Sigmund Freud and Psychoanalysis

What is psychoanalysis?

A therapy method to help treat mental disorders.

Unresolved conflicts during childhood.

Based in talking and analysis.

Free Association

The therapist will look for slips or inappropriate reactions to indicate what their unconscious mind is really thinking.

‘Freudian Slip’

Freud’s Dream Analysis

Dreams can reveal thoughts, desires, and actions.

Dreams are a way for our unconscious mind to express feelings or urges.

Manifest Content

This is the actual storyline or images in the dream.

Latent Content

This us the deeper, hidden meaning behind the dream.

Flying

Represents freedom, escaping, high aspirations, goals, and desire to rise above challenges.

Being Chased

Avoiding a problem or situation in your real life.

Falling

Loss of control in real life, anxiety about a situation or fear or failure.

Losing Teeth

Symbolizes anxiety about appearance or a fear of embarrassment.

ID Theory

Unconscious, pleasure principle, our initial wants and instincts, seeking gratification without using logic.

Things we are unaware of and can not become aware of.

EGO Theory

Conscious, reality principle, the only region of the mind that is in full contact with reality.

The small amount of mental activity we know about.

SUPEREGO Theory

Preconscious (mostly unconscious), moralistic and idealistic principle, the moral and ideal aspect of personality.

Things we could be aware of if we wanted or tried.

Defence Mechanisms

Psychological strategies we use to cope with reality.

Protects ego from anxiety and distress.

Unconscious responses.

Repression

Pushing uncomfortable thoughts into unconscious.

Forgetting a traumatic childhood event.

Denial

Refusing to accept reality.

A person who is addicted to substances may deny they have a problem.

Projection

Attributing one’s own feelings to others, accusing others of your vices.

Accusing others of being angry when you are the one feeling that way.

Rationaliztion

Making excuses for behaviour or justifying feelings with logical reasons, avoiding the true explanation.

“I didn’t want to go to that party anyways”. After not being invited.

Displacement

Redirecting emotions to a safer target.

Having a bad day at school and yelling at your siblings.

Sublimation

Converting negatives urges into positive actions.

Channeling aggression into competitive sports.

Regresstion

Reverting to childlike behaviour.

Throwing a tantrum when stressed.

Reaction Formation

Expressing the opposite of one’s feelings or impulses.

A way to cope with anxiety by transforming unacceptable thoughts or emotions into their opposites.

Someone who has romantic feelings for a friend might act cold or dismissive towards them to hide their true emotions.

Psychological Theory

Pleasure and frustration profoundly shape adult personality.

Suggests that human