1. Introduction – Psychoanalytic approach by Sigmund Freud

When psychology gained its independence from philosophy and became a science in the second half of the nineteenth century, its goal was to use laboratory-based introspection to discover the basic elements of mental life from a human. Psychoanalytic approach, which is emphasized the analysis of conscious processes. It is a theory of personality and psychopathology, a method of therapy for personality disturbances, and a technique for investigating an individual’s unconscious thoughts and feelings. Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality was presented as an example of a psychodynamic approach to the study of human behavior. The psychodynamic orientation holds that unconscious mental conflicts control the person’s behavior. Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, based his psychodynamic concepts almost entirely on extensive clinical observation of neurotic patients as well as self-analysis. For the following passages, let me elaborate some of his important theories such as life and death instincts, psychosexual stages, ego defense mechanisms … … etc, those theories may be useful in the therapeutic process.

2. View of human nature

According to Freud, human nature is basically deterministic. Our behavior is determined by irrational forces, unconscious motivations, and biological and instinctual drives as these evolve through key psychosexual stages in the first 6 years of life. The clearest examples of determinism include misplacing personal possessions, forgetting familiar names and addresses. Such occurrences as revealing something of the person’s unconscious motives. Instincts are central to the Freudian approach. Although he originally used the term libido to refer to sexual energy, he later broadened it to include the energy of all the life instincts. These instincts serve the purpose of the survival of the individual and the human race; they are oriented toward growth, development, and creativity. Freud also postulates death instincts, which account for the aggressive drive. At times, people manifest through their behavior an unconscious wish to die or to hurt themselves or others. Managing this aggressive drive is a major challenge to the human race, however it is helpful to avoid unnecessary suicide. In my view, both sexual and aggressive drives are powerful determinants of why people act as they do.

3. Ego defense mechanism

In fact, the major psychodynamic functions of anxiety are to help the person avoid conscious recognition of unacceptable instinctual impulses. And I believe that Ego defense mechanisms can help to carry out these functions as well as to protect the person from anxiety, it is a mental strategy used by the individual to defend against open expression of id impulses and opposing superego pressures. Freud suggested that the ego reacts to the threatened break through of id impulses in either of two ways: (1) by blocking the impulse from expression in conscious behavior, or (2) by distorting it to such a degree that the original intensity is markedly reduced or deflected. All defense mechanisms share two common characteristics: (1) they operate at an unconscious level and are therefore self-deceptive and (2) they distort, deny, or falsify perception of reality, so as to make anxiety less threatening to the individual. Actually I also be noted that people rarely use a single defense mechanism to defend themselves against anxiety; typically, people employ several defense mechanisms to resolve conflict and thereby relieve anxiety.

4. Personality development - The psychosexual stages

The psychoanalytic theory of development is based on two premises. The first, the genetic approach, emphasizes that early childhood experiences play a critical role in shaping adult personality. The second premise is that a certain amount of sexual energy (libido) is present at birth and a series stages of psychosexual stages that are rooted in the instinctual processes of the organism. Psychosexual development is a biologically determined sequence, the individual’s social experiences of each stage presumably leave some permanent residue in the form of attitudes, traits, and values acquired at that stage. A related concept in psychoanalytic theory is regression, which is reverting to an earlier stage of psychosexual development and displaying the childish behavior appropriate to that period. Let me hold an example: an adult faced with a highly stressful situation may regress and deal with it by bursting into tears, sucking the thumb, or wanting a nice meal. Regression is actually a special case of what Freud called fixation. Fixation represents a failure to move forward from one stage to another as expected and leads to an overemphasis on the psychosexual needs that were prominent during the fixated stage. For example, a 10-year-old boy who persists in sucking his thumb is exhibiting an oral fixation; energy is invested in an activity appropriate to an earlier stage of development. The weaker the resolution of developmental challengers or tasks, the more vulnerable the individual is to the forces of regression under conditions of emotional pr physical stress later in life. Each individual’s personality structure is thus characterized in terms of the stage of psychosexuality he or she has reached at which he or she has become fixated.

5. Therapeutic methods of psychoanalysis – A case study

To see what a Freudian therapist actually does, consider the following

brief case:

Robert, 18 years of age, is referred to the psychoanalyst by his family physician. For the past year he has experienced a variety of symptoms such as headaches and waking up in the middle of night with extreme anxiety – all of these pervaded by a constant, periodically overwhelming fear if death. Basically, Robert thinks that he has a brain tumor and id going to die. Yet, in spite of numerous medical tests and examinations, no physical basis for his symptoms can be found. The physician finally concludes that Robert’s “symptoms” are probably psychologically based.

Robert arrives at the analyst’s office accompanied by his parents. He describes his problems and his relationships with his parents as “rosy”, although he feels that his father is “a little bit strict.” He does not allow Robert to go out on week nights, makes him come in by 11 P.M. on weekends, and successfully broke off Robert’s relationship with a girl one year ago because he thought Robert was getting “too close” to her. But Robert shows no conscious resentment about any of this, instead describing the events in an unemotional, matter-of-fact fashion.

