Psychoanalytic Therapy

Prepared by:
 Insecto, Gabriel Moira
 Noveno, Dan Israel
 Ramiro, Benjard
Brief History
 Sigmund Freud grew up in a time of great scientific
progress, which influenced the development of his
psychological theories.
a. Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin.
b. Hermann von Helmholtz proposed that a human
was an energy system that obeys the same physical laws
as other matter.
 At seventeen Freud entered medical school and was
influenced by Ernst Brucke
 He first studied in France with Jean Charcot
(Hypnosis)
 He then studied with Joseph Breuer (Catharsis)
 While scientifically exploring underlying causes of
behavior, Freud formulated the idea of unconscious
forces.
 All of these works led to the psychoanalytic system of
psychology.
The Vienna circle. Otto Rank, Alfred Adler, Carl Jung,
Karl Abraham, Max Eitingon, Sandor Ferenczi, Hans
Sachs, and Ernest Jones all started out as confederates
and disciples of Freud.
Beliefs of Psychoanalysis
 The view on Human nature;
a. It is purely deterministic
b. Life Instinct
 Structure of Personality;
a. Id- Pleasure principle
b. Ego- Known as the traffic Cop
c. Superego- Morality Principle
 Consciousness, Pre-Conscious and Unconsciousness
 Anxiety
a. Anxiety- Fear of danger in external world
b. Neurotic Anxiety- occurs when there is a direct
conflict between the id and the ego.
c. Moral Anxiety- is caused by a conflict between the
ego and the superego.
 Defense Mechanisms
 Psychosexual Stages of Development
Therapeutic Goals:

1) To make unconscious motives conscious, and

2) To strengthen the Ego to be more aligned with reality

and lessen dependence on the instinctual cravings of the
Id or the irrational guilt provided by the Superego.
The Relationship between the Client and Therapist

 Therapists and clients mostly hold a transference

relationship.
Clients and therapists go through a working-through
process
 Therapists must be well aware of Countertransference
The Therapeutic Process
Application: Therapeutic
Techniques and Procedures
 Rorschach Ink Blots
The ink blot is known as a projective test as the
patient 'projects' information from their unconscious mind
to interpret the ink blot
 Parapraxes/ Freudian Slip
Clients reveal what is really on their mind by saying
something they didn't mean to.
 Free Association
This is where the client, without censorship, will be
encouraged to say whatever is on their mind.
 Dream Analysis
Freud describes dreams as “The Royal Road To
Unconsciousness”. It could be interpreted through
displacement and Symbolization.
 Analysis and Interpretation of Resistance
This technique identifies the client’s restriction,
refusal, and reluctance to bring surface of awareness any
unconscious material that is repressed.
 Analysis and Interpretation of Transference
Being one of the major cornerstones in
Psychoanalytic therapy, it is important that the therapist
analyze and properly interpret the transference
relationship they hold.
Weaknesses
In general, considering factors such as time, expense,
and availability of trained psychoanalytic therapists, the
practical applications of many psychoanalytic
techniques are limited.
Commitments to such therapy takes a long time to
accomplish an analytic goal (2-5 meetings/week for
several years)
Psychoanalysis and it’s therapy is now recently
criticized over it’s irrelevance to contemporary culture.
This type of therapy does not work for all people and
all types of disorders
They might discover some painful and unpleasant
memories that had been repressed, which causes them
more distress.
 Has explanatory power, but lacks scientific validity.
Strengths
Many observations of psychodynamic therapists
appear to be borne out in everyday life, e.g., defense
mechanisms.
 Many people with psychological disturbances do
recollect childhood traumas.
Freudian theory provides a comprehensive framework
to describe human personality.
Freud ‘rehumanised’ the distressed, making their
suffering more comprehensible to the rest of society.
By developing a method of treatment, Freud
encouraged a more optimistic view regarding
psychological distress. Mental illness could, in some
cases at least, be treated!
References:
 Hapiza, S. (2014). Psychodynamic approach strength and weaknesses
retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/FizaBrunzie/psychodynamic-
approach-strengths-and-weaknesses
McLeod, S. A. (2007). Psychoanalysis. Retrieved from
https://www.simplypsychology.org/psychoanalysis.html
https://run.edu.ng/directory/oermedia/9564189025567.pdf
 James, R & Gilliland, B. Psychoanalytic Therapy retrieved from
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/fd89/84eee9a27b04264327edba65e69b6fd
4f16a.pdf