Describe and evaluate the psychodynamic approach Psychodynamic psychologists assume that our behaviour is determined by unconscious forces of which we are unaware. Each manifest (surface) thought, utterance or behaviour hides a latent(hidden) motive or intention. The latent motives for our behaviour reflect our instinctive biological drives and our early experiences, particularly before the age of five. Most particularly, it is the way we are treated by our parents as children that shapes our adult behaviour. Sigmund Freud developed an approach on abnormality that highlighted how human personality and psychosexual development in childhood can cause abnormality.
In this essay Freud sets out his theory of psychosexual development. He asserts that there is in all humans an innate drive or instinct for pleasure, a sort of psychic energy, which he calls the libido and this energy needs to be discharged. He then goes on to describe how this drive finds outlet at the earliest stages of life, as babies, toddlers and infants and describes the oral, anal and phallic stages and the psychological effects of fixation at these stages. It is important to note that Freud separated sexual aims and objectives. His work on sexuality and perversions led to the wider theory of sexuality whereby he differentiated the sexual aim (the desire for pleasure) and the object (the person or thing used to fulfil the desire).
In this essay Freud sets out his theory of psychosexual development. He asserts that there is in all humans an innate drive or instinct for pleasure, a sort of psychic energy, which he calls the libido and this energy needs to be discharged. He then goes on to describe how this drive finds outlet at the earliest stages of life, as babies, toddlers and infants and describes the oral, anal and phallic stages and the psychological effects of fixation at these stages. It is important to note that Freud separated sexual aims and objectives. His work on sexuality and perversions led to the wider theory of sexuality whereby he differentiated the sexual aim (the desire for pleasure) and the object (the person or thing used to fulfil the desire).
Evaluate the extent to which Freud’s theory of psychosexual development can help us to understand a client’s presenting issue In this essay we will look at Freud’s theory of psychosexual development in some detail, including an evaluation of the theory’s origin, criticism and strengths. We will be looking at its application, both through history and in current practice, leading to a more thorough discussion centred around its relavance when trying to understand clients’ presenting issues. The main themes of Freud’s work were centred on the significance of the first few years of a child’s life, in the subsequent development of personality. Freud believed that children experience emotional conflicts, and their future adjustment depends on how well these conflicts are resolved. Another theme with Freud’s work concerned the unconscious mind, the part of our mind we are not aware of.
Carl Jung therapy for personality that gives an important role to the unconscious which he goes beyond of scientific fact his theory is based upon the mystic world. This is the opposite cognitive behavior theory is based upon the theory of organizing oneself. CBT development started to developed with the behavioral the individual during the year’s 1920 Cognitive Behavior therapy (CBT) have multiple selection the most common one are cognitive therapy, Rational Behavior, multimodal behavior and Behavior therapy. Jung considers that the most motivating personality developments occurred during adulthood. Meichenbaum’s (1977) had state within the learning theory outline clients cognition are clear and understandable behaviors that can be modified in their own rights.
Psychic conflict can occur at any time but particularly in early childhood, as the ego at this time is not fully developed. Abnormality can be caused by an Ego’s imbalance between these demands, such as an overly strong Superego could lead to anxiety and an overactive Id could lead to a sex addiction. This is an approach to abnormality as a well-adjusted person has a developed strong Ego with Ego-defence mechanisms that is able to control the other two components compared to somebody with an unbalanced personality. Ego-defence mechanisms are unconscious coping strategies that are used because the ego is constantly under
Erikson introduced the idea of a psychosocial moratorium which is a temporary suspension of activity. During this time, adolescents try out different roles in order to decide which suits them best. This role sampling and resolution of role confusion leads to the establishment of the adult identity. The reason that it is so important to form an identity is that it enables the individual to cope well with the demands of life and to form adult relationships. If this crisis is not resolved then a lack of identity (or role confusion) results which can lead to four kinds of behaviour.
The id is seen to operate according to the pleasure principle, is present in each of us from birth and is not effected by reality or logic of the everyday world (McLeod, 2008). Freud described the id as being our genetically inherited information, which contained two innate drives. He called these, sex (Eros) and aggressive (Thanatos) instincts. According to Pennington et al (2003, Pg. 162), “these instincts create wishes at an unconscious level, which result in tension and anxiety if not fulfilled”.
The psychodynamic approach evolved from psychoanalysis, founded by Sigmund Freud, who considered that people’s behaviours are influenced by their motives or dynamics. Psychodynamics has three distinctive features or assumptions. That the difficulty a client is having has an origin in their childhood. Secondly, the client is not consciously aware of these affecting their motives and impulses, and lastly that it uses the interpretation of the transference relationship between client and councillor (McLeod, p.91). This essay will now consider these features in more depth.
One of the main elements of Erikson’s psychosocial stage theory is the development of ego identity. Ego identity is the conscious sense of self that we develop through social interaction. Our ego identity is constantly changing due to new experience and information we acquire daily interactions with others, according to Erikson. Erikson believed Freud misjudged some important dimensions of human development. Humans develop throughout their life span, while Freud said that our personality is shaped by the age of five.