psychodynamic Flashcards
who was Freud influenced by
Josef Breuer working with patient Anna O
explain Anna O and her significance
Anna O had been experiencing paralysis and he found out there was no medical explanation as to why, he used talking therapy “chimney sweeping” and through sharing stories and experiences he got to know her more and realized her father had TB, sibling was favored by the father even though she was primary caregiver of father, she was feeling resentful. She realized that part of the paralysis was that she was feeling stuck (wanting to help father but being resentful), there was also anticipatory grief because she knew her father would die.
He was the first to realize that other events can influence behavior and how someone is feeling even if they are unaware of them.
what do dynamic therapists look at
what something means and how to process it
explain the level of consciousness in the iceberg model
consciousness is what is above the surface (things you are currently aware of, what you are feeling and thinking, actions)
the bottom is the unconscious (consists of things that are beyond normal level of awareness, instincts, fears, passions, dreams, wish fulfillment)
right below the surface of the water is the preconscious (second level of awareness, things you aren’t aware of right now but you can bring to awareness/ things you can recall if needed)
what are the three levels of personality structures
id, ego, and superego
what is the id
The Demanding Child (in the unconscious)
-Ruled by the pleasure principle (wants what it wants when it wants it)
what is the ego
The Regulator (balances unconscious desires in terms of reality) (conscious and preconscious) -Ruled by the reality principle
what is the superego
The Judge (ex. Parents yell at kid for not going to bathroom before they left) (exists on all three levels) -Ruled by the moral principle (religion can play a part in this)
explain ego, id, and superego conflicts
- The three aspects of personality inevitably come into conflict with each other because of the different roles they have.
- However, much of this conflict is unconscious due to defense mechanisms (we do not want people to know what’s in the unconscious, we engage in ways that prevent this)
what is clinical evidence for the existence of the unconscious (4 things)
1) Dreams (are in unconscious, material that is stored and free/not controlled)
2) Slips of the tongue (Freudian slips, when you say something that just comes out, indicates what you were thinking in unconscious)
3) Material derived from free-association
4) Symbolic content of psychotic symptoms
NOTE: consciousness is only a thin slice of the total mind
two tests to access unconscious
1) Rorshach inkblot test (looking at ambiguous pictures and see what they see, access to the unconscious)
2) TAT thematic apperception test: looking for unconscious material, saying what you see in pictures (want client to tell you more, “why do you think that?”), looking for patterns in what people see in the cards
what are ego defense mechanisms
- Are normal behaviors which operate on an unconscious level and tend to deny or distort reality
- Help the individual cope with anxiety and prevent the ego from being overwhelmed
are ego defense mechanisms important
- Have adaptive value if they do not become a style of life to avoid facing reality
- They are there for a reason, so it is not therapist’s job to tear them down
what is repression
aware of something but you push it down /try to hide it, can be easily accessed with certain stimuli
what is denial
completely reject thought or feeling
what is displacement
when you have negative feelings towards something, but redirect feelings to something else rather than taking it out on object
what is projection
attributing one’s own unacceptable behavior onto someone else
projective identification
when a person projects something onto you, you begin to question if you actually are those things (ex. “You look stressed out” when the speaker is the one stressed out, the person being spoken too begins to think they are stressed out)
what is reaction formation
when you turn a feeling into its opposite
what is sublimation
feeling some stress and take it out in a more positive way (engaging in something more purposeful)
what is introjection
taking messages from outside world and forming your own identity about them (ex. Hearing girls can’t be scientists, and then integrating this into identity)
what is undoing
attempt to nullify or undo an action that resulted in guilt
what is regression
revert to an old feeling or more primitive levels of functioning
what is intellectualization
trying to understand on a more intellectual/philosophical level of your emotions (theoretical)
what is isolation of affect
asking a client about feelings and they say “I think I’m feeling…” but they do not actually feel it
what is rationalization
justifying a disturbing thought or feeling by selecting a logical reason to feel that way
what is splitting
end up making things polarized (ex. Children cannot take complexity, good mommy vs. bad mommy and only see themselves as good or bad)
therapists job surrounding defense mechanisms
We all have different defenses we gravitate towards so it is our job to find out what these are for our clients
what is Freuds theory of the development of personality
psychosexual stages of development (certain things need to be accomplished in each stage)
- oral
- anal
- phallic
- latency
- gential
what is the oral stage
First year
- Related to later mistrust and rejection issues (this stage is where trust develops)
- Needs; nurturance and gratification
- Depressive personalities are stuck at this stage per McWilliams
what is the anal stage
Ages 1-3
- Related to later personal power issues because of parents desire to potty train the way they want the child. (concerned with power and control)
- Needs; independence, and ability to express negative emotions
what is the phallic stage
Ages 3-6
- Related to later sexual attitudes (sexual exploration)
- Oedipal issues
- Needs; assurance that they are competent/confidence
what is the latency stage
Ages 6-12
-A time of socialization (continuing exploration from phallic stage), are they able to tackle relationships
what is the genital stage
Ages 12-60
- Sexual energies are invested in life
- Sexual energy and engaging socially
criticisms of psychosexual stages
model is limited (tend to use Erikson’s model, but this is still something you should know)
what is transference
The client reacts to the therapist as they did to an earlier significant other (how do they see you, who do you represent as the therapist)
- This allows the client to experience feelings that would otherwise be inaccessible
- clients act their experience out in the room
what is the analysis of transference
allows the client to achieve insight into the influence of the past
quote about transference
“The patient does not say that he remembers how defiant and critical he used to be in regards to the authority of his parents, but he behaves in that way towards the physician”
what is countertransference
The reaction of the therapist toward the client that may interfere with objectivity (how the therapist feels about/responds to the client)
