Psychoanalysis The first theory to gain public recognition

Psychoanalysis � The first theory to gain public recognition and acceptance, especially in Europe and the Americas.

Sigmund Freud �The person whose genius created psychoanalysis. �Born in Freiburg, Austria, in 1856. �As a psychiatrist, he initially used hypnosis as his primary form of treatment. �Was impressed during medical school by how patients who relive painful experiences can work through emotional events suppressed for years.

Sigmund Freud �Began using a process called free association to help his patients remember long-forgotten important events and thoughts. �Utilized free association to explore the unconscious minds of his patients. �Began to stress the importance of the unconscious in understanding personality. �Thus was born psychoanalysis.

View of Human Nature/Personality �The Freudian view of human nature is dynamic. ◦ The transformation and exchange of energy within the personality drives behavior. �Freud focused his techniques on: ◦ Levels of Consciousness (topographic) ◦ The formation of personality (structural) �Id, Ego, Superego ◦ Psychosexual Development (genetic) �Defense Mechanisms

Levels of Consciousness � For Freud, human nature can be explained in terms of: ◦ A Conscious Mind ◦ A Preconscious Mind ◦ An Unconscious Mind

Conscious Mind � Attuned to events in the present and an awareness of the outside world.

Preconscious Mind � An area between the conscious mind and unconscious minds; it contains aspects of both. � Hidden memories or forgotten experiences can be remembered in this area if given the proper cues.

Unconscious Mind � Beneath the preconscious mind. � The most powerful and least understood part of the personality. � The instinctual, repressed, and powerful forces of the personality exist here.

Formation of Personality � Freud hypothesized that the personality is formed from the interaction of three developing strucutres. ◦ The Id – confined to the unconscious ◦ The Ego – operates primarily in the conscious but also in the preconscious and the unconscious. ◦ The Superego – confined to the unconscious.

The Id � The id is the source of all energy. � Comprises the basic inherited givens of the personality and is present from birth. � It is amoral, impulsive, and irrational. � Pleasure principle – it pursues what it wants because it cannot tolerate tension.

The Id � The id contains: ◦ Basic life energy and life-preserving instincts collectively known as eros. ◦ The psychic energy that accompanies them known as libido. ◦ Basic death instincts known as thanatos.

Primary Process � Operates through drives, instincts, and images (e. g. dreaming, hallucinating, and fantasizing) – a process known as primary process. � May bring temporary relief but ultimately unsatisfying.

The Ego � The second system to develop after the id and before the superego. � A strong ego is essential to healthy functioning. � Moderates the wishes and desires of the id and superego to keep the person from being too self-indulgent or too morally restrained. � Reality principle – it devises ways to achieve appropriate goals, obtain energy for activities from the id, and keep the person in harmony with the environment.

Secondary Process � The ego’s way of thinking is known as the secondary process. � Rationally thinking through situations.

The Superego � It is the moral branch of the mind and operates according to what is ideal. � Contrasts with the id. � Functions according to the moral principle – strives for perfection and arises from parental & societal moral teachings.

The Superego �Ego Ideal – rewards those who follow parental and societal dictates. �Conscience – part of the superego that punishes by inducing guilt when you act against what you have been taught. �By striving for perfection, the superego sometimes forces a person into restrained or no action when facing a dilemma.

Psychosexual Stages of Development � Freud hypothesized that personality developed through a sequence or invariant stages. Most development occurs prior to age 6. ◦ ◦ ◦ Oral stage Anal stage Phallic stage Latency stage Genital stage � Stages based on the location of id energy ◦ Appropriate gratification is key to healthy development ◦ Overindulgence or deprivation leads to fixation (id energy gets stuck)

Oral Stage � The first stage. ◦ Oral incorporative ◦ Oral aggressive � Children up to 18 months. � Obtain basic gratification from sucking and biting.

Anal Stage � The second stage. � Children between the ages of 18 months ang 3 � Delight in either withholding or eliminating feces. � First really significant conflict between the child’s internal instincts and external demands.

Phallic Stage �The third stage. �Children between the ages of 3 and 5 attempt to resolve their sexual identities. �Members of both sexes must work through their sexual desires. �Oedipus Complex / Electra Complex �Freud thought that the basic ingredients of the adult personality had formed by the end of this stage.

Oedipus Complex / Electra Complex �Oedipus Complex – a boy must work through a desire to possess his mother sexually. ◦ Castration anxiety �Electra Complex – a girl blames her mother for the fact that she has no penis. ◦ Penis envy

Latency � Children between the ages of 6 and 12. � Energy is focused on peer activities and personal mastery of cognitive and learning and physical skills. � Little manifest interest in sexuality.

Genital Stage �The fourth and final stage. �If all has gone well, around puberty each gender takes more of an interest in the other and normal patterns of interaction appear. �If there were unresolved difficulties in the first three stages (pregenital stages), Freud believed two difficulties could arise: ◦ Excessive frustration ◦ Overindulgence

Defense Mechanisms � Protect a person from being overwhelmed by anxiety through adaptation to situations or through distortion or denial of events. � Are normal and operate on an unconscious level. � Fixation at different stages can result in different patterns of usage and emphasis

Common Defense Mechanisms �Repression �Projection �Reaction Formation �Displacement �Regression �Rationalization �Denial �Identification

Therapeutic Relationship � Working alliance ◦ Rational non-neurotic part �Neutrality is key ◦ Therapist is the expert ◦ Nonjudgmental stance ◦ Little self-disclosure � Transference ◦ Most important aspect � Countertransference

Psychoanalytic Therapy CLIENTS EXPERIENCE � Meet several times a week for years � Agree to be active, talk � Commit to interventions � Terminate when problem is resolved � Gain insight into self and environment

Process and Techniques � Change Processes ◦ Consciousness raising �Insight ◦ Catharsis – corrective emotional experience � Techniques ◦ ◦ ◦ Free association Dream Analysis of Transference Analysis of Resistance Interpretation Working through

Goals � Help clients become more aware of the unconscious aspects of their personalities. ◦ Make the unconscious � Work through unresolved developmental stages. � Cope with the demands of society. � Engage more maturely in love and work ◦ Increase expression of genital personality

Strengths and Contributions � Emphasizes importance of sexuality and unconscious. � Reflects complexity of human nature. � Has developed over years, not stagnated. � Stresses importance of developmental growth stages. Comprehensive personality theory. � Transference/Counter transference � Defense mechanisms � Learning from personal past

Limitations and Criticisms �Time consuming and expensive. �Difficulty with older clients. �Claimed almost exclusively by psychiatry. �Overly complicated terminology. �Deterministic. � Requires much therapist training � Therapist in control/charge of session � Not much focus on behavior/cognition

Psychoanalytic Therapy MODERN PSYCHOANALYTICALLY ORIENTED THERAPISTS � No couch � Fewer sessions � More self-disclosure by therapist � More work with ‘real’ issues than projected material and dreams