- Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939)
- Freud’s Psychosexual Stages (1856 – 1939)
- Cathartic Model (Freud)
- Topographic theory of the mind (Freud)
- Structural theory of the mind (Freud)
- Dream Analysis (Freud)
- Dream Work (Freud)
- Transference and Countertransference
- Defense Mechanisms
- Jungian Analytic Psychology
- Kleinian Object Relations Theory
Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939)
Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist who pioneered psychoanalysis. His major works include: Studies on Hysteria, Interpretation of Dreams, Three Essays on the Theory of sexuality, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, and Moses and Monotheism.
Freud’s Psychosexual Stages (1856 – 1939)
Freud’s theory of psychosexual development focused on the effects of the sexual pleasure drive on the mind. He believed that at particular points along the developmental path, a body part is sensitive to sexual, erotic stimulations (erogenous zones – mouth, anus and genitals)
Psychosexual stages
| Age (years) | Stage | Features | Nota bene |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 – 1 | Oral | Gratification is achieved through oral means (breastfeeding) | Oral receptive – Fixation in smoking, Oral aggressive |
| 1 – 3 | Anal | Gratification is achieved by the child’s perceived ability to control their anal sphincter (defecation) | Anal retentive OCPD -, anal |
| 3 – 6 | Phallic | Gratification is achieved (in the male child) through awareness of the phallus (penis) | He proposed that the Oedipus complex occurs in this stage. The same gender parent is perceived as a hate object due to the child’s love for the opposite gender parent. Sexual suppression starts as the individual is afraid the father might castrate them |
| 6 years to puberty | Latency | Sexual development is latent as intellectual/social growth becomes more prominent | They can become reserved or develop low self-esteem. |
| Puberty and beyond | Genital | Sexual desires are rekindled |
Cathartic Model (Freud)
This model was based on the treatment of young females with hysteria (hysteria being an all-embracing term for many neurotic disorders). According to this model, hysterical neurosis was due to repressed, damped-up sexual feelings. These feelings were released (opening up the ‘psychic’ abscess) through hypnosis or free association to resolve the hysteria
Topographic theory of the mind (Freud)
Freud divided the mind into the conscious, preconscious and unconscious.
| Level | Description |
|---|---|
| Conscious | Aware of what is going on outside. Involves current thoughts which are logical, organised, mature and can delay gratification (secondary process thinking) |
| Preconscious | Lies between conscious and unconscious, and contains memories and thoughts that are easy to bring into awareness, but not unless consciously retrieved |
| Unconscious | Consists of repressed memories that are inaccessible. These are usually primitive and pleasure-seeking with no regard to logic or time (primary process thinking). Commonly seen in children and psychosis. Thoughts and ideas may be repressed because they are embarrassing, shameful, or otherwise too painful. |
Structural theory of the mind (Freud)
Freud divided the mind into the id, the ego and the superego. This is his most popular theory. The id is born with, the ego develops at 3 years, and the superego is learnt at 6 years with experiences
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| Id | Operates on the pleasure principle. It involves instinctual sexual/aggressive urges and primary process thinking**.** It is unconsciously motivated. |
| Ego | Operates on the reality principle. It is the mediator between the id, superego, and external environment. The ego seeks to develop satisfying interpersonal relationships by using defence mechanisms to control instinctual urges and distinguish fantasy from reality using reality testing. |
| Superego | Acts as the moral conscience and ego ideal. This is the inner image of oneself that one wants to become. It is derived from internalised representations of significant others in one’s early life, e.g., teachers and parents. |
Dream Analysis (Freud)
Freud wrote ‘The Interpretation of Dreams’, in which he stated that dreams represent the fulfilment of repressed wishes. By analysing dreams, invaluable information is provided about unconscious conflicts.
Dream Work (Freud)
Dream work refers to the process by which unconscious feelings (latent content) are converted into the actual recalled dream (the manifest content). Mechanisms of dream work include: symbolization, dramatisation, displacement, condensation, and secondary elaboration.
Transference and Countertransference
Analysis and interpretation of transference and countertransference are important in explorative psychotherapies (psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapies) where the patient’s early life experiences are explored.
