Psychoanalytic & Adlerian Theories

Psychoanalytic Theory

                                                                                                                          Carl Jung

Sigmund Freud                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

 Key Figures:

Sigmund Freud

Carl Jung

Melanie Klein

Wilfred Brion

Jacques Lacan

Julia Kristeva

Slavoj Zizek

Psychoanalysis is:

• A therapeutic technique for the treatment of neurosis.
• A technique used to train psychoanalysts. A basic requirement of psychoanalytic training is to undergo a successful analysis.
• A scientific technique of critical observation. The successors and contemporaries of Freud - Carl Jung, Alfred Adle , Wilhelm Reich, Melanie Klein, Wilfred Bion, Jacques Lacan, and many others - have refined Freud's theories and advanced new theories using the basic method of quiet critical observation and study of individual patients and other events.
• A body of knowledge so acquired.
• A clinical theory
• A movement, particularly as led by Freud, to secure and defend acceptance of the theories and techniques . ("Hd fs 129:," 2008)

Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory

Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory. According to Sigmund Freud, development is primarily unconscious and behavior is motivated by unconscious/inner forces, memories, and conflicts over which a person has little control or awareness.

Although much of his theory is considered out-dated, Freud made a revolutionary contribution to the field of human development by emphasizing the idea that early childhood experiences affect our experiences as adults. ("Hd fs 129:," 2008)

 

Structure of Personality

Freud believed our personality comprised three parts: the id, the ego, and the superego, which become integrated as we grow and develop. (Quigley, 1998)

ID: internal drives/instincts, goal to maximize pleasure & avoid pain/discomfort;

EGO: addresses the demand of reality;

SUPEREGO: moral branch, evaluates right from wrong. (Quigley, 1998)

Is Psychoanalysis only a Therapy?

Although psychoanalysis began as a tool for ameliorating emotional suffering, it is not only a therapy. It is, in addition, a method for learning about the mind, and also a theory, a way of understanding the processes of normal everyday mental functioning and the stages of normal development from infancy to old age. Furthermore, since psychoanalysis seeks to explain how the human mind works, it contributes insight into whatever the human mind produces. In so doing, it has had a profound influence on many aspects of twentieth-century culture. ("Hd fs 129:," 2008)

As a general theory of individual human behavior and experience, psychoanalytic ideas enrich and are enriched by the study of the biological and social sciences, group behavior, history, philosophy, art, and literature. As a developmental theory, psychoanalysis contributes to child psychology, education, law, and family studies. Through its examination of the complex relationship between body and mind, psychoanalysis also furthers our understanding of the role of emotions in health as well as in medical illness. ("Hd fs 129:," 2008)

In addition, psychoanalytic knowledge is the basis of all other dynamic approaches to therapy. Whatever the modifications, the insights of psychoanalysis form the underpinnings of much of the psychotherapy employed in general psychiatric practice, in child psychiatry, and in most other individual, family, and group therapies. ("Hd fs 129:," 2008)

References

Hd fs 129: Introduction to human development and family studies. (2008).

             Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/welcome/hdfs129/lesson02_01.html

Quigley, T. R. (1998). A brief outline of psychoanalysis.

             Retrieved from http://www.panix.com/~squigle/at/psycho.html