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).
Emma Culloty BIRMI2A 11 Evaluate the extent to which Freud’s theory of psychosexual development can help us to understand a Client’s presenting issue. Freud’s theory of psychosexual development is a theory that has caused a large amount of debate and can be seen as quite a contentious issue, particularly when using this theory to try and understand a client’s presenting issue. This essay will look into Freud’s psychosexual theory and will describe how it relates to adult neurotic behaviour. The essay will then look at the critiques of Carl Jung and Erich Fromm and will look at the ideas surrounding Jung’s collective consciousness and Fromm’s view based on a sociological perspective, where the person is able to decide for them and how problems can arise for a client when this does not happen. This essay will also look at the role of women and homosexuality and discuss whether Freud’s views where based on a cultural prejudice when he devised the psychosexual theory.
The psychodynamic approach to abnormality assumes that adult behaviour reflects complex dynamic interactions between the conscious and unconscious processes, many of which have their origin in development from birth onwards. There are many approaches, all of which have their origins in the work of Sigmund Freud. Freud dedicated his life to the investigation of the human mind, particularly repressed material during hypnosis and the interaction between conscious and unconscious. Elements of the psychodynamic approach include, The structure of personality and psychosexual development. The structure of personality, this is something Freud said was made up of three interacting elements.
In this paper I shall introduce Sigmund Freud’s theories of human development within psychoanalysis and describe how his theory of psychosexual development related to adult neurosis. I shall offer some criticisms of this theory and evaluate how this may aid a present day counsellor in their practice. Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) was a Viennese physician who developed his theory of human development by trying to help emotionally troubled adults. He was attempting from the start of his career to formulate a system of psychological therapy and was influenced by the psychological thought of the time and the cultural influences of that era, which were of Victorian moral standards and the presence of war in Europe. Freud’s theories broadly encompassed the issues of life, sex and aggression.
Central to Freud's theory, and perhaps his greatest contribution to psychology, is the notion that our psyche is composed of parts within our awareness and beyond our awareness. Freud used the term psychoanalysis to label his theories and techniques for identifying and curing the mental problems of his patients. This essay will outline the main concepts that surround Freud’s theory of psychosexual development, thus showing how it can help us understand our clients presenting issues. In order for me to do this I will firstly describe the psychosexual stages in relation to personality development followed by briefly identifying some of the main criticisms. I will lastly concentrate on discussing the applications of his theory to therapy today.
This resulted in Freud doing further research into psychosexual development and caused Freud to believe that personality develops through a series of childhood stages. This essay will look into the stages of Freud’s psychosexual development theory and how it relates to the development of personality and childhood experiences that his patients occurred. Freud’s theory stated that awareness is divided into three sections of consciousness, Conscious, Pre-Conscious and Unconscious. Freud’s view of the human psyche was displayed as an iceberg metaphor. The conscious is shown as the first 7th of the human psyche and is the awareness we have when we are awake.
In late pre-school years a child then develops what is called asuperego, or simply put, a conscience. At this stage values are internalized, andthe intricate connection between the id, ego, and superego ensues. The superegocomes into account when the id and ego desire to be expressed. In order for thechild to successfully continue developing, Freud believed that at each stage oflife, tension need be expelled. This was possible through pleasure of differentorgans of the body including the mouth, anus, and genitalia.
Freud also believed that all tension was due to the built up of sexual energy and that all pleasure came from its discharge. Freud stressed that the first five years of life are crucial to the formation of adult personality. The id must be controlled in order to satisfy social demands; this sets up a conflict between frustrated wishes and social norms. The ego and superego develop in order to exercise this control and direct the need for gratification into socially acceptable channels. “Gratification centers of different areas of the body at different stages of growth, making the conflict at each stage psychosexual.” (Saul McLeod, 2008) Also according to Saul McLeod (2008), each of the psychosexual stages is associated with a particular conflict that must be resolved before the individual can successfully advance to the next stage.
Freud’s work is considered important because he showed that childhood experiences and relationships significantly influence the development of personality in later life, (Beaver et al 2002). Freud’s theory was psychoanalysis and he believed that the personality comprised of three parts the Id, the Ego and the Superego. Freud developed a stage theory; these stages are called psychosexual and are linked to the physical pleasures associated with each stage. Freud argued that psychological health as an adult depended on how each of these stages is dealt with, and whether or not optimum gratification is gained from each stage. Freud believed that unsuccessful completion of any of these stages leads to a child becoming fixated
It is the aim of this essay to explore Freuds’ argument for a psychodynamic perspective on development; establishing whether there is indeed evidence that child development can be linked to sexual urges, particularly an unconscious level. Freuds’ case study on child development, “Analysis of a phobia in a 5 year old boy”, more commonly known as “Little Hans” will be used as a resource to investigate Freuds’ conclusions, in particular in relation to phobias and their role in development, castration anxiety and the Oedipus Complex. By way of contrast and comparison, Lacans’ stance on the