Intro to Psychoanalysis

Question 1

Levels of awareness

Answer 1

Conscious
Preconscious
Unconscious

Question 2

Unconscious

Answer 2

A-logical
Disregards time and space
Symbolic language
Many ideas may be condensed in one
Part = Whole
One whole = several objects

Question 3

Clinical evidence for postulating the unconscious

Answer 3

Dreams
Slips of the tongue
Posthypnotic suggestions
Material derived from free-association
Material derived from projective techniques

Question 4

Implications of the Unconscious

Answer 4

Significant part of our behavior is controlled by forces out of our awareness
Psychic energy is used to
find acceptable ways to express unconscious ideas and wishes
or
to keep them repressed

Question 5

Structure of Personality

Answer 5

ID
EGO
SUPER EGO

Question 6

ID

Answer 6

Unconscious Biological Component
Base of instinctual life
Source of drive energy – Libido
Guided by pleasure principle, seeks gratification of instinct in action or fantasy
A-social – no regard for social norms
Life and death drives co-exist in dynamic tension

Question 7

EGO

Answer 7

Mostly conscious Aspect of the Self guided by the Reality Principle
Acts in the external world – behavior
Site of perceptual cognitive skills
Mediates between Id and Super-Ego
Able to separate wish from fantasy
Tolerates tension and is able to compromise

Question 8

SUPER EGO

Answer 8

Mostly learned Aspect of Self
Moral aspect, guided by ideals
Mostly lacks reality testing
Actions = Thoughts
In its primitive forms leads to Black–White judgments – no ability to compromise
Mostly Unconscious

Question 9

Conflict

Answer 9

Conflict is experienced for two main reasons:
Internal forces in dynamic opposition
Relationship with figures of authority and/or rigid super ego leads to - perceptions of danger which lead to repression of impulses and frustration

Conflict leads to Anxiety

Question 10

Winnicott’s many concepts

Answer 10

transitional object and transitional space, the good enough mother, and the true and false self.

Question 11

Object relations theory

Answer 11

Object relations theorists believe that interactions with others are more than merely an outcome of attempts to maximize instinctual gratification.

An ‘object’, literally refers to whatever is the target or satisfaction of a need. Objects can be people, parts of a person (like the mother’s breast) or internal representations.

Variants of object relations theory have in common the value they put on the role of interpersonal relations in personality development. Broadly, this theory views personality as being shaped by the specifics (real and perceived – the latter called phantasy) of interpersonal encounters.

These interactions become the building blocks of ‘self-structure’ (Kohut 1971), while distortions or deficits in this internalized self-structure may lead to later problems.

Question 12

Basic concepts of Treatment

Answer 12

Process, Resistance, and Interpretation

Question 13

Process

Answer 13

Process, the ongoing unfolding of the analysis, is facilitated by the interpretation of resistance and transference.

Technique is the method by which the analyst achieves the goals of a therapeutic analysis.
It reflects not only the analyst’s fundamental theory of the mind but also those aspects of the theory he or she chooses to emphasize with a particular patient.
A technique also reflects the particulars of the analyst’s disposition and experience.
All aspects of this description of technique operate both consciously and unconsciously in the minds of both patient and analyst.

Question 14

What is Mentalization based therapy

Answer 14

Evidence based

Psychodynamic treatment

Rooted in attachment theory, psychoanalysis and cognitive therapy

Requires limited training with moderate levels of supervision

Implemented by generic mental health professionals