In essence, Freud’s theoretical foundation for the psychodynamic approach is referenced as the structural model (Marc F. Kern, 1996-2003). This foundation was understood in three parts of an individual personality, the Id, Ego, and Superego. The three parts affect individual personality through the psychodynamic approaches. Sigmund Freud’s theories for the Id states that the unconscious is this part of the brain that aggression and sexual energies are formed in. However, the thoughts which are formed in the unconscious are governed by the Ego, the conscious part of the brain.
Psychodynamic Theories Introduction goes here. Key Figures Sigmund Freud The father of psychoanalysis, Freud based his theories on the unconscious mind, infantile sexuality and the Oedipal complex, and repression. In addition, he proposed a three-part psychological structure in the Id, considered the pleasure principle, Ego, also known as the reality principle, and Superego, which is the internalized moral principle. According to Thornton (2010), “Freud’s innovative treatment of human actions, dreams, and indeed of cultural artifacts as invariably possessing implicit symbolic significance has proven to be extraordinarily fruitful, and has had massive implications for a wide variety of fields including psychology, anthropology, semiotics, and artistic creativity and appreciation” (para 2). Alfred Adler In 1911, Alfred Adler formed the school of Individual Psychology as a reaction to the hostile response he received from members of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society.
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.
“Evaluate the extent to which Freud’s theory of Psychosexual Development can help us to understand a client’s presenting issue?” In this essay I am asked to evaluate one aspect of Freudian theory. I will begin by first describing Freud’s psychosexual theory and demonstrate an understanding of its relationship to adult neurotic behaviour. Having done this I will examine some of the criticisms that have been levelled at Freudian theory in order to evaluate it. In 1905 Freud published ‘Three Essays on the theory of Sexuality and other Works’, one of those essays was titled ‘Infantile Sexuality’. In this essay Freud sets out his theory of psychosexual development.
Psychoanalysis was sprung up and dully applied as a psychological problem solving method by Sigmund Freud. Nevertheless, Psychoanalysis indicates that development are completely dependent on the comatose mind. Psychoanalysis holds that early life know-hows are very important in development. In the process of talking to his patients about their problems, Freud realized that their problems were an offshoot of their experiences in life. According to Sigmund Freud, as children grow up pleasure and sexual impulses shifts from the mouth to the anus and gradually shifts to the genitals.
PSYCHODYNAMIC THEO Psychodynamic Theories Mike Smith, Christine Smith, Arvan Thompson, Marcy Rigsby PSY/405 Dr. Dave Brueshoff October 17, 2011 Psychodynamic Theories The first psychoanalytic theory was conceived by Sigmund Freud (Meyers, 2007). This was the basis for what we have today regarding psychodynamic personality theories. Sigmund Freud’s contribution to this theory includes his thoughts on the stages of psychosexual development, conscious and unconscious minds, and defense mechanisms. This made way for other great psychologists to offer contributions to psychodynamic personality theories, like Alfred Adler’s individual psychological theory, Melanie Klein’s object relations theory, Carl Jung’s analytical psychology theory, and finally, Karen Horney’s psychoanalytic social theory. In this analysis we will look at two specific parts of analyzing psychodynamic theories.
The so-called metaphoric content is none other than a reflection of the author's inner psyche in which the neurotic author uses literature as a form of sublimation (Freud, 150). As Dr. Mary Klages writes in her essay Psychoanalysis and Sigmund Freud, "…psychoanalysis asks us to pay a lot of attention to LANGUAGE, in puns, slips of the tongue…etc. This suggests how psychoanalysis is directly related to literary criticism since both kinds of analysis focus on close readings of language" (2). Hence, literature is none other than a reflection of the author's dreams (Fish, 2). And dreams, according to Sigmund Freud in The Interpretation of Dreams, are merely a reflection of a person's sub consciousness (9-12).
Melanie Klein (Klein, 1988, 1998) made substantial discoveries and development to the theory of psychodynamics. Her ideas diverged from Freud’s theory and actually she was a strong opponent to him. Later, the so called Object Relations School combined those theories and gave further development especially by Donald Winnicott (Winnicott, 1984) – one of the most creative thinkers in this subject. Another important name is to mention - John Bowlby, who contributed to the attachment theory, which is based on the importance of actual life experiences (Bowlby, 1988). Core Psychodynamic Concepts: The Unconscious We all have a conscious and unconscious inner world.
The allusions he made with Oedipus Rex and Hamlet introduced variety into an otherwise limited discussion. For instance, Freud stated, “Like Oedipus, we live in ignorance of these wishes, repugnant to morality…all of us seek to close our eye to the scenes of our childhood” (Freud 480). This allusion to Oedipus Rex allowed readers to pause and reflect on their own lives. According to Martin Bergmann, author of The Oedipus Complex and Psychoanalytic Technique, wrote, Had he not read Oedipus Rex, the Oedipus Complex would not have been formulated, and psychoanalyses as we know it would not have been created. The achievement was the connection Freud made between personal
Freud believed that conscience was a construct of the mind built up through repressed feelings and emotions. For Freud, during our upbringing we accept values and beliefs about morality, and at some point, these may be rejected by our moral reasoning. Even though these early views have since been rejected, they continue to influence our ‘conscience’. Freud separated the conscious into three clear parts: the ID, the EGO, and the Super-Ego. The ID is considered part of the unconscious personality, and is driven by impulses to seek pleasure and satisfaction.