Psychoanalytic Theories

⁃ Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is the Father of Psychoanalysis. He developed

psycho-analytic theory in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Vienna, where
he spent most of his life.
⁃ Several other noted psychoanalysts and theorists have contributed to
this body of knowledge, but Freud is the undisputed founder.
⁃ Many clinicians and theorists disagreed with Freud's theory and
developed their own theories and styles of treatment.
⁃ Freud believed that repressed (driven from conscious awareness) sexual
impulses and desires motivate much human behavior.
⁃ Freud developed his ideas and explanations of human behavior from his
experiences with clients all of them women who displayed unusual behaviors, such as
disturbances of sight and speech, inability to eat, and paralysis of limbs. These
symptoms had no diagnosed physiologic basis, so Freud considered them to be
"hysterical" or neurotic behaviors of women.

Personality Components: Id, Ego, and Superego.

Freud conceptualized personality structure as having three components: the id,

ego, and superego

1. The id is the part of one's nature that reflects basic desires such as
pleasure-seeking behavior, aggression, and sexual impulses.
2. The superego is the part of a person's nature that reflects moral and
ethical concepts, values, and expectations, in opposition to the id.
3. The ego is the mediating force between the id and superego, and
represents mature and adaptive behavior allowing people to function successfully in
the world

Behavior Motivated by Subconscious Thoughts and Feelings.

Freud believed that the human personality functions at three levels of awareness:
conscious, preconscious, and unconscious

1. Consciousness is the awareness of feelings, thoughts, and emotions that

exist in a person's awareness.
2. Preconscious thoughts and emotions can be recalled with effort, such as
an adult remembering what they did as a child.
3. The unconscious is the realm of thoughts and feelings that motivates a
person, including defense mechanisms and instinctual drives. Freud's theories
suggest that people repress traumatic events that are too painful to remember into
the unconscious.

⁃ A Freudian slip is a term we commonly use to describe slips of the

tongue.
⁃ Freud believed that these slips are not accidents or coincidences, but
rather are indications of subconscious feelings or thoughts that accidentally
emerge in casual day-to-day conversation.

Freud's Dream Analysis.

⁃ Freud believed that a person's dreams reflect his or her subconscious

and have significant meaning, though sometimes the meaning is hidden or symbolic.
⁃ Dream analysis is a primary technique used in psychoanalysis to analyze
a client's dreams to discover their true meaning and significance. Freud's
interpretation of a client's fear of snakes is that it is related to their fear of
intimacy with men.
 ⁃ Free association is a technique used by therapists to gain access to
subconscious thoughts and feelings. It involves saying a word and asking the client
to respond quickly with the first thing that comes to mind, which Freud believed
would uncover subconscious or repressed thoughts or feelings.

Ego Defense Mechanisms.

⁃ Freud believed that the self uses ego defense mechanisms to protect and
cope with emotions.
⁃ Most defense mechanisms operate at the unconscious level of awareness,
so people are not aware of what they are doing and often need help to see the
reality.

Five Stages of Psychosexual Development.

⁃ Freud based his theory of childhood development on the belief that

sexual energy, termed libido, was the driving force of human behavior.
⁃ He proposed that children progress through five stages of psychosexual
development: oral (birth to 18 months), anal (18-36 months), phallic/oedipal (3-5
years), latency (5-11 years or 13 years), and genital (11-13 years).
⁃ Psychopathology is when a person has difficulty transitioning from one
stage to the next or regresses to an earlier stage.

Transference and Countertransference.

⁃ Transference occurs when the client displaces the therapist's attitudes

and feelings from previous relationships.
⁃ Transference patterns are automatic and unconscious in the therapeutic
relationship.
⁃ Countertransference occurs when the therapist displaces onto the client
attitudes or feelings from his or her past.

Current Psychoanalytic Practice

⁃ Psychoanalysis focuses on understanding the causes of anxiety and

helping the client gain insight into and resolve them. It uses techniques such as
free association, dream analysis, and interpretation of behavior.
⁃ Psychoanalysis is still practiced, but it is expensive and not covered
by conventional health insurance programs, making it a "therapy for the wealthy".