Psychoanalysis is a theory of development proposed by Sigmund Freud. The core tenets of the psycho-analytic theory are-
• The divisions of the mind- Conscious, Pre-conscious, Unconscious mind
• The divisions of personality- Id, ego, super-ego
• The psychosexual stages of development- Oral stage, anal stage, phallic stage, latency stage, genital stage.
Some core strengths of the Psychoanalytic Theory-
• Emphasizes the role of the unconscious mind and early childhood experiences in the development of personality.
• Emphasizes the dynamic nature of behavior
• Emphasizes defense mechanisms
• Resulted in a serious interest in psychological treatment of mental disorders.
• Leichsenring, F., Klein, S. (2014)- Psychodynamic therapy is efficacious
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The first group is critical of Freud because of his method of data collection or his lack of data. A second group of critics dislikes techniques that psychoanalysts use to assist their patients. Free association, according to Grünbaum (1986), is "not a valid method of accessing the patients' repressed actual memories because there is no way of ensuring that the analyst is capable of distinguishing between the patients' actual memories and imagined memories constructed due to the influence of the analyst's leading questions". Finally, Beystehner refers to critics who condemn psychoanalysis as not being scientific. Because it is impossible to test, lacks predictions, and has no "interpretive rules," it contradicts many of the fundamental tenets of science.
Loftus (1993a, 1993b, 1995) stated in many studies that memories are often reconstructed and that the therapist aids in the construction process through such avenues as dream interpretation and hypnosis. The question of whether dreams are a reliable source of information has been refuted by most in the field; yet, patients continue to reconstruct memories with the aid of therapists. The modern scientific phenomenon has its roots in Freud's original psychoanalytic
Psychoanalysis is a therapy of psychological theory that aims to treat mental illnesses based on the concepts of Sigmund Freud, who emphasized the importance of free association and dream analysis. The model of psychoanalysis aim is to release repressed emotion and experiences, by making unconscious thoughts, conscious. The fundamental principles of psychoanalysis are practiced by putting an emphasis on the patient to gain insight into the origins of their respective problems like a patient presenting symptoms of anxiety would be encouraged by a licensed professional to explore their past, in hopes of discovering problems that manifested the anxiety. The anxiety created may be a defense mechanism directed towards displacement in their world.
Psychodynamic Approach was first established by Freud in the 1880’s (Reeves 2013). It can be defined as a therapy that distinguishes individuals based upon the collaboration of initiatives and influences within the person, predominantly unconscious, and amongst the diverse forms of their personality (Hough 1994). Hence the counsellor’s aim is to support the client in bringing their unconscious mind into consciousness.
In Sigmund Freud’s “Five Lectures on Psychoanalysis,” he introduces theories regarding repressed memories as a source for mental disturbances and methods of retrieving these memories. Freud introduces techniques such as dream interpretation, word association, and hypnosis as methods for treating symptoms of mental disturbances; it is for these discoveries that Sigmund Freud is considered the father of psychoanalysis. According to neuropsychologist Paul Broks, “Freud might also be considered one of the founders of neuropsychology” (Broks 1). In Paul Broks’ essay “The Ego Trip: Denial, Defense Mechanisms, Repression,” Broks states that he believe that because many of Freud’s theories have been disproven by modern technology and other
When a toddler is expelling the bowels, for example, while wearing diapers, this would be characterized as “anal expulsion”, but when the toddler starting the potting training process this is called the “anal retention”. Third, the phallic phase, whereas young boys encounter an Oedipus phase, much like the Oedipus complex, they fear the father and castration and has sexual fantasies about the mother. For a young girl she would enter the Electra phase, where she could acquire penis envy, which often can cause one to turn away from sexual life all together. After the phallic phase there is a pause of latency in the sexual development, though finally in the Genital phase sexual functions are organized and coordination of sexual urges involving pleasure is completed. “These investigations led him to conclude that childhood fears and experiences, often sexual in nature, accounted for neuroses-hysteria, anxiety, depression, often obsessions and so on” (Freud). Freud also claims that if there is an error that occurred in the sexual development it can result in homosexuality or sexual perversions in a person. Freud continues to explain that the child would get the appropriate gender-related behaviors enforced though indentifying with a same-sex parent, which would need to take place naturally.
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
Sigmund Freud's psychosexual theory and Erik Erikson's psychosocial theory are two important psychoanalytic theories on human development
Latency, the fourth stage of psychosexual development, begins around age six and ends around age eleven. The traumas that occur in the phallic stage cause the sexual urges to be suppressed and channeled into focusing on education and play. The fifth and final stage of psychosexual development is known as the genital phase that starts around age twelve and continues on. During the final stage puberty causes the sexual urges to return and adolescents must learn to how to conduct them in an acceptable manner. If a
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
What is psychoanalysis? Psychoanalysis is a form of treatment invented by Sigmund Freud that usually focuses on the early years of the patient’s life and his/her relationship with immediate family members. A wise man once said, “There are four questions that every good student of psychology will ask about a personality theory. The first question
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.
At the age of 40 in 1896, Sigmund Freud introduced the world to a new term- psychoanalysis (Gay 1). Psychoanalysis is a method of treating patients with different nervous problems by involving them in dialogues which provide the physician with insight into the individual’s psyche. These dialogues provided the basis for Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, which “attempts to explain personality, motivation, and psychological disorders by focusing on the influence of early childhood experiences, on unconscious motives and conflicts, and on the methods people use to cope with their sexual and aggressive urges” (Weiten 363). Part of this theory involves the structure of the mind. This is a concept that touches
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
Psychoanalysis was the first formal theory of personality influenced by Sigmund Freud. Freud divided personality into three levels: the conscious, the preconscious and the unconscious. He later revised this notion and
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.
The Psychoanalytic approach to human behaviour was founded by Sigmund Freud – neurologists who believed that the key