Great emphasis on childhood experiences and biology
The goal of psychoanalysis was to have equilibrium between the three systems, the id, ego, and superego.
Personality Structure
Freud believed that personality is comprised of three systems. All three systems work together to form our personalities. The Id:
Present at birth and included instincts
Largely unconscious
In close touch with needs and messages from the body
Seeks to avoid pain and discomfort by pursuing pleasurable experiences
The id uses two strategies to get what it wants. The first is reflex actions, which is an automatic response that helps a person avoid discomfort or tension. The second is primary process, which is when a person forms a mental image of what they think they want or need to help relieve their discomfort. Primary process is more complex and can cause more frustration if the person cannot reach or obtain the image they have in mind, or if it fails to reduce their discomfort.
The Superego:
Conscious internalizing rules of their world
Discriminates between good and bad
Perfectionistic
Helps develop self-control
Sacrifices pleasure and gratification
The superego is the opposite of the id and helps a person develop a moral code depending on the messages they receive from the world they live in and the rules that are established by figures in their world. The superego is not present at birth and develops as a person grows older. If the superego is weak, one may feel shame, guilt, and anxiety for not following the rules of society. If the superego is too strong it can be controlling.
The Ego:
Develops as the child grows and separates him/herself from their mother
Aware of pressures from both the id and superego
Helps determine which demands or instructions should be met
Mediator between external and internal needs
The ego has considerable power and helps to determine how a person should respond to internal and external situations. The ego uses logic, intelligence, objectivity, and awareness to determine the choices and behaviors of a person. The goal of psychoanalysis is to strengthen the ego and create equilibrium between the three systems.
Stages of Development
According to Freud, there are 5 stages of development that are predictable and play a role with personality development. The oral stage:
First year of a child's life is made up of the oral stage where the mouth is the main focus area for achieving satisfaction through sucking, eating, and biting.
The anal stage:
This stage takes place when a child is between the age of 18-36 months. It is called the anal stage because it is when children are being toilet trained. The main focus of the body shifts from oral functions to pleasing parents through the emptying of bowels.
The phallic stage:
The phallic stage begins around age 3 and continues until about age 5. Freud believed that children in this stage harbored unconscious sexual desires for the opposite sex parent and resentment towards the same sex parent.
The latency stage:
Occurs between the ages of 5 and 11 where sexual drives decrease and social interest increases.
The genital stage:
The genital stage lasts throughout adulthood. People develop their personal identities, progress in their careers, and establish loving relationships with others.
Treatment
Transference:
The client projects characteristics of another person in their life onto the therapist as if the therapist possesses those characteristics.
Countertransference:
It is encouraged that the clinicians feelings about their client is avoided and that clinicians remain aware about any strong emotional reactions.
Free association:
Free association was used to help access repressed materials stored in a persons unconscious mind. Clients should say whatever comes to mind without judging or censoring thoughts in order to find the connection between each thought. The goal of free association is to help the client recall information and release intense emotional feelings.
Abreaction:
The client recalls a painful experience that was repressed and relives the experience in order to work through the emotions that are associated with it, causing an emotional release.
Interpretation and analysis:
Designed to promote awareness and insight, this fundamental technique focuses on the interpretation and analysis of dreams, Freudian slips, transference, and free association to make unconscious thoughts conscious. Analysis was making unconscious representations known. These representations were then used to interpret the meaning of the representations and how they link to current issues the client is facing.