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

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.

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.

The Freudian view of human nature is dynamic.◦ The transformation and exchange of energy

within the personality drives behavior. Freud focused his techniques on:

◦ Levels of Consciousness (topographic)◦ The formation of personality (structural)

Id, Ego, Superego◦ Psychosexual Development (genetic)

Defense Mechanisms

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

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

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.

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.

Freud hypothesized that the personality is formed from the interaction of three developing strucutres.◦ The Id – confined to the unconscious◦ The Ego – operates primarily in the conscious but

also in the preconscious and the unconscious.◦ The Superego – confined to the unconscious.

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 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.

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 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.

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

Rationally thinking through situations.

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 & societal moral teachings.

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.

Freud hypothesized that personality developed through a sequence or invariant stages. Most development occurs prior to age 6.◦ Oral stage ◦ Anal stage ◦ Phallic stage ◦ Latency stage ◦ Genital stage

Stages based on the location of id energy◦ Appropriate gratification is key to healthy development◦ Overindulgence or deprivation leads to fixation (id energy

gets stuck)

The first stage.◦ Oral incorporative◦ Oral aggressive

Children up to 18 months. Obtain basic gratification from sucking and

biting.

The second stage. Children between the ages of 18 months

ang 3 Delight in either withholding or eliminating

feces. First really significant conflict between the

child’s internal instincts and external demands.

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 Complex Freud thought that the basic ingredients of

the adult personality had formed by the end of this stage.

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

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

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.

The fourth and final stage. If all has gone well, around puberty each

gender takes more of an interest in the other and normal 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

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.

Fixation at different stages can result in different patterns of usage and emphasis

Repression Projection Reaction Formation Displacement Regression Rationalization Denial Identification

Therapeutic Relationship Working alliance

◦ Rational non-neurotic part Neutrality is key

◦ Therapist is the expert◦ Nonjudgmental stance◦ Little self-disclosure

Transference◦ Most important aspect

Countertransference

CLIENTS EXPERIENCE Meet several times a week for years Agree to be active, talk Commit to interventions Terminate when problem is resolved Gain insight into self and environment

Change Processes◦ Consciousness raising

Insight◦ Catharsis – corrective emotional experience

Techniques◦ Free association◦ Dream Analysis◦ Analysis of Transference◦ Analysis of Resistance◦ Interpretation◦ Working through

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

Work through unresolved developmental stages.

Cope with the demands of society. Engage more maturely in love and work

◦ Increase expression of genital personality

Emphasizes importance of sexuality and unconscious.

Reflects complexity of human nature. Has developed over years, not stagnated. Stresses importance of developmental growth

stages. Comprehensive personality theory. Transference/Counter transference Defense mechanisms Learning from personal past

Time consuming and expensive. Difficulty with older clients. Claimed almost exclusively by psychiatry. Overly complicated terminology. Deterministic. Requires much therapist training Therapist in control/charge of session Not much focus on behavior/cognition

MODERN PSYCHOANALYTICALLY ORIENTED THERAPISTS

No couch Fewer sessions More self-disclosure by therapist More work with ‘real’ issues than projected

material and dreams