Psychoanalytic Theory Paper

Based on my past experience and a review of this week’s reading, I believe the theories that best fit with my personal philosophies are the Person-centered therapy and Existential therapy. As Experiential and Relationship-Oriented Therapies, these theories share some key concepts that really fit with how I see my role in the therapeutic relationship and what I believe about personal power and change.

Existential psychotherapy is a dynamic, philosophical approach to therapy that is based on the premise that an individual’s conflict within is due to their concerns with the givens of existence (Yalom, 1980). These givens, or ultimate concerns as noted by Yalom (1980), are inescapable properties that are part of the human existence in the world: meaninglessness, freedom (and its associated responsibility), isolation, and the inevitability of death. Confrontation with these givens can result in existential anxiety (Corey, 2009).

What is Existential therapy? Existential therapy is a philosophical approach to therapy that focuses on the meaning of our existence and the basic premise that we are what we choose to be. It is an approach that focuses on inner conflict within a person based on the four givens (death, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness). The existential tradition seeks an overall balance between limited dimensions and one’s opportunities in life. The limitations are the four givens and the possibilities are your creation of your own life. The current focus of the existential approach is on the individual’s experience of being in the world alone and facing the anxiety of this isolation, as stated in our textbook (Corey, 2016).

According to Sá Pires, 2016, existential therapy is inclusive and therefore it can be adapted to the specific needs of each person. The question that the therapist should

The psychoanalytic theory by Sigmund Freud has always been argued to be one of the most controversial theories in the school of psychology. Critics have questioned how relevant the perspective of Freud is due to the fact that it holds no scientific basis. Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality argues that human behavior is the result of the interactions among three component parts of the mind: the id, ego, and superego. This theory, known as Freud's structural theory of personality, places great emphasis on the role of unconscious psychological

Existential therapy help client face anxiety and engage in action that will create a worthy existence which will lead the clients in taking responsibility for their actions. Existential therapy addresses human pain by helping clients to understanding the pain and to find ways to alleviate the pain. I believe Existential therapeutic goal are realistic and attainable, because there are three key areas in existential therapy: freedom, meaning, and anxiety that clients can work

Existential therapy through the eyes of Dr. Yalom is very fascinating. There is never a fixed life that each person is supposed to live. In his therapy the clients are allowed to find out for themselves what it is they need by receiving adequate questioning from Dr. Yalom. His questioning guides them down the existential path to freedom and responsibility.

A key concept of existential therapy is the relationship between freedom and responsibility. In contrast

Human beings are unique and individual in one way or another with different personality theories. Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and Alfred Alder psychoanalytic theories about the human mind were very similar and different at the same time. To this day, attempts to prove the theories of these men are still taking place. All three of these men agreed that human behavior, as an adult, was a direct result of the individual's childhood experiences that would paint a lasting impression on the world around them. Freud, Jung, and Adler believed parenting and childhood development was the significant impact for shaping the personality. Dreaming and daydreaming played a major role in shaping character as well.

The psychoanalytic perspective, is the outlook that behavior and personality are effected by the conflict between one’s inner dreams n and expectation of society. Most of this conflict occurs in unconscious, which is outside the knowledge of an individual. Renowned psychologist, Freud established the psychoanalytic theory as an explanation for perplexed phenomena such as the meaning behind dreams, slips of the tongue, and behavioral reflex reactions to stressful situations. The unconscious is a primary focus in psychoanalytic theory due to its typical development in childhood and the ways in which it influences nearly every detail of an individual’s life. The unconscious mind also holds unvented memories and unexpressed urges that make their process into the conscious mind through a variety of different means. However, topographical theory of the mind states that conscious, preconscious, and unconscious serve as motivating forces in human behavior. Corsin & Wedding (2011) define the conscious as mental activity which individuals are fully aware of, preconscious as thoughts and feelings that could be easily brought to mind and unconscious as thoughts, feelings, and desires of which one is unaware of.

During a lifetime, most individuals question the meaning of their existence at one point or another. Existential therapy aims to help individuals find purpose, have better defined goals, and live life to the fullest. Existential therapy takes into account cultural, social and political values of the client. It attempts to help the client live more deliberately, while accepting life’s unpredictable challenges and contradictions. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is complementary to existential therapy by providing techniques to help clients make changes once their awareness is increased through existential discovery. Existential therapy

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.

Existentialist ideas are brought into the therapeutic process as hermeneutics; the methods of interpretation of personal meanings which enable the therapist to better understand the client’s issues in living.R By working through a multiple of universal aspects of what it is to be human a client is helped to seek new ways of living.

Existential theory is only one of many different theories in psychology. This paper will work to help give the reader a better understanding of what Existential theory is, what the common factor accountability is and how the common factor accountability works within the existential theory to help a client and/or therapist gain a better understanding of the choices, thoughts, or behaviors that helped get a client into the position they are in and how holding themselves accountable to their actions, behaviors or thoughts can help them reach healthy attainable goals in their life. In this paper the reader will gain a better understanding about how existential theory looks at the whole person and how they reached the point where they needed to seek assistance in understanding themselves and how they can hold them self and how others can hold them accountable for their actions, thought, and behaviors.

I consider myself an existentialist. There are two basic approaches to this philosophy: either one rejoices in the freedom of the idea that a higher power is not imposing rules and purpose onto our existence, or, one sinks beneath the burden of responsibility that this bequeaths. Existentialists like Sartre, who can only see the bleak and meaningless aspects of living, have missed the opportunity that this philosophy gives to structure and guide their lives based on their own inner moral principles. I think that the inability to cope with inherent absence of meaning points to a dependence on the guidance of a higher power: in effect, a reluctance to take responsibility for oneself. I see existentialism as an incredibly liberating