Psychodynamic Approach Flashcards
What is the psychodynamic approach?
A perspective that describes the different forces (dynamics), most of which are unconscious, that operate on the mind and direct human behaviour and experience.
What is the unconscious?
-The part of the mind that we are unaware of but which directs much of our behaviour.
How does Freud describe personality?
Composed of 3 parts (tripartite)
What is the id?
The primitive part of the personality which seeks immediate gratification and operates on the pleasure principle (present from birth)
What is the ego?
The ‘reality check’ that balances the conflicting demands of the Id and Superego (develops around 2yo)
What is the superego?
The moralistic part of our personality which represents the ideal self. (develops at the end of phallic stage around 5yo)
What are the psychosexual stages?
Oral 0-1 yrs (focus of pleasure is the mouth)
Anal 1-2 yrs (focus of pleasure is anus)
Phallic 3-6 yrs (focus of pleasure is genital area)
Latency (earlier conflicts are repressed)
Genital- puberty (sexual desires become conscious alongside the onset of puberty)
What are the consequences of unresolved conflict in each stage?
Oral fixation- smoking, biting nails, sarcastic, critical
Anal retentive- perfectionist, obsessive
Anal expulsive- thoughtless, messy
Phallic personality- narcissistic, reckless
Genital- Difficulty forming heterosexual relationships
What are defence mechanisms?
Unconscious strategies that the ego uses to manage conflict between the Id and the Superego
What are examples of defence mechanisms?
Repression- forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind
Denial- Refusing to acknowledge some aspect of reality
Displacement- Transferring feelings from true source of distressing emotion onto a substitute target
What is a strength of the psychodynamic approach?
P- Real world application (introduced the idea of psychotherapy as opposed to physical treatments)
E- Freud introduced psychoanalysis as a form of therapy to access the unconscious, psychoanalysis is the forerunner to many modern day talking therapies such as counselling
E- Increases the value of the psychodynamic approach
What is a weakness of the psychodynamic approach?
P- Not appropriate for people with more serious mental disorders
E- Symptoms of schizophrenia such as paranoia and delusional thinking means that those with the disorder have lost their grip on reality and cannot articulate their thoughts in the way required by psychoanalysis
Ex- Only useful for those with mild neuroses so Freudian therapy cannot be applied to all