In the eyes of a psychodynamic therapist, Robert’s symptoms are seen as determined, rooted in early childhood experiences, and motivated by unconscious factors. Collectively, there facts prevent Robert from using his own resources to change his feelings and behavior. However, in my point of view, I believe that through psychoanalysis Robert can be led to understand the cause of his intense fear of death and related symptoms, thereby making it possible for him to overcome them. What we have trying to do is to get Robert to face his problems, master them, and then conduct his life with greater conscious awareness of his real motives, for example to strengthen his ego. Freud believed that psychoanalysis was unrivaled as the vehicle for constructive personality change. Successful analysis requires a great deal of time, effort (usually painful), and expense. Briefly, in Freudian theory, it takes a long time for the patient to become the way that he is; consequently, it will take a long time for him to change. Nonetheless, I think that patients, especially those who were bright and well-educated, could benefit substantially from the insights they gained from analysis. Discuss below are illustrative assessment techniques used in psychoanalysis, applicable to Robert’s problem or any other problem area faced by practicing analysts.

Free Association The therapeutic situation is arranged in order to maximize free association. In this procedure, Robert would be instructed to relax, either in a chair or on the classic couch, and verbalize whatever thoughts and memories that come to mind, no matter how embarrassing or illogical they may seem. As the basic rule agreed by those undergoing psychoanalysis, free association is based on the premise that one association leads to another that is deeper in the unconscious. Associations verbalized by the patient are interpreted as symbolic expressions of repressed thoughts and feelings. According to Freud’s deterministic position, the patient’s “free associations” are not really free at all. Like his other behavior, Robert’s cognitive and affective associations are determined by unconscious process. Because of repression and unconscious motivation, Robert is unaware of the underlying meaning of what he is saying aloud. In such condition, we should be in a better position to understand the nature of Robert’s unconscious conflicts and their presumed cause. Perhaps, for example, Robert’s free associations will lead him to disclose his earlier feelings of intense resentment toward his father and corresponding childhood wishes that his father would die.

Interpretation of Resistance During the initial stage of psychoanalysis Freud discovered that patient is usually unable or quite reluctant to recall repressed conflicts and impulses. The patient resists. Thus, despite the fact that Robert resists psychoanalyst’s efforts to help him eliminate his old, unsatisfactory behavior patterns. It is psychoanalyst’s task to make Robert aware of his resistance, it is necessary to deal with them successfully if therapeutic progress is to occur. Resistance means keeping the unconscious conflict intact, thereby impeding any attempts to probe into the real sources of personality problems. Resistance reveals itself in many ways and provides a graphic illustration of how emotionally threatening the therapy process can be. It may cause the patient to be late for therapy sessions, “forget” them, or simply find excuses for not coming. It is also evidenced when the patient is temporarily unable to free-associate, for example “For some reason, my mind is suddenly a complete blank right now.” Skillful interpretation of reasons for resistance is one method for psychoanalyst would employ to help Robert bring repressed conflicts into the open and rid himself of unconscious defenses.

Dream Analysis Another technique foe uncovering the secrets of the patient’s unconscious is that of dream analysis. Freud considered dreams as a repressed wishes. Indeed, he referred to dream as “the royal road to the unconscious.” As a result of his extensive clinical experiences, Freud believed that dreams were to be understood and interpreted as essentially symbolic wish fulfillments whose contents partially reflect early childhood experiences. By the meaning of dream symbols, psychoanalysts believe that they can enhance the patient’s understanding of the causes of both symptoms and motivational conflicts. For example, Robert may report a dream in which his father is departing (death symbol) on a train while Robert remains on the platform holding hands with his mother and former girlfriend, while feeling at once pleased and intensely guilty. If the therapeutic moment is right, I think we might help Robert to see that this dream reflects his long-repressed wish for his father’s death, rekindled last year by the father’s severing of Robert’s love relationship with his girlfriend. Thus, through dream analysis and interpretation, Robert may begin to gain greater insight into the real conflict underlying his present symptoms.

Analysis of Transference Transference occurs whenever patients displace onto the analyst feelings of love or hated which they had previously attached to a significant other. Freud believed that transference reflected the patient’s need to find a love object in order that repressed love feelings might be expressed. The analyst serves as a substitute love object in such a setting. Transference may reveal itself in direct verbal communication, free association, or the content of dreams. As an example, Robert might be showing signs of transference if he said something like the following: “why the hell did you decide to take a two-week vacation with your damned beloved wife when we were just starting to get somewhere in analysis?” Actually Robert is emotionally reacting to analyst as the formerly felt toward his father in childhood. Transference operates unconsciously, the patient in totally unaware of its functional importance. In Robert’s case, the therapist’s interpretation of the transference relationship may reveal that Robert both loved and hated his father a great deal. Deeply resenting his father’s relationship with his mother, Robert strongly wished his father dead. But also loving his father, Robert felt extremely guilty and thus deeply repressed this wish. Robert’s own overwhelming death fear may be interpreted psychoanalytically as a symbolic wish for his father’s death.

6. Summary

Psychoanalytic theory has been applied to the understanding of virtually every area of human behavior. Such diverse fields as art, criminology, history, economics, education, philosophy, sociology and religion have felt its impact. To be sure, psychoanalysis has not escaped bitter criticism from contemporary personologists. For example, many people believe that in Freud’s theory there is an overemphasis upon the positive, healthy, self-actualizing aspects of human existence. However, even those who reject Freud’s theory acknowledge his many seminal contributions to the solution of human problems. It is to one of these, perhaps the most significant and far-reaching application of psychoanalytic theory to date that we now turn.

Bibliography

1. Gerald Corey, (2001), Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy, 6^th Edn., Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, Stamford, USA.

2. Larry A. and Daniel J. (1992), Personality Theories , Basic Assumptions, Research, And Applications, 3^rd Edn., McGraw-Hill, Inc., Singapore..

Psychoanalytic approach by Sigmund Freud & Application skills in counseling

1. Introduction – Psychoanalytic approach by Sigmund Freud

Bibliography