preview

The Psychoanalytic Approach . And Some Of The Influential

Better Essays

The Psychoanalytic Approach
And Some of the Influential
People Behind It
Diane L. Williams
Clatsop Community College The Psychoanalytic Approach And Some of the Influential
People Behind It

There are different theoretical approaches to psychology; behaviorist, humanistic, psychoanalytic, and biological. I will be discussing the psychoanalytic approach to psychology and some of the pioneers of this theory.
What is the psychoanalytic approach? Psychoanalysis is a form of psychotherapy that aids an individual in determining the underlying cause of deep rooted psychological troubles when other approaches have not been successful in alleviating those troubles. This approach is better suited for those issues that have been plaguing an …show more content…

Freud based his theory of psychoanalysis on unconscious forces, sexual & aggressive instincts, and early childhood experiences as what shapes who we are as adults. Even though his approaches may not be favored completely today research has shown that the self-examination used in his psychoanalytic process can contribute to one’s long-term emotional growth (Cherry, K. 2016b). Health professionals were enlightened by psychoanalysis to the inner workings of the human mind, which were previously inexplicable (Beystehner, K.M., n.d.). Sigmund Freud’s research indicated that our behavior is influenced by id, ego and superego, or what he termed “structure of personality” (nthdimension, 2010). The id is present at birth and is the most basic and primitive part of our personality. Id’s drive is instinctual and can be described as having the life instinct named Eros and the death instinct named Thanatos. Id is responsible for the basic, instinctual needs of survival like hunger and thirst. Ego is developed to compromise between the instinctual desire driven Id and the external expectations of parents and society. Superego is developed when a child is about 5 years old and is the internalization of the expectations of parents and society that aides them to evaluate their behaviors for what’s acceptable or not acceptable.
Erik Erikson Erik Erikson was a psychoanalyst that expanded on Freud’s theories with the ideas that growth happens

Get Access