Sigmund Freud's Psychodynamic Approach

The psychodynamic approach was proposed by Freud. This approach towards personality is based on the notion of underlying forces such as the id, ego and superego which are either present from birth or develop during childhood shape our behaviour and personality as such. Experiences in childhood are proposed to be the basis of human personality, according to Freud and as such Psychodynamic theory proposes that some undesirable unbalances between the id and superego can create the arising of ego defence mechanisms which explain individual differences in behaviour. Freudian theory has been adapted by neo-Freudians, however while psychodynamic

The psychodynamic approach by Freud and Erickson focuses on the impact the un-conscious mind has on behaviour, bad childhood experiences and dealing with emotion. When someone does not want to accept that something bad has happened in their life they may dismiss this to their un-conscious mind or distorting the truth by telling them that it is not true, this is linked to the clinical ice berg.

To begin, the psychodynamic theory is based on Freud’s psychoanalytic theory and primarily focuses on the role of the unconscious mind in the development of personality. The psychodynamic theory includes the idea that people have defense mechanisms. Psychological defense mechanisms are ways of dealing with anxiety through unconsciously distorting one’s perception of reality, such as denial and repression. In addition, sexual impulses play a large role in the psychodynamic theory. According to Freud, part of personality is outside of awareness, unconscious. The unconscious has difficulty retrieving material and is well below the surface of awareness. Also, the past is important in the psychodynamic theory. There are some advantages and disadvantages to this theory. For instance, the advantages are: psychodynamic theory recognizes the importance of childhood; other theorists after Freud have revised the approach to be less controversial, and this theory has been

“It is a type of psychotherapy, also known as insight-oriented therapy, that draws on psychoanalytic theory to help people understand the roots of emotional distress, often by exploring unconscious motives, needs, and defences.The goals of psychodynamic therapy are a client’s self-awareness and understanding of the influence of the past on present behavior.”(Haggerty, J. (2013). Psychodynamic Therapy. Psych Central. Retrieved on August 3, 2015),

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

Although, psychodynamic therapy seems legitimate when it states in depth that a person’s actions are based off his or her subconscious mind, a person’s free will or attitude towards change is always a factor. The psychodynamic therapy focuses on the patient’s past childhood experiences to discover the cause; yet, ultimately, the therapy will not discover the solution. Next, according to Scott M. Bea, PsyD, a Clinical associate, the biggest disadvantage of psychodynamic therapy is it “may be misapplied to patients whose symptoms are not based in unconscious conflict. It relies on hypothetical constructs that have not been evaluated empirically in systematic and controlled studies” (121). In addition, is it likely to even be able to scientifically and logically study conceptions such as the unconscious mind? As has been noted, Freud's theories are subjective and arbitrary; therefore, a clear disadvantage to psychodynamic therapy is the unscientific data and it’s impossible to test in the approach to human behavior through the unconscious mind. Clearly, in the midst of research, Freud grabbed hold of a genius idea which, in turn, created other therapies, but, unfortunately, lacked the diverse evidence for full proof.

The psychodynamic approach in social work is still relevant and is important for its humanizing qualities, for understanding and working with people with severe problems and for, perhaps, helping us to locate the position of social work as it relates to the mental health professions. According to Deal (2007), “Current trends in psychodynamic theory include a vibrant interest in theory development, including cultural considerations, an emphasis on a relational paradigm, and increasing support for research, all of which have implications for social work"(pg 192). Social workers employ the theory of psychodynamic when dealing with a client who has suffered past trauma or abuse and are better able to facilitate healing by placing attention on a client’s ego defense mechanisms to protect individuals from becoming overwhelmed by impulses and threats. Social work practice primary focus in psychodynamic theory are utilized to analyze emotions that play a key role in human behavior and concerned with how these internal needs, drives, and emotions motivate human behavior. It assumes that both conscious and unconscious mental activity motivate human behavior, and that internalized experiences. Social work theories are general explanations that are supported by evidence obtained through the scientific method. A psychodynamic theory may explain human behavior, by describing how humans interact or how humans react to certain stimuli. Social work practice models describe how social workers can implement psychodynamic theories. While a psychodynamic theory explains the conscious and unconscious thoughts of human beings behaviors, a social worker can use the theory to create change. Psychodynamic theory can be relevancy to social workers to assist in identifying concepts, such as the role of drives in human motivation, stages of psychosexual development, and ego defense mechanisms

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

The contemporary psychodynamic theory focuses on the unconscious drives and forces within human functioning. The original psychodynamic theory was considered to be psychoanalysis which was created by Freud. However, now psychodynamic theory embodies ideas not only from Freud, but from many of his followers as well. Some of the assumptions that are made by the psychodynamic approach include that all behavior has a cause whether it is conscious or unconscious; adult behavior is rooted in childhood experiences; and that people are strongly shaped by unconscious motives. These assumptions are addressed in a therapeutic setting by utilizing dream analysis, free association, projective tests, and even hypnosis. The primary focus in the therapeutic process is helping the client to become more aware of the self as well as helping them to understand how their past experiences have influenced their existing behavior. The psychodynamic theory assumes that the personality is made up of three

The psychodynamic theory has its own perspective, thus ranging us with numerous experimental findings and studies. According to Freud, the psychodynamic theory has developed from the psychosexual stages of an individual; in terms of normal development, at which, is a start at birth and throughout his adulthood. There are multiple factors structuring of human personality; and therefore, Freud had introduced us his theory in achieving it from the state of the unawareness. Ermann also focused on the same idea, indeed he presented his psychoanalytical research in an article titled, "You touched my heart": Modes of memory and psychoanalytic technique. His concentration was upon the procedural state of the mind as well as referring back to the

Psychoanalysis is a therapy and also a theory which was produced by Sigmund Freud. This therapy stress that human behavior and emotion are unconsciously cause by their past experience and drive in the unconscious part and the client doesn’t know them. The therapist always uses this therapy to help the client understand more emotion and

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

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.

Psychoanalysis is a form of therapy founded by the Austrian psychologist, Sigmund Freud. He believed that a person’s actions are motivated by 2 impulses – sex and aggression and that it could be made consciously or unconsciously. His theory also focuses on the time of which a person is born, to the age of 6 as he believed that later personality issues are often stemmed from repressed events that happened in early childhood. (Corey, 2013)

It is difficult to summarize psychodynamic theory without a brief discussion of Freud. Sigmund Freud is the father of psychoanalysis, the father of psychodynamic theory, and in effect the father of modern psychotherapy. Freud's notions retain quite a bit of popularity, especially his ideas that things are not what they seem on the surface. Because of his understanding of the mind and behavior, Freud considered that overt behaviors were not always self-explanatory (or perhaps "not often explanatory" would be the better term). Instead, these overt or manifest behaviors represent some hidden motive. Sigmund Freud was trained as a neurologist and specialized in the treatment of nervous disorders. His early training involved using hypnosis with the French neurologist Jean Charcot in the treatment of hysteria, the presentation of baffling physical symptoms (mostly in young women) that appeared to have no physical origin (Hall, Lindzey, & Campbell, 1998). Freud also partnered with the Viennese physician Josef Breuer who practiced a revolutionary "talking cure" to reduce patients' symptoms by talking with them about how they felt as well as using hypnosis to remove emotional barriers to their feelings. He eventually abandoned the use of hypnosis in favor of a process he termed "free association" in which he had patients talk about what was on their minds without censoring their train of thought. This led Freud to develop his theory of the human mind as a complex system that is