Definition of terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Transference | Refers to the unconscious transferring of feelings that the patient had towards a formative figure, e.g. a parent in the past, onto the therapist in the present setting. |
| Countertrasnference | Refers to the feelings unconsciously evoked in the therapist as a reaction to the transference |
Defense Mechanisms
Defence mechanisms are unconscious processes that help to avoid experiencing the psychic pain associated with unacceptable conflicts /impulses. These mechanisms are universal and are not necessarily pathological. Freud’s daughter, Anna Freud, produced the first systematic list of the common defence mechanisms. Since then, there have been significant contributions to the list from others.
Defence mechanisms can be characterised as immature, mature and neurotic
Some Selected Defence Mechanisms
| Defense mechanism | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Repression | Unacceptable feelings or memories (e.g. of adverse childhood events) are repressed. This is the most important defence according to Freud. If repression is total, there is no need for other defence mechanisms | |
| Regression | The person reverts to an earlier, more immature stage of development so that they become more dependent on others. Regression is encouraged in the psychoanalytic setting | Fixation on the oral stage for smoking addiction or the anal stage for excessive perfectionism/wanting to be in control |
| Denial | The person refuses to acknowledge reality in order to avoid the psychic pain associated with that reality | A patient refusing to acknowledge the fact that he/she is drinking heavily |
| Projeciton | The person externalises their own unacceptable feelings and attributes them to others | A person with latent racist feelings projects them onto others, making it easier to justify their own feelings |
| Displacement | Feelings are transferred from one person/object to another to reduce psychic pain. Freud explained phobias in terms of this mechanism | |
| Rationalisation | The person provides a logical (but not wholly true) justification for their or others’ actions to avoid the psychic pain associated with acknowledging the true reasons for the action. | “My wife left me for a wealthier man”, when the true reason might have been the husband’s chronic neglect of his wife’s emotional needs |
| Reaction formation | The person behaves in away that is diametrically opposite to his feelings. | Psychoanalysts explain OCD as a reaction to unacceptable feelings of dirt or chaos |
| Sublimation | A mature defence mechanism where a person channels and expresses their unacceptable feelings/impulses into socially acceptable actions | Expressing aggressive urges through contact sports such as rugby |
| Turning against the self | The patient redirects towards themselves those unacceptable feelings they have against others | May explain self-harm behaviour |
| Magical undoing | The patient tries to ‘cancel ot’ an unacceptable thought with an acceptable act. | Psychoanalysts explain the compulsive rituals of OCD through this defence mechanism |
| Splitting | The patient splits objects (persons) into positive and negative aspects (good/bad, caring/uncaring). The person is able to see only one aspect of a person at a time, and not the person as a whole. | Self: “ I’m awful”; “I’m wonderful”; Others: “The psychiatrist is uncaring”, “The nurse is caring” |
| Projective Identification | The patient projects their feelings onto an external person, and the latter identifies the role that the patient expects. Interpretation of the countertransference in this situation brings clarity. | A patient may project feelings of hate towards the therapist, and the therapist may behave in a way that confirms to the patient that they are indeed being hated by the therapist. |
Jungian Analytic Psychology
Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961), a Swiss psychiatrist, founded the school of analytical psychology after disagreeing with Freud. He introduced the concepts of extraversion and introversion, and divided the unconscious into personal unconscious (unique to each individual) and collective unconscious (universal, common to mankind and consists of symbols and images called archetypes). Jung also wrote about the persona: the outer aspect of one’s personality (’mask’) that others see. He also used the term anumus to denote the masculine aspects of a woman, and anima to denote the feminine aspects of a man.
- Jungian vs Freudian psychoanalysts
- Jungian psychoanalysts concentrate relatively more on the patients’ fantasy world and artistic creativity
- Jungian psychoanalysts are more active in the therapy room (unlike Freudian therapists, who are passive) and reveal personal information about themselves to the patient
Kleinian Object Relations Theory
Melanie Klein (1882 – 1960) laid the foundations of object relations theory by studying infants and very young children through play analysis. She postulated positions: the infant progresses through two stages – paranoid-schizoid and the depressive positions.
Position
| Position | Description |
|---|---|
| Paranoid-schizoid position | The infant splits its mother into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ and is unable to see that it is the same mother who provides (’good mother’) and denies (’bad mother’) |
| Depressive position | The child comes to see the mother as a whole object consisting of both good and bad aspects. Guilt is prominent as the child fears whether its previous feelings of hatred would destroy the mother. The child realises that the mother can be an object of both love and hate at different times, and learns to cope with this ambivalence. |