Psychoanalytic Therapy

Flashcards covering key terms and concepts related to Psychoanalytic Therapy.

Psychoanalysis

A method of therapy developed by Sigmund Freud that emphasizes the exploration of unconscious motivations and conflicts.

Id

The original system of personality that operates on the pleasure principle and is driven by instinctual needs.

Ego

The psychological component of personality that governs, controls, and regulates behavior through the reality principle.

Superego

The moral component of personality that classifies actions as right or wrong and strives for perfection.

Libido

Freud's term for the energy of life instincts that motivate behavior, originally focused on sexual energy but later broadened.

Death Instincts

Freud's concept referring to the aggressive drives that can lead individuals to manifest unconscious wishes to harm themselves or others.

Defense Mechanisms

Unconscious strategies that protect an individual from anxiety and help manage emotions.

Repression

The unconscious blocking of unacceptable thoughts, memories, feelings, and impulses.

Projection

Misattributing one’s undesired thoughts or feelings to another person.

Sublimation

The channeling of unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable behaviors or thoughts.

Compensation

Psychologically counterbalancing perceived weaknesses by emphasizing strengths in other areas.

Transference

A phenomenon where patients project feelings about important figures in their lives onto the therapist.

Individuation

The process of developing a distinct personality or self, emphasized in contemporary psychoanalytic thought.

Anxiety

A feeling of dread resulting from repressed feelings, memories, and desires, which may manifest as reality, neurotic, or moral anxiety.

Countertransference

The therapist's emotional entanglement with the client's transference.

Psychosexual Stages of Development

Freud's theory that suggests personality develops through stages (oral, anal, phallic) in early childhood.

Dissociation

A process where a person loses track of time or self, often as a result of trauma, creating a psychological escape.