COUNSELING THEORIES

PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY
(SIGMUND FREUD 1856-1939)
INTRODUCTION:
• Many of the Freud’ concept are still part of
the foundation on which other
theorists build and develop.
Activity
How were feelings treated when you were a child?
Learning Point
We will all be influenced by our experiences in
childhood even if we may not express our
emotions or feeling in similar ways now
Activity
Lifeline: In Pairs
• Mark on your papers all the events you can
remember that happened to you between age 0-
12 years.
KEY CONCEPTS
Our behavior is determined by:
• Irrational forces.
• Unconscious motivations.
• Biological drives.
• Instinctual drives
STRUCTURE OF PERSONALITY
• The personality consist of three sub-
systems:
• ID
• EGO
• SUPEREGO
THE ID
• Biological component.
• At birth the person is all ID.
• Original system of personality.
• Original source of psychic energy
• Sit of instincts.
• Lacks organization
• Blind, demanding and insistent.
• Cannot tolerate tension
THE ID CONT’D
• Function to discharge tension immediately.
• Ruled by pleasure principle.
• Illogical.
• Wants to satisfy instinctual needs.
• Does not think but only wishes/acts.
• Largely unconscious/out of awareness.
THE EGO
• Psychological component
• Has contact with the external world of
reality.
• It is the “executive” that governs controls
and the personality.
• Mediates between the instincts and the
environment.
• Controls consciousness.
• Ruled by the reality principle.
THE EGO CONT’D
• Does realistic and logical thinking.
• Formulate plans of action.
• This is the sit of intelligence and
rationality.
• Checks and controls the blind impulses of
ID.
THE SUPER EGO
• Social component
• Judicial branch of personality.
• Includes a person’s moral code
• Concerned with whether action is good or
bad, right or wrong.
• Strives not for pleasure but for perfection.
• Represents traditional values and ideal of
society.
THE SUPER EGO CONT’D
• Persuades the ego to substitute morality
goals for realistic ones and to strive for
perfection.
EGO DEFENCE MECHANISMS
• REPRESSION
• DENIAL • SUBLIMATION
• REACTION • REGRESSION
FORMATION • INTROJECTION
• PROJECTION • IDENTIFICATION
• DISPLACEMENT • COMPENSATION
• RATIONALIZATIO
N
REPRESSION:

Threatening or painful thoughts are

excluded from the awareness.
It is involuntary removal of something
from consciousness
It is assumed that most of the painful
events of the first five years of life are so
excluded, yet these events do influence
later behaviors.
DENIAL
• Similar to repression.
• Operates at preconscious level.
• This is a way of distorting what an
individual thinks, feel or perceives in a
traumatic situations.
REACTION FORMATION
• This is the expression of the opposite
impulse by developing conscious attitude
and behaviors that are opposed to
disturbing desires. E.g. concealing hate
with a façade of love by being extremely
nice.
PROJECTION
• This is attributing to others one’s own
unacceptable desires and impulses
• Seen as being possessed by “those people out
there but not me”
• E.g. A man who is sexually attracted to his
daughter and argues that she is the one who
seduces me.
DISPLACEMENT
• This is discharging impulses by shifting from a
threatening object to a “safer target”
• Displacement consists of directing energy
towards another object or person when the
original object or person is inaccessible.
RATIONALIZATION
• Some people manufacture “good” reasons to
explain away a bruised ego.
• Rationalization involves explaining away failures
or losses.
• Thus, it helps justify specific behavior and it aids
in softening the blow connected with
disappointment
SUBLIMATION
• This involves diverting sexual or aggressive
energy into other channels ones that are usually
socially acceptable.
• E.g. aggressive impulses can be channeled into
athletic activities.
REGRESSION
• Some people revert to a form of behavior that
they have outgrown.
• While others cling to immature and
inappropriate behavior
• e.g. Some children who are frightened at school
may use crying, excessive dependence, thumb-
sucking e.t.c
INTROJECTION
• This consists of taking in and “swallowing” the
values and standards of others.
• E. g. an abused child who assumes the abusing
parent’s way of handling stresses and thus
continues the cycle of child beating.
IDENTIFICATION
• It enhances self worth and protects one from
sense of being a failure.
• Thus people who feel basically inferior may
identify themselves with successful people,
successful organizations e.t.c.
• In this way they feel they will be perceived as
worthwhile
COMPENSATION
• This consists of making perceived weaknesses or
developing certain positive traits to make up for
limitations.
• E.g. People who feel intellectually inferior may
direct some degree of energy to building up their
bodies.
• This can be an attempt by the person to say “
don’t see me in the ways that am inferior but see
me in my accomplishments”
THERAPEUTIC GOALS
• To make the unconscious conscious.
• To strengthen the ego so that behavior is
based more on realty and less on the
instinctual cravings
Therapy
• The aim of the therapy according to Freud was to
remove causes of anxiety and restore balance
between the subsystem.
HUMANISTIC THEORIES
HUMANISTIC THEORIES
• Humanistic Therapists focus on self-
development, growth and responsibilities.
• They seek to help individuals recognized their
strengths, creativity and choice in the 'here and
now'.
Activity
• The day I visited a friend or relative and felt
rejected.
INTRODUCTION