- Not always detrimental to therapeutic goals; can provide important means of understanding your client’s world
- Countertransference reactions must be monitored so that they are used to promote understanding of the client and the therapeutic process. (you are not bringing your problems to the treatment)
what is concordant countertransference
you feel the same thing the client feels (ex. Client wanted to run away as child and hated being at home and only feels safe around her teddy bear, therapist feels the pain and feels like she wanted to tear up)
what is complementary countertransference
you end up feeling what an object felt toward the client (ex. Therapist begins to think about grocery list while client is venting, and is ignoring the client in the way the client just described)
why are psychoanalytic techniques beneficial
you uncover all of this by exploration, asking
-These things help therapist understand more holistically what is going on with client
what is free association
Client reports immediately without censoring any feelings or thoughts
what is interpretation
Therapist points out, explains, and teaches the meanings of whatever is revealed
-Ex. Telling client who does not do well with ending relationships, that they think the client will not show up for last session (how can we prevent this from happening)
what is dream analysis and the two kinds of content
Therapist uses the “royal road to the unconscious” to bring unconscious material to light
- Latent content: what needs further interpretation in dream (take pieces of dream and try to understand deeper meaning)
- Manifest content: what actually happened in dream
what is resistance
- Anything that works against the progress of therapy and prevents the production of unconscious material
- Serves a purpose, therapist has to understand what this is about and know that it means something
what is analysis of resistance
Helps the client to see that canceling appointments, fleeing from therapy prematurely, etc., are ways of defending against anxiety
-These acts interfere with the ability to accept changes which could lead to a more satisfying life
what is the primary goal of psychodynamic
- help individuals achieve insight into the origins of their distress
- “uncovering” of the symptoms, repressed material that interfere with healthy functioning
what are the 7 things focused on in psychodynamic theory
affect and expression of emotion,
exploration of ways to avoid distressing thoughts and feelings,
identification of themes and patterns,
discussion of past experiences and development,
focus on interpersonal relations,
focus on therapy relationship,
exploration of the fantasy life
what are the three limits of classical analysis
- This approach may be uncomfortable or not feasible for all cultures cultural groups.
- Deterministic focus does not emphasize current maladaptive behaviors (not focusing on how to change current behaviors right now, focus on history and childhood)
- Minimizes role of the environment
explain cultural barriers in psychotherapy
- Relies heavily on client fantasy or interpretation
- Lengthy treatment may not be practical or affordable for many clients (insurance companies do not always cover analysis, a lot of it is paid out of pocket)
- A lot of cultures expect you to be a doctor and tell them what to do and how to fix things
- Talking about families and relationships might be seen as intrusive or unnecessary
3 strengths of psychodynamic
1) Explains the complexity of the human experience
2) Takes into account history, which is relevant to many cultural groups (how different cultures understand being and relationships)
3) variety of more recent theories were developed from Freud’s original ideas:
what more recent theories were developed from Freud
- Erickson’s stage theory of psychological development
- Object relations theory
- Interpersonal approaches
- Time limited psychodynamic therapy
how were Carl Jung’s levels of consciousness different than Freud’s
1) Ego: conscious level; carries out daily activities;
2) Personal Unconscious: individual’s thoughts, memories, wishes, impulses; like Freud’s Unconscious
3) Collective Unconscious: storehouse of memories inherited from the common ancestors of the whole human race; no counterpart in Freud’s theory
- We have blueprints of certain things (ex. How school goes)
what are archetypes in Jung’s theory
Archetypes cause us to respond in certain ways to common human experiences-Similar to schemas
-How we understand people, dependent on culture
what are some archetypes
persona, shadow, anima, animus
what is persona
your public personality, aspects of yourself that you reveal to others
what is shadow
prehistoric fear of wild animals, represents animal side of human nature. (what you do not show others)
what is anima
feminine archetype in men.
what is animus and criticism of that and anima
masculine archetype in women.
-People will criticize that he only considers two genders, but he did see gender as more fluid
what did Heinz Kohut theorize in self psychology and narcissism
all people seek self-development, control over the self, and a positive self-image
-looked at How development of relationships impacts the way we see ourselves
healthy development vs. unhealthy (narcissism)
- In healthy development, individuals respond to their own needs while being responsive to others’ needs
- When caregiver sees you as a reflection of them and you are not being validated you develop a narcissistic personality (not necessarily able to empathize because you have never seen that empathy)
what happens when development experiences inhibit maturity
narcissism may become a predominant feature of personality
symptoms of narcissism
- Grandiose sense of self-importance
- Preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success and power
- Lack of empathy
- Vulnerability to blows to self-esteem
how did video in class show psychodynamic
- therapist asks a lot of questions that lead into big moments/times in clients life (notices he’s steering away from talking about relationships, so she starts to ask about the relationships)
- want to notice how clients are responding to questions, very important in understanding resistance
- focusing on relationships earlier in his life (wife dying, smaller children)
- looking at relationship patterns
- therapist is also focusing on how she is feeling, she gets annoyed when he keeps apologizing for being late in the beginning
what were the four kinds of attachment in Bowlby’s theory
secure, anxious-avoidant, anxious-ambivalent, and disorganized
what is secure attachment
sensitive to the departure of the caregiver, but greet the caregiver upon being reunited, are readily comforted, return to exploration and play
anxious-avoidant attachment
little protest over separation from the caregiver and, upon return, show avoidance (e.g., turning, looking, moving away)
what is anxious-ambivalent attachment
difficulty separating from and reuniting with the caregiver (e.g., mixed pleas to be picked up with squirming and insistence to be let down)
what is disorganized attachment
Child is overwhelmed, frightened, and frazzled when parents leave. Need for attachment is ignored by caregiver. Difficulty regulating emotions or articulating needs.
