Analyzing Adler's Psychodynamic Approach

The history of Psychodynamic psychology originated with Sigmund Freud in the late 19th century. Freud proposed a psychodynamic theory to which personality consists of the id. The Id is present at birth and it resides in the world of unconsciousness. Freud also said that the unconscious is also a place where human instinctual biological drives reside. The drives direct our behaviour towards choices that promise to satisfy our basic human needs. The drives ensure our survival like drinking water and eating food, the desire for reproduction and the necessity for aggression.

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

4. Sigmund Freud developed the psychodynamic approach that included the theories of personality Jung, Adler, and Erickson.

Adlerian psychotherapists often ask their clients about early recollections. What are the assumptions of this technique and how does it facilitate the therapeutic process?

The psychodynamic perspective was originally theorised by Sigmund Freud. Psychodynamic theory suggests that much of human motivation, action, and thought, are governed by unconscious mental processes. These processes can conflict with one another causing compromises between the contending motives. Freud argued that these mental processes and motivations are determined by two biological drives: aggression and sex. These drives, Freud suggests, are internal states of tension that augment in pressure until satisfied (Burton et al., 2009).

The psychodynamic approach founded by Sigmund Freud was a lot of our behavior, is determined by unconscious thoughts, memories. Freud developed the first complete theory of mind and is the founder of a series of techniques called psychoanalysis. This aims to explore the unconscious mind by using techniques, such as free association, dream interpretation etc. and then and be used treat abnormal behavior. Psychodynamic psychology ignores the aspects of science and instead focuses on trying to get inside the head of individuals to make logic of their relationships, experiences and how they see the world. (McLeod, 2007). Freud’s theories

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.

Freud created the Psychodynamic Approach to explain behaviour. Within it, he describes that there are 3 components of the human mind: The conscious, Pre-conscious and Unconscious. The conscious is the part of the mind which is in our awareness; it contains behaviours and desires which we are aware of. The pre-conscious is the part of the mind between the conscious and unconscious, it contains items such as memories and desires which we are not currently thinking about but can easily bring to conscious awareness. Lastly is the unconscious. This part of the mind is

Alfred Adler was the founder of Adlerian Counseling. He was born in 1870 in the country of Austria. who gave his theory the name Individual Psychology, because he wanted people to see that his theory and methods were designed to help clients help themselves. He believed that everyone had and internal need to be a part of society, and a desire to contribute to that society. That everyone strives for perfection, and everyone initially feels inferior to everyone else. He believed that when that feeling is not overcome, inferiority complexes develop, and if a person tries to overcompensate for inferiority, the develop superiority complex.

The Psychodynamic perspective is based upon the experiences that shape who a person becomes and their thinking process. It is based on those experiences that one has throughout their lifetime and tends to focus on those during ones childhood. In essence, we become who we are as an adult based on what happens in our lifetime.

The three different levels of consciousness that discussed in his study were the conscious, preconscious, and the unconscious state. Conscious is a thought that is currently in the awareness. Preconscious is a thought that is also from part of the memory process, which is currently not at awareness. Unconscious is a thought that cannot be voluntarily brought into the awareness. Freud explained that during the id stage, it is completely unconscious, thus only to be present at birth where it acts accordingly by the pleasure principle. A pleasure principle means of seeking an immediate pleasure, despite of understanding the formal reason, logic, safety, and morality to avoid the pain, and also in satisfying of a person needs. Hock (2009) pointed out that id stage consists of “basic human biological urges and instincts such as hunger, thirst, and sexual impulses” (p. 236).

Understand, interpret, direct. This statement is an oversimplification of sorts, but defines the essence of Adlerian psychotherapy. From this minimal overview of Adlerian theory, we can begin to elaborate and explore the intricacies of individual psychology. Adlerians are concerned with understanding the unique and private beliefs and strategies of the individual (private logic and mistaken notions) that we create in childhood, and which serve as a reference for attitudes, private views of self, others and the world, and behavior (lifestyle). Therapeutic work with clients involves short-term and intensive work to increase social interest, to encourage a greater sense of responsibility for behavior, and to support behavioral change.

The second perspective is the psychodynamic perspective. The psychodynamic perspective emphasizes how the role of early childhood experiences, the unconscious mind and interpersonal relationships play a part in abnormal behavior. This perspective evolved from Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytical theory which generally contended that psychological disorders are the outcome of anxiety which is produced by unresolved, unconscious conflicts.

The psychodynamic theory focuses on the unconscious mind. Freud’s credence is that different mental forces operate in the mind. The unconscious mind can be described as being like an iceberg.

In this case, the Adlerian therapy will be utilized to assist Lillian, a 39 years old Caucasian female. She is a Christian women, who belongs to the middle socioeconomic class. She resides with her husband, Lou, who is 42 and her twin children, Lucas and Anna, who are 17 years old. Her son, Lucas is mentally and developmentally disabled. Lillian reports a general dissatisfaction with her life and feelings of procrastination, laziness and anxiety about turning 40. She is concerned about her appearance and her weight, even though she is less than 10 pounds overweight. Lillian went through some adversities in her early adulthood. She married her husband after high school and was unexpectedly a few months pregnant. However, they were thrilled and content with this unexpected news. Unfortunately, Lillian had a miscarriage due to a car accident, which was very devastating for her. With her family’s emphasis on continuing her education, she enrolled into a community college but she soon dropped out after continuously struggling with grief and apathy. Eventually, Lillian and Lou were very excited again to be expecting twins. Lillian reports being “full of life” and preparing for the babies. However, after birth they discovered that their son was disabled. Therefore, she was mostly occupied with Lucas and household chores.