preview

Erikson

Decent Essays

Brief Summary of Article:
Eagle (1997) argues that Erik Erikson’s main contributions include having stages beyond the oedipal stage and the incorporation of culture into development. Erikson extended his stages beyond childhood, which implies that developmental changes occur throughout the lifespan (Eagle, 1997). From this idea, Eagle (1997) discusses the meaning and implications of the generativity versus stagnation stage of development. Eagle (1997) concludes that stagnation is a form of adaptation when there is an absence of generativity. In regards to culture, Erikson argues that ego identity is both individually-based as well as society-based (Eagle, 1997). This concept leads to a greater cultural inclusivity than what had been focused …show more content…

This includes the idea that a person can change and develop beyond childhood. If it weren’t for the idea that adults could change and develop later in life, counseling would be ineffective beyond childhood. The inclusion of societal and cultural influences allows psychoanalytic theory to include cultures outside of Western cultures. This also provides a means for understanding why development can be significantly different between various cultures.

Student Reflection (changes to your understanding; implications for your practice): From reading this article, I gained a greater appreciation for psychoanalytic theory. Initially I thought it wouldn’t be able to apply to a broad range of clients given that it was primarily formulated for White middle class men. The incorporation of Erikson’s ideology surrounding the role that culture plays as well as the importance of later stages of development led me to see how I could incorporate psychoanalytic stages of development into my client conceptualization. I also greatly appreciated that Erikson was able to have stages beyond childhood given that I understand change to occur throughout a person’s entire

Get Access