History of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy  Sigmund Freud and his contributions  The structure and process of the unconscious  Key role of early childhood experiences in shaping personality  Creation of a distinctive methodology for psychological treatment of mental disorders  The recognition that the patient’s character is central to understanding psychic symptomatology

Variations of Psychoanalysis  Harry Stack Sullivan – Interpersonal Theory of Psychiatry  Heinz Kohut – Self Psychology  Habib Davanloo and David Malian – Short-Term Psychodynamics  Otto Kernberg – Transference-Focused Therapy  Anna Freud and Melanie Klein – Child Therapists

Key Aspects of Personality Development  Free association  Topographical contours  Unconscious, preconscious, conscious  Tripartite model of the human psyche  Id, ego, superego

Therapeutic Elements  Transference: tendency to utilize internal relational schematic representations to orient our interactions with others  Interpretations are made regarding the unconscious based on free associations  Countertransference: feelings aroused in the analyst as his or her unconscious takes in and responds to the patient’s transference

Theory of Psychotherapy  Main goal: to overcome developmental obstacles and personality patterns that interfere with a person’s ability to function at their highest level  Assessment of ego-functions  Process  Psychoanalysis: 4 to 5 weekly sessions over 3 to 5 years  Short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy: 4 to 80 weekly session

Most Popular Currently Practiced Psychoanalytic Variants  Structural-Drive Theory  Unconscious drives  Defense mechanisms  Relational Psychoanalysis  Object relations  Interpersonal theory  Attachment theory  Self-Psychological Theory  Multiperspective Approach

Strategies and Interventions  Restructuring methods  Focus attention on the interpersonal therapy process  Engage in activities that directly disrupt what has been procedurally learned