she sees herself playing to appreciative audiences all over the world, culminating in loud applause.

Murray’s psychological needs n Achievement n Affiliation n Aggression n Autonomy n Dominance n Exhibition n Nurturance n Order n Power

House-Tree-Person Test More interpretation elements

The inherent problem with projection "Objectivity in human relationships is impossible. Therapists affect the behavior and feelings of patients, and patients affect therapists. When a chart notes that a patient is 'hostile', it should also note, in the interests of balance, that therapist is 'paranoid'. If a therapist calls a patient 'defensive', chances are that the patient would call therapist 'aggressive'. Both should be noted in a chart, if either is, since both are equally probable. " Shelagh Lynne Supeene (As For The Sky, Falling)

Important therapeutic elements n Methods described above (assessment and therapy are same) n Analysis proceeds from more superficial (conscious) elements to deeper, unconscious ones n Understanding of repression n No accident n No responsibility n Analysis of resistance n Usually unconscious n An example of a defense mechanism n Analysis of transference (re-enactment of past relationships) n Interpretation of comments in therapy n Working through (overcoming childhood amnesia) n Repetition n Elaboration n Amplification

Transference and Countertransference n The client reacts to therapist as he did to an earlier significant other n n This allows the client to experience feelings that would otherwise be inaccessible ANALYSIS OF TRANSFERENCE — allows the client to achieve insight into the influence of the past n Countertransference n The reaction of therapist toward the client that may interfere with objectivity

Contemporary approaches n A. Ego psychology n Focus on conscious internal conflicts and needs n Ego mediates between individual and environment n Deals with both early and later development n More emphasis on psychosocial development (e. g. , Erikson) n Defense analysis n B. Object relations [intro video] n “Object” refers to object that gratifies a need n Separation anxiety and transitional objects n Oedipus complex n C. Interpersonal therapy (H. S. Sullivan) [intro video] n Replaced the libido with analysis of the self. n “Good me” vs. “Bad me” n Good refers to positive movements toward intimacy n Bad refers to destructive movements of hostility and avoidance n Importance of pre-adolescent period of same-sex friendships

Identity Development (Erickson)

Contemporary approaches n A. Ego psychology n Focus on conscious internal conflicts and needs n Ego mediates between the individual and environment n Deals with both early and later development n More emphasis on psychosocial development (e. g. , Erikson) n Defense analysis n B. Object relations [intro video] n “Object” refers to object that gratifies a need n Separation anxiety and transitional objects n Oedipus complex n C. Interpersonal therapy (H. S. Sullivan) [intro video] n Replaced the libido with analysis of the self. n “Good me” vs. “Bad me” n Good refers to positive movements toward intimacy n Bad refers to destructive movements of hostility and avoidance n Importance of pre-adolescent period of same-sex friendships