Chapter 2

Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Theories

Psychoanalysis

The first theory to gain public recognition and acceptance, especially in Europe and the Americas.

Sigmund Freud

The person whose genius created psychoanalysis.Born in Freiburg, Austria, in 1856.As a psychiatrist, he initially used hypnosis as his primary form of treatment. Was impressed during medical school by how patients who relive painful experiences can work through emotional events suppressed for years.

Sigmund Freud (cont.)

Began using a process called free association to help his patients remember long-forgotten important events and thoughts.

Utilized free association to explore the unconscious minds of his patients.

Began to stress the importance of the unconscious in understanding personality.

Thus was born psychoanalysis.

Freud, Critics, and Sexuality

Critics were outraged by his emphasis on the importance of sexuality and aggression in the etiology of personality.

View of Human Nature/Personality

The Freudian view of human nature is dynamic.He believed in the transformation and exchange of energy within the personality.Freud focused his techniques on: Levels of Consciousness The formation of personality (Id, Ego, Superego) Psychosexual Development Defense Mechanisms

Levels of Consciousness

For Freud, human nature can be explained in terms of:A Conscious MindA Preconscious MindAn Unconscious Mind

Conscious Mind

Attuned to events in the present and an awareness of the outside world.

Preconscious Mind

An area between the conscious mind and unconscious minds; it contains aspects of both.

Hidden memories or forgotten experiences can be remembered in this area if given the proper cues.

Unconscious Mind

Beneath the preconscious mind.

The most powerful and least understood part of the personality.

The instinctual, repressed, and powerful forces of the personality exist here.

Formation of Personality

Freud hypothesized that the personality is formed from the interaction of three developing parts.The Id – confined to the unconsciousThe Ego – operates primarily in the

conscious but also in the preconscious and the unconscious.

The Superego – confined to the unconscious.

The Id

The id is the source of all energy.

Comprises the basic inherited givens of the personality and is present from birth.

It is amoral, impulsive, and irrational.

Pleasure principle – it pursues what it wants because it cannot tolerate tension.

The Id

The id contains:Basic life energy and life-preserving

instincts collectively known as eros.The psychic energy that accompanies

them known as libido.Basic death instincts known as thanatos.

Primary Process

Operates through drives, instincts, and images (e.g. dreaming, hallucinating, and fantasizing) – a process known as primary process.

May bring temporary relief but ultimately unsatisfying.

The EgoThe second system to develop after the id and before the superego.A strong ego is essential to healthy functioning.Moderates the wishes and desires of the id and superego to keep the person from being too self-indulgent or too morally restrained.Reality principle – it devises ways to achieve appropriate goals, obtain energy for activities from the id, and keep the person in harmony with the environment.

Secondary Process

The ego’s way of thinking is known as the secondary process.

Rationally thinking through situations.

The Superego

It is the moral branch of the mind and operates according to what is ideal.

Contrasts with the id.

Functions according to the moral principle – strives for perfection and arises from parental moral teachings.

The Superego

Ego Ideal – rewards those who follow parental and societal dictates.

Conscience – part of the superego that punishes by inducing guilt when you act against what you have been taught.

By striving for perfection, the superego sometimes forces a person into restrained or no action when facing a dilemma.

Psychosexual Stages of Development

Oral stage – mouth is chief pleasure zone.

Anal stage – anus is chief pleasure zone.

Phallic stage – sex organs are chief pleasure zone.

Latency – a time with little manifest interest in sexuality.

Genital stage

Oral Stage

The first stage.

Children under the age of 1.

Obtain basic gratification from sucking and biting.

Anal Stage

The second stage.

Children between the ages of 1 and 2 delight in either withholding or eliminating feces.

First really significant conflict between the child’s internal instincts and external demands.

Phallic Stage

The third stage.Children between the ages of 3 and 5 attempt to resolve their sexual identities.Members of both sexes must work through their sexual desires.Oedipus Complex / Electra ComplexFreud thought that the basic ingredients of the adult personality had formed by the end of this stage.

Oedipus Complex / Electra Complex

Oedipus Complex – a boy must work through a desire to possess his mother sexually.

Electra Complex – a girl blames her mother for the fact that she has no penis.

Both sexes perceive the father as a great rival for the mother’s love and attention.

Latency

Children between the ages of 6 and 12.

Energy is focused on peer activities and personal mastery of cognitive and learning and physical skills.

Little manifest interest in sexuality.

Genital Stage

The fourth and final stage.If all has gone well, around puberty each gender takes more of an interest in the other and normal heterosexual patterns of interaction appear.If there were unresolved difficulties in the first three stages (pregenital stages), Freud believed two difficulties could arise: Excessive frustration Overindulgence

Heinz Kohut

Proposed object-relations theory.

A much less sexually based view of child development.

An object is anything that satisfies a need, whether a person or thing.

Erik Erikson

Proposed that development extends over the life span.

Psychosocial factors are much more important than psychosexual ones.

Focuses on the achievement of specific life-enhancing tasks.

Erikson’s Life Achievement Tasks

Stage Age Tasks Trust vs. Mistrust Birth to 1 Emphasis on satisfying basic physical and

emotional needs Autonomy vs Shame/Doubt 2 to 3 Emphasis on exploration and developing

self-reliance. Initiative vs Guilt 4 to 5 Emphasis on achieving a sense of

competence and initiative. Industry vs Inferiority 6 to 12 Emphasis on setting and attaining personal

goals. Identity vs Role Confusion 12 to 18 Emphasis on testing limits, achieving a

self- identity. Intimacy vs Isolation 18 to 35 Emphasis on achieving intimate

interpersonal relations. Generativity vs Stagnation 35 to 65 Emphasis on helping next generation,

being productive. Integrity vs Despair 65+ Emphasis on integration of life activities, Feeling worthwhile.

Defense Mechanisms

Protect a person from being overwhelmed by anxiety through adaptation to situations or through distortion or denial of events.

Are normal and operate on an unconscious level.

Common Defense Mechanisms

Repression

Projection

Reaction Formation

Displacement

Regression

Rationalization

Denial

Identification

Role of the Counselor/Therapist

Play the role of expert.Encourage client to choose topic to talk about, especially childhood experiences.Attempt to create comfortable atmosphere.Encourage development of transference.

Goals

Help clients become more aware of the unconscious aspects of their personalities.

Work through unresolved developmental stages.

Cope with the demands of society.

Process and Techniques

Free association

Dream Analysis

Analysis of Transference

Analysis of Resistance

Interpretation

Multicultural and Gender Sensitive Issues

Has transcended cultural barriers.

Concepts seem to have relevance for different parts of society.

Many women avoid psychoanalysis.

Strengths and ContributionsEmphasizes importance of sexuality and unconscious.HeuristicTheoretical base of support for diagnostic instruments.Reflects complexity of human nature.Has developed over years, not stagnated.Effective for a wide variety of disorders.Stresses importance of developmental growth stages.

Limitations and Criticisms

Time consuming and expensive.

Difficulty with older clients.

Claimed almost exclusively by psychiatry.

Overly complicated terminology.

Deterministic.

Not appropriate for most individuals who seek professional counseling.

The Case of Linda: Psychoanalysis and

Psychoanalytic Theories

How would you conceptualize this case using psychoanalytic therapies?

What would be your treatment plan for this client using a psychoanalytic approach?