Advantages And Disadvantages Of Psychodynamic Theory

Everybody is unique or special in one form or another and each personality has a theory. For many years psychologists have based theories upon individuals and I the writer will compare and contrast three well known psychologists Sigmund Freud, Alfred Alder, and Carl Jung. Sigmund Freud was one of the greatest psychologists in time he Alder and Jung’s theories were very similar but then again very different. Within these theories we will discuss characteristics with which I agree and disagree with, explore the stages of Freud’s theory explaining characteristics of personality using stage components

Psychoanalysis created by Sigmund Freud is much like Individual therapy in the sense that it will explore the past and how any past circumstances are effecting the now adult. This therapy will last as long as the client needs the support of the counselor and relies on the client’s full participation. In this form of therapy the counselor will participate in guiding the client thru the unconscious mind to and find how it may be contributing to thoughts and behaviors that are causing the client distress. Like analytical therapy psychoanalysis will cover a variety of issues including psychosexual, compulsive, and depressive disorders. According to Haggerty, J. (2006) “The essence of Freud’s theory is that sexual and aggressive energies originating in the id (or unconscious) are modulated by the ego, which is a set of functions that moderates between the id and external reality. Defense mechanisms are constructions of the ego that operate to minimize pain and to maintain psychic equilibrium. The superego, formed during latency (between age 5 and puberty), operates to control id drives

Their teacher replies ‘ Because each has something different to offer to our understanding of behaviour, making each approach unique.’

ID, ego and superego. He said you were born with ID which was in your

In the 1950’s the beginning stages of a revolution began in the field of psychology. Developments in Behavior therapy (BT) by J. Wolpe and others began challenging the non-scientific approach of psychoanalysis (Craske, 2012; Westbrook, Kennerley & Kirk, 2011). Freudian psychoanalysis had dominated psychological treatment since the nineteenth century until the 1950’s when scientific psychology began to question the practice of psychoanalysis because its effectiveness could not be validated by empirical evidence (Craske, 2012; Rachman, 2014; Westbrook et al., 2011)

Freud introduced us to unconscious motivations and how they determine our behavior. The study of the unconscious mind became a base and paved the way for other therapists. Also, the psychosexual stages were introduced which explain the biological and instinctual drive of children. The structure of personality is the foundation of our impulses, behaviors, and our interactions in our mental life. These include the id, ego, and superego. The superego prevents actions the id wants to accomplish; which is important because we all have irrational impulses and the superego saves us from those. It is important to look at the weaknesses of psychoanalysis and Freud’s ideas. The psychosexual stages stop at the age of six when development happens throughout someone’s lifetime. These psychosexual stages are his main focus and there is not much of a focus on how important social factors are on our mental health and development. Psychoanalytical therapists can sometimes be seen as subjective. The therapist analyzes the dreams and that is subjective. There is no empirical research to support his psychodynamic model, although the theory does explain reasons for irregularities in development. A common criticism is he blamed for inadequate parenting on mothers while the father was not in the equation. The time

He later changed he theory to suggest that intra-psychic conflict and the external trauma causes lots of illnesses. Many aspects of this theory have been applied to the understanding of PTSD. Most people when faced with trauma get over it in a few weeks or months. However, some, especially children, have difficulty coping with traumatic events and integrating these events into their psyche. These experiences will only be repressed and will reemerge to the consciousness when later reminded of the trauma. In Freud’s view not only does the repressed trauma come back later in life, but it will also bring back other unsolved conflicts from

The psychodynamic approach to psychology is the study of human behaviour from the point of view of motivation and drives. The original beliefs of this approach were created by Sigmund Freud in the 1800s. Although it is now generally seen negatively in the common view, sometimes comically, it has provided the inspiration for a few of the current leading approaches to psychology.

In psychology are different theoretical approach of understanding the human behaviour. The focus here is on the psychodynamic perspective of Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud, the founding father of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is a therapeutic method used in unlocking the mind by unlocking the subconscious, it is also often known as the talking cure. The aim of the therapy is to re-establish a harmonious relationship between the id, ego and super-ego.

Psychology is not just philosophical speculation and reasoning over the years it has evolved and it is now also recognised as a science, to understand what psychology is all about it is necessary to know it’s origins and the theorist who brought it out of obscurity, Sigmund Freud. He developed the Psychodynamic or Psychoanalytical perspective to enable better understanding of human behaviour these concepts will be discussed further later in this study. After Freud opened the gateway other perspectives and approaches have been developed, now with five main areas of psychology - Cognitive, Behaviourist, Biopsychology and Humanist approaches. For a comparison with the Psychodynamic theory, Behaviourist Theory will be discussed.

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is responsible for developing the Psychoanalytic Theoretical Perspective; Freud argued that our early life experiences are essentially the base to our subconscious mind and in turn heavily influence our current behavior. Freud believed that people could be treated and healed by articulating their dreams and childhood memories allowing an individual to gain insight into these unconscious thoughts and ultimately motivate them to resolve the repressed conflicts within. This technique was developed into a therapy used today known as Psychoanalysis, similar to hypnosis, it was founded in 1896 (“Freud's Psychoanalytic Theories.”). Just like any other psychological theory, there are many interesting concepts to Freud's Psychoanalytic Theoretical Perspective. The theory says that your personality is determined by the manner in which your behaviors have been depicted to the unconscious mind, this theory tells us that our behavior is completely

Psychoanalysis was the name given by Sigmund Freud to a system of interpretation and therapeutic treatment of psychological disorders. (McLeod, 2007) In particular, we present five key concepts on psychoanalytic therapy: structure of personality, psychosexual stages, defense mechanism, anxiety, and the unconscious mind.

Person-centered theory and psychoanalysis have a strong influence on today’s practices in the psychology field. They are both still used in counseling and therapy. Freud’s and Rogers’

Some advantages of psychoanalytic theory are that it uncovers the roots of the problem, helps clients to relieve past experiences to work through the repressed conflicts and it explains how the personality is constructed. On the flip side, psychoanalytic therapy often needs to occur for extended periods of time and it is expensive to hire a therapist in the long run. Therefore people might want to opt for lesser sessions and therapists may focus on limited objectives instead of personality reconstruction. In psychoanalytic therapy, the therapist often takes and anonymous role, which could make the patient feel uncomfortable and not open up. In a research done by the Young Adult Psychotherapy Project (YAPP), it showed that therapists should strive to form a ‘secure attachment relationship’ with the client so that they can open up to painful memories and thoughts in the process (Lilliengren, 2014). Therefore therapists should strive for a warmer approach. Moreover, there is also a debate on the reliability and safety of the process of memory

Both Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler were pioneers and both had a phenomenal impact on the world of psychology. However, while they were raised in the same era, came from the same city and were educated at the same university, they had decidedly different views regarding personality theories (Schultz, 1990, p. 120). Freud and Adler were both colleagues in the psychoanalytic movement that Freud started. However, because of personality differences and vastly contrasting views about personality theories (Mosak & Maniacci, 1999, p.6) Adler left to begin his own faction, which he called Individual Psychology. It is my intention to briefly describe the main areas of their theories, compare and contrast their ideas of personality development, explore what types of experiences contributes to unhealthy development and what types of interventions they would have each prescribed to patients experiencing difficulties in their lives. However, while both Freud and Adler continue to influence many areas of contemporary personality psychology, only one of them can truly be called a humanitarian.