Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud Chapter 2 Background Founded by Sigmund Freud Contributions of Freud to the profession of counseling Laid the foundation for the profession of psychology and the practice of psychotherapy as we know it today. Applied the idea of unconscious mind to psychological functioning Explored “talk therapy” as a way to treat psychological dysfunction

The Case of Judy 47-year-old divorced Caucasian female Complains of symptoms of depression Relevant history Mother left home at age 10 History of physical and sexual abuse Married and divorced twice Attempted suicide three times Reasons for coming to therapy: Depression Mood Swings Crying Spells Panic Attacks Numerous physical complaints Current Relationships: lack commitment, unavailable, critical No contact with mother; minimal with siblings and father

Basic Philosophy Pessimistic view of human nature Dominant force is the innate sexual instinct Emphasis on unconscious drives

Human Motivation Primary motivation for humans: Unconscious motives Conflicts between genetically built-in drives Instincts of self-preservation Sex Destruction

Central Constructs Instinct Theory Types of Instincts Life Instinct Eros Death Instinct Thanatos Ways to express instincts Satisfying the need Turning the need into the opposite Turning back on the person Repression Sublimation Instincts are unconscious Instincts that are not expressed will create problems for the human

Central Constructs Topographic Model Conscious Thought Unconscious Thought Preconscious Thought Conscious Thought: What we THINK drives our behavior (the mountain that we see) Unconscious: ACTUAL motivations that drive our behavior (under the mountain) Preconscious: Material that moves easily from the Conscious to the Unconscious.

Central Constructs The Structural Model Id Ego Superego Id Where instinctual urges live No contact with reality Operates on the Pleasure Principle: to seek pleasure and avoid pain Ego Develops out of the Id Operates on the Reality Principle Superego Our Conscience Internalized version of parental or other authority figures

Central Constructs Repression Pushing “unacceptable” material to the unconscious…and keeping it there! Always involved in the formation of symptoms Can lead to a person becoming stuck or “fixated” at a particular psychosocial stage

Central Constructs Symptoms as Symbols Symptoms represent: Psychic conflict Unacceptable sexual impulses Symptoms serve as a defense against “unacceptable wishes”

Central Constructs Defense Mechanisms Identification Displacement Projection Reaction Formation Sublimation Regression Identifies: A person identifies with another to the extent that certain qualities of the other person are taken into the individual’s personality. Displacement: An unwelcome impulse is deflected onto another less dangerous target Projection: A person might project onto another person some quality that he or she cannot tolerate about him/herself. Reaction Formation: When an unacceptable urge (hate) is turned into the opposite (love). Sublimation: The funneling of an unacceptable impulse (aggression) into a socially acceptable activity (football). Regression: A person who is threatened retreats to an earlier stage of development where he or she is fixated in terms of development.

Theory of the Person Key Developmental Stages Erotogenic Zone Behavior due to Fixation Oral Birth – 1st year Mouth Nail biting, smoking, overeating Anal 1 – 4 years Anus Anal retentive Anal expulsive Phallic 4 – 6 years Genitals Repression Latent 8 years to puberty Over-investment in foreplay Humans are inherently sexual and progress through stages of sexual development beginning with birth and ending with mature sexual identity in puberty. Psychosexual stages are identified by the satisfaction of sexual drive via different erotogenic zones. Too much/too little satisfaction leads to the person becoming fixated at that stage because too much energy is invested by the libido. Phallic Stage: Boys & Girls turn their attention to the penis realizing that boys have one and girls do not Boys begin to masturbate, fantasizing about his primary love object (I.e., mother) Develops castration anxiety – fear that he will be caught masturbating by his father and lose his penis – at this point he represses desire for mother and identifies with his father Girls realize they do not have a penis and sets out on a quest to get one: Normal femininity arises when the girl seeks to attach to her father to gain the wished for penis – becomes hostile toward mother – limited in their Superego development and are prone to feeling inferior, jealous and envy for the rest of their lives.

Psychological Health and Dysfunction Healthy Personality Able to love and work Demonstrates minimal levels of repression Able to bring unconscious conflicts to the conscious and see them as sources of current behavior Individual demonstrates limited levels of repression, because they have resolved the Oedipal complex

Psychological Health and Dysfunction Dysfunctional Personality Unresolved unconscious conflicts Due to unsuccessful resolution of 1 or more psychosexual stages

Psychological Health and Dysfunction Realistic Anxiety An appropriate affective reaction to real danger Neurotic Anxiety Fear that libidinal drives will be expressed and danger could result Moral Anxiety Fear of punishment by the superego Anxiety is the basis of dysfunction

Psychological Health and Dysfunction Types of Dysfunction Hysteria (Conversion Disorder) Phobias Depression Psychoses Hysteria (Conversion Disorder) Individual shows physical symptoms that have no valid physical base. Phobias Sexual impulses are repressed, converted to anxiety, and then the anxiety is attached to an external object that represents the feared libido. Depression The gradual withdrawal of libido from the attachment to an object (Mourning) The Superego becomes increasingly critical toward the ego and individual becomes highly self critical (Melancholia) Psychoses Libido abandons object attachments and attaches to the ego.

Nature of Therapy Assessment Formal Assessment is used to gather information about the nature of the client’s defenses and unconscious conflicts Clients project their unconscious material onto an ambiguous stimuli

Nature of Therapy Role of the client Role of the counselor Reveals everything that comes to mind Role of the counselor Decides what is “real” vs. “not real” Correctly interpret the client’s unconscious material

Nature of Therapy Goals of Therapy Psychoanalytic Constructs Help client uncover and resolve unconscious conflicts Strengthen the ego Psychoanalytic Constructs Insight Resistance Transference Countertransference Insight: Gain understanding of the sources of behavior and symptoms as stemming from unresolved unconscious conflicts. Resistance: Actions of the Ego and Superego to keep unconscious material from surfacing Transference: The re creation of a pivotal former relationship with the analyst Countertransference: Conflicts from the counselor’s past are projected into the analytic situation and the therapist loses objectivity.

Process of Therapy Opening Phase Development of Transference Working Through Resolution of Transference Opening Phase Determination of Appropriateness for Analysis Beginning of Free Association Development of Transference Client starts to transfer to the analyst feelings associated with significant others in the past Working Through Process of resolving transferential incidents Resolution of Transference Analyst and client determine that client has insight into her conflicts and the transferential process

Therapeutic Techniques Free Association Interpretation Analysis of the resistance Dream analysis Analysis of the transference Interpretation: assigning meaning to the client’s material based on information about conflicts in the client’s past Analysis of the resistance: providing feedback to the client regarding observed resistances Dream Analysis: assigning meaning to the latent content of a dream based on the manifest content, which is the content reported by the client Analysis of the transference: client unconsciously transfers onto the counselor qualities of parental figures and the counselor gradually interprets the client’s behavior and feelings.

Evaluation Qualities Precise/Testable Research Support Empirically valid Stimulating Research Support Outcome research Theory-testing research

Issues of Individual and Cultural Diversity Pros Modern offshoots appear to devalue women less Cons Focus of change is on the individual, not the environment Females are HIGHLY motivated by penis envy Clearly rooted in European values