Week 4: Psychological Approaches: Individual Therapy Pt.1 Flashcards
What is a ‘mental disorder’ according to the DSM-V?
Clinically-significant disturbances in COGNITION, EMOTIONAL REGULATION, or BEHAVIOR that indicate a dysfunction in mental functioning and are usually associated with significant distress or disability in WORK, RELATIONSHIPS, or other areas of FUNCTIONING.
What is the Psychoanalytic Model?
The theory of development and organization of personality that guides psychoanalysis.
It is a therapeutic approach developed by Sigmund Freud.
It’s based on the theory that our present is shaped by our past, and that the unacknowledged meaning of personal experiences can influence our mood, behavior, and relationships.
Psychoanalysis
The psychoanalytic model assumes that human behavior is largely determined by unconscious forces, biological drives, and past experiences.
Deterministic View of Human Nature
Forces that are not based on reason or logic, often driven by emotions or instincts.
Examples:
Fear of the dark
Compulsions
Superstitions
Irrational Forces
Basic instincts or urges that are rooted in our biology, such as the need for food, water, and reproduction.
Biological Drives
Thoughts, feelings, and desires that are hidden from our conscious awareness but still influence our behavior.
Examples:
Repressed Memories
Defense Mechanisms
Hidden Desires
Unconscious Motivations
Humans are dominated by two basic instincts according to Sigmund Freud. What are these?
Eros (life) and Thanatos (death)
What are examples of Eros (life force)?
Love and affection: Feelings of love, affection, and intimacy towards others.
Creativity: Engaging in creative activities like art, music, or writing.
Reproduction: The desire to reproduce and continue the human species.
Self-preservation: The instinct to protect oneself from harm and danger.
What are examples of Thanatos (death force)?
Aggression: Hostile or violent behavior towards others.
Self-destructive behavior: Actions that harm oneself, such as substance abuse or reckless driving.
Desire for death: In some cases, a longing for death or an end to suffering.
Competitive drive: The desire to succeed or outperform others, which can sometimes involve aggressive or destructive behaviors.
A persistent focus on a particular stage of development, often due to unresolved conflicts.
Fixation
A preoccupation/fixation with oral activities, such as smoking, overeating, or excessive talking.
Oral Fixation
A fixation/focus on cleanliness, orderliness, or control.
Anal Fixation
Issues/fixation related to sexuality or gender identity.
Phallic Fixation
Each stage focuses on a specific body part (erogenous zone) that is associated with pleasure.
Oral > Anal > Phallic > Latency > Genital
Successful Navigation: Successful completion of each stage leads to healthy personality development.
Fixation: Failure to resolve conflicts within a stage can result in fixation and subsequent personality issues.
Psychosexual Stages of Development (Freud)
Psychosexual stage where pleasure is derived from sucking, biting, and chewing.
If a child has problems with breastfeeding or weaning, they might become fixated on oral activities like smoking, excessive talking, or overeating later in life.
An oral fixation may result in a passive, gullible, immature, or manipulative personality.
Oral Stage
What are the oral stage personality traits?
Orally Aggressive and Orally Passive
Oral stage fixation may result in a passive, gullible, immature, or manipulative personality.
A personality characterized by aggression, sarcasm, or a tendency to use biting words or actions.
Oral Aggressive
A personality characterized by dependence, passivity, or a tendency to seek pleasure through oral activities.
Oral Passive
Psychosexual stage with a focus on toilet training and control.
Issues with toilet training can lead to a fixation on cleanliness and control (anal retentive) or a rebellious and disorganized personality (anal expulsive).
Anal Stage
A personality characterized by excessive orderliness, cleanliness, or a rigid adherence to rules.
Anal Retentive
A personality characterized by impulsiveness, messiness, or a tendency to be rebellious or defiant.
Anal Expulsive
The psychosexual stage where conflicts involving feelings of love and rivalry towards parents.
Development of gender identity and sexual orientation.
Phallic Stage
In Freudian theory, a male child’s unconscious desire to possess the opposite-sex parent and eliminate the same-sex parent.
Oedipus Complex
In Freudian theory, a female child’s unconscious desire to possess the opposite-sex parent and eliminate the same-sex parent.
Electra Complex
A psychosexual stage or period of sexual dormancy or calm.
Focus on social and intellectual development.
Formation of friendships and interests.
Sexual feelings may be repressed or sublimated.
Latency Stage
The psychosexual stage where the maturation of sexual interests and desires occurs.
Development of romantic relationships.
Establishment of a healthy sexual identity.
Successful navigation of this stage leads to a well-adjusted adult.
Genital Stage
According to Freud, what are the three elements that make up our personality (Psychosocial Theory of Development)?
Id, ego, and superego
Driven by basic instincts and needs (hunger, thirst, sex)
Operates on the pleasure principle: seeks pleasure and avoids pain
Example: A hungry baby cries until it’s fed, not considering its parents’ needs.
Consequences if too strong: Impulsive behavior, disregard for others’ needs.
Id
Emerges as we interact with the world
Operates on the reality principle: balances internal needs with external reality
Works to fulfill the id’s desires in realistic ways
Ego
Develops around age five
Internalizes moral standards and societal expectations
Represents conscience and dictates right from wrong
Consequences if too strong: Overcritical, rigid personality, possible depression.
Superego
A small part of our mental activity that we are aware of.
Ego
Conscious Mind
Information that is not readily accessible but can be retrieved with effort.
Pre-conscious Mind
The majority of our mental activity, contains hidden thoughts, feelings, and desires.
Id and superego
Unconscious Mind
It is a branch of psychoanalysis that focuses on how our relationships with others, especially our mothers, shape our personality and mental health.
It emphasizes the importance of these relationships more than biological drives.
Object - other/significant other
Relations - interpersonal relationships
Object Relations Theory
Mother of object relations theory.
She was post-Freudian
Melanie Klein (1882 - 1960)
Early development is crucial, focus on mother-child relationship, paranoid-schizoid and depressive positions, splitting and projection
Melanie Klein’s Object Relations Theory
2 Stages that are crucial for the infant’s healthy development of the ego according to Klein?
1) Paranoid-Schizoid Position (0-3 months)
2) Depressive Position (3-6 months)
What happens to the infant during the Paranoid-Schizoid Position (0-3 months)?
- Baby is only able to relate to the mother and external world in part objects
- Baby projects loving and hating feelings onto separate parts of the mother (breast)
- Maternal object is divided into BAD (Hated) and GOOD (loved)
- Infants experience anxiety due to aggressive instincts
Good stays separate from bad
Splitting
What happens to the infant during the Depressive Position (3-6 months)?
- Infants can relate to objects as whole objects
- Become aware of destructive impulses and guilt
- Attempt to repair damage caused by destructive impulses
- Experience ambivalence (love and hate, good and bad)
The simultaneous existence of opposing feelings or attitudes towards a person or object.
Example: Good and bad can co-exist.
Ambivalence
Attributing one’s own feelings to others
Projecting
A mother who is responsive to her infant’s needs provides comfort and protects them from overwhelming distress.
The mother’s role is to provide a safe and nurturing environment for the infant.
Good Enough Mother
Emphasized the vulnerability of the infant and the need for the caregiver (good-enough mother) to provide a good holding environment.
Donald Winnicott (1886 - 1971)
Focus is on good-enough mother, holding environment, symbiosis, transitional objects
Donald Winnicott’s Object Relations Theory
A predictable and consistent environment for the infant provided by the mother or caregiver.
Examples:
Consistent routines: Regular feeding, bathing, and bedtime schedules can help create a sense of predictability.
Responsive caregiving: Promptly attending to the infant’s needs
Emotional warmth and support: Showing love, affection, and empathy
Holding Environment
The initial state of complete dependence between the infant and the caregiver.
The infant is completely dependent on the caregiver for their survival and emotional well-being.
Examples:
Breastfeeding
Constant Care
Shared Experiences
Symbiosis
Objects that help the infant transition from dependence to independence.
A familiar object that helps the infant cope with separation from the caregiver.
Examples: A blanket, teddy bear, or other object that the infant becomes attached to.
Transitional Objects
A superficial or inauthentic sense of self that may develop when the environment is not holding.
It’s a way for the infant to protect themselves from overwhelming anxiety or emotional pain.
Examples:
Overly compliant to submissive behaviour
Acting out
Difficulty expressing emotions
False Self
The infant’s attempts to make up for their destructive impulses towards the mother and maintain the relationship.
Reparate
The quality of early attachments can have long-lasting effects on mental health and social development.
“In order to grow up mentally healthy, the child should experience a warm intimate and continuous relationship with its mother.”
John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory
Is a bit like a cognitive framework, a prototype for subsequent relationships.
Example: A child who has a secure attachment may expect positive and supportive relationships in the future.
Internal Working Model
A strong disposition to seek proximity to and contact with a specific figure and to do so in certain situations, notably when frightened, tired, or ill.
We have an innate ability to bond with one another.
Attachment
A healthy attachment style characterized by trust in others, a sense of self-worth, and the ability to form and maintain close relationships.
Example: A child who is consistently cared for and loved may lead to trust in others and healthy relationships.
Secure Attachment
An attachment style characterized by difficulties in forming or maintaining relationships, emotional distress, and negative self-esteem.
Can lead to difficulties in forming and maintaining relationships.
Insecure Attachment
Characterized by emotional distance and a reluctance to form close bonds.
A child who experiences neglect or rejection may have difficulty forming close bonds and emotional distance.
Avoidant Attachment
Characterized by inconsistency and uncertainty in relationships.
A child who experiences inconsistent caregiving may result in uncertainty, anxiety, and clinginess in relationships.
Ambivalent Attachment
According to Bowlby, what Initial Experiences result in certain Attachment Styles?
Positive and Loved - > Secure Attachment Style
Unloved and Rejected -> Avoidant Attachment Style
Inconsistent Behaviour -> Ambivalent Attachment Style