• There many theories under humanistic theories

but for the purpose of our learning we will look
at the person-centered theory by Carl Rogers.
PERSON-CENTRED THEORY
(CARL ROGERS 1902-1987)
There are three elements of human nature
• Three core condition:
Congruence
Empathy
Unconditional Positive Regard
GENUINENESS/CONGRUENCE
This is being
• Warm,
• Real (not playing a role) and
• Harmonious with the client.
EMPATHY
• This is the attempt to understand and feel the
client’s view point accurately; while being aware
that these are the client’s experiences.
• It is from a German word “to feel into” This is
the attempt to understand the client’s view point
accurately as though the counsellor were having
the experiences him/herself but at the same
time be aware that these are experiences of the
other person
UNCONDITIONAL POSITIVE
REGARD
• Being able to accept the clients as they are.
• Being non judgemental
• The counsellor is genuine and not playing a role .
He/She is consistent ,well adjusted in the
relationship with the client, open to his feelings
and those of the client , not defensive and is able
to express these feelings freely.
INCONGRUENCE
• All people experience incongruence between self
and personal experience.
People learn to deny feelings that makes them
feel anxious.
A person may alter self to cope with anxiety, the
greater the gap, the more disorder that is
elicited.
• People need unconditional positive regard
(complete acceptance)
THERAPY
The therapist;
• Helps people minimise incongruence by
expressing themselves and expressing true
experiences.
This promotes self actualization
• He does this through reflecting clients feelings
by being genuine,showing accurate empathy,
and unconditional positive regard.
CONT’D
• The theory emphasizes not on technique but the
qualities of the counsellor which are:
Unconditional positive regard
Empathy
Congruence(genuineness)
• The client relies on these to effect the change
process
CONT’D
• Therapeutic growth is a process –people never
arrive at final state of being self actualised.
KEY POINTS
• Human beings are basically good and if they
behave badly something has happened in their
lives to make them behave in this way.
• Human beings have the capacity to solve their
problems when given the necessary conducive
climate.
• Human beings are always striving to be the best
of what they can. They strive for self fulfillment
and self actualization
BASIC ASSUMPTION
• Human beings are basically good and will seek
therapy if in state of helplessness or
powerlessness to make decisions.
• The Counsellor creates a conducive environment
for client to be a fully functioning person using
the 3 core conditions
• The attitude of the counsellor helps the
client to explore areas of their lives that are
distorted or denied hence become open to
possibilities for change
CONT’D
• In the humanistic theory of counseling, the
client is the expert, not the counselor.
• The role of the counselor is to provide the
necessary conducive climate characterized by
core conditions to enable clients to solve their
own problems.
• It has three core conditions:
i) Genuineness
ii Unconditional positive regard
iii) Empathy.
KEY MESSAGE
• According to humanistic theory, the attitude of
the counselor, rather than their knowledge,
theories or techniques facilitates change in the
client
SUMMARY
• Human beings are basically good, and if they do not
behaved well it is because they have been hurt in their
past, which has led them to behave badly now
• Human beings have the capacity to solve their own
problems when given the necessary conducive climate
characterized by core conditions
• Human beings are always striving to be the best they
can. They strive for self-fulfilment and self-
actualization.
• In this theory, the client is the expert not the counsellor .
THANK YOU