Psychodynamic explanation of schizophrenia

Freudian theory: Tripartite personality structure Psychodynamic psychologists see behaviour as the result of a compromise between three parts of the psyche (personality)

Psychodynamic Theory In 1924 Freud suggested that schizophrenia is a disorder that emerged due to conflict between different parts of the personality. If the upbringing of an individual has been extremely harsh or traumatic, an individual may regress to this early stage in their development before the ego was properly formed and before they had developed a realistic awareness of the external world.

Psychodynamic Theory Schizophrenia was thus seen by Freud as an infantile state As a result of regression the individual has delusions of self-importance, very like the demanding and unsocialised behaviour of a baby/toddler Fantasies become confused with reality, as the ego tries to gain control Hallucinations and delusions then emerge as the ego struggles to regain a sense of reality

Schizophrenogenic mother Fromm-Reichman (1948) identified the ‘schizophrenogenic mother’ as a contributory factor in the development of schizophrenia This is someone who is cold, dominant and creates conflict. These mothers are rejecting, overprotective, self-sacrificing, moralistic about sex and fearful of intimacy

Evaluative Comments Freud spent very little time researching and theorising the concept of schizophrenia. His ideas of the origins of the illness are based on his previous philosophy of psychological human development. Therefore, a lot of the criticism made for his previous works could be applied here because essentially, Freud could be wrong about the complete concept of the id, ego and super ego structure (i.e. lack of scientific support).

Evaluative Comments It would be incorrect to compare all symptoms of schizophrenia as being similar to infantile behaviour – this only accounts for one aspect of the disorder Studies have shown that parents of schizophrenic patients do behave differently However this may the result of their children's disorder rather than the cause