Phychoanalysis And Psychodynamic Theories

Question 1

What are psychoanalytic theories?

Answer 1

Theories that posit unconscious processes, psychosexual stages of development, and a tripartite personality structure labeled the id ego, and superego.
Many use Freud’s treatment techniques such as free association and interpretations.
Psychoanalysis is considered a depth psychology - that human behavior is mainly influenced by what takes place in the unconscious mind.

Question 2

What is the difference between psychodynamic and psychoanalysis?

Answer 2

Psychodynamic therapy has become a much broader view of treatment.
Classical psychoanalysis (Freud) emphasizes the id (or what is commonly referred to as “drive theory”). In contrast, the psychodynamic school highlight the ego instead of id.
Whereas Freud was concerned with intrapsychic conflicts (psychological conflicts within an individual), psychodynamics focuses on interpersonal conflicts between individuals.

Question 3

Jung’s major contributions to psychoanalysis

Answer 3

• concept of the collective unconscious and the archetypal patterns and images that are associate with it
• Stressed the persona, the social role, or mask that individuals assume and wear.
• The anima-animus: the unconscious opposite or other sex side of a man or woman’s personality
• The shadow: the unconscious features of our personality that we reject
• The self: the center of an individual’s personality.
• Construction of personality types (introversion-extroversion, thinking-feeling, sensing-intuiting)

Question 4

Anna Freud’s contribution to Psychoanalysis

Answer 4

Ego Defense Mechanism - ego psychology

Question 5

Erick Erikson’s contribution to Psychanalysis

Answer 5

Ego psychology. Psychological states of development (mostly taught in child development)

Question 6

Donald Winnicott’s contribution to Psychoanalysis

Answer 6

Object Relations Theory: explores a person’s internal, unconscious identifications and internalizations of external objects, usually described as significant people in their lives.

Question 7

Relational Analysis

Answer 7

Based on the fundamental human desire for and defenses against deep emotional connection with others (rather than on classical psychoanalytic emphasis on conflicts regarding infantile drives for sec and aggression.

Question 8

What did Adler contribute to psychoanalysis?

Answer 8

• an early form of “the miracle question”
• inferiority / superiority complexes
• mistaken goals of children (negative attention getting)
• the power of helping others in reducing psychological problems (social interest)
• family constellation

Question 9

Freud’s basis for neurosis

Answer 9

The sexual conflict between one’s instinctive desires and society’s punishment for an individual’s direct expression of those wishes.

Question 10

The Cathartic Method

Answer 10

The client expresses and discharges emotions through the process of free association and client talk. Developed by Joseph Breuer.

Question 11

The Talking Cure

Answer 11

Freud’s method of having clients lying down on a couch with eyes close and free associating.

Question 12

What is libido?

Answer 12

The driving force of and individual’s personality, which contains sexual energy. Some sexual energies are directed toward the self and some are directed outward towards objects represented in his external world.

Question 13

Freudian Narcissism

Answer 13

Results when a person withdraws energy from others and directs it toward himself.

Question 14

Freud’s Determinism

Answer 14

An individual’s personality is largely fixed by the age of 6. (How one is raised)
People do not have free will.
Their behavior is determined by innate drive that have to do with sex and aggression or love and death.
Behavior is determined by forces that are described as “drives,” “biological forces,” or “instinctual forces.”

Question 15

What is drive?

Answer 15

Bodily forces that makes demands on one’s mental life - a state of central excitation in response to a stimulus.
Each drive has:
- a source (bodily needs that arise from the erogenous zones)
- an internal aim (the temporary removal of the bodily need)
- an external aim (the steps taken to reach the final goal of the internal aim)
- an object

Question 16

What is Thanatos?

Answer 16

Death instincts - “the goal of all life is death.”

The universal unconscious desire to die is tampered with by the life instincts.

Question 17

Theory of Personality

Answer 17

The tripartite levels of consciousness: id, ego, superego

Question 18

Freud’s levels of consciousness

Answer 18

1) the conscious level
2) the preconscious level
3) the unconscious level

Question 19

The conscious level

Answer 19

The level on which all of our thought processes operate. Everything that we are aware of is stored in our consciousness though it only makes up a small part of who we are. It is the 10% of the iceberg that we can see.

Question 20

The Preconscious Level

Answer 20

Contains our memories and thoughts that are not at conscious level but could become conscious.
At this level, events, thoughts, and feelings can be recalled.
Just below the water in the iceberg analogy - about 10-15% of the iceberg

Question 21

The Unconscious Level

Answer 21

The lowest and deepest level of awareness, or really unawareness.
Holds the bulk of our past experiences, including impulses and memories that threaten to destabilize the mind.
About 75-80% of the iceberg’s depth.

Question 22

What is the id?

Answer 22

The biological self in one’s personality.
Primary process
Instincts, needs, and wish fulfillment
The instincts of Eros (life and sex) and Thanatos (death and aggression)

Question 23

What is the ego?

Answer 23

The psychological center of one’s personality.
Secondary process
Reality principle (reality testing)

Question 24

What is the superego?

Answer 24

The social controller (our parents usually) that bring behavior within socially acceptable limits.
The morality principle. Moral imperatives.
The conscious / ego ideal

Question 25

Anticathexis

Answer 25

The ego’s ability to exercise control or restraint over the id

Question 26

Introjection

Answer 26

A process of the individual’s incorporating the norms and standards of a culture into his or her culture. Aided by the identification of significant adult figures.

Question 27

Anxiety

Answer 27

A state of tension that pushes us to do or not do something. Three types: realistic, neurotic, and moral.

Question 28

5 Psychosexual phases of developement

Answer 28

1 - oral
2 - anal
3 - phallic
4 - latency
5 - genital

Question 29

Oral Phase

Answer 29

From birth to 18 months

Libidinal gratification from feeding and organs associated - mouth, lips, tongue, and being held.

Question 30

Oral personality

Answer 30

Pessimism or Optimism, suspiciousness or gullibility, self-belittlement or cockiness, and passivity or manipulation.

Question 31

Anal Phase

Answer 31

Between 18 months and 3 years
Involves a power struggle that becomes exacerbated during the “terrible twos”
Children become fixated if caregivers are too demanding or overindulgent.

Question 32

Anal Personality

Answer 32

One who is dominated by a tendency to hold onto or retain.
These types tend to hold onto money (stinginess), their feelings(constricted ness), and their own way of doing things (stubbornness).

Question 33

Phallic Phase

Answer 33

Most crucial. Between 3 - 5 or 6 years old. Major conflict is sexual desire with own parent and genitalia curiosity.
Oedipal complex for boys and Penis Envy (controversial theory) for girls.
Graduation from this phase requires identification of a child with their same-sex parent.

Question 34

Phallic Personality

Answer 34

May lead to sexual identity problems. One who is reckless, narcissistic, and excessively vain and proud. May be afraid or incapable of close love.

Question 35

Latency Phase

Answer 35

Child’s sex drive remains dormant - ages 6 to 12 (puberty). Sexual energy is repressed and channeled into school, friends, sports, and hobbies - the larger world. Crucial in establishing an adult identity.

Question 36

Genital Phase

Answer 36

The onset of adolescence, begins around 13 years.Young Pepe focus their sexual energy (libido) toward people of the opposite or same sex. The less energy the child has invested in unresolved psychosexual developments, the greater will be his capacity to develop normal relationships. It is less selfish than other stages.

Question 37

Theory of Maladaptive Behavior

Answer 37

We are all “a little neurotic” - this behavior occurs because we all experience conflicts and fixations during our early years. Anxiety is at the core of this behavior. When a client has a weakened ego, they spend psychic energy struggling with demands of id and superego . and as id takes over they may regress to an earlier stage of fixation.

Question 38

Blank Screen Approach

Answer 38

Therapists disclose nothing to very little about themselves. Neutral Role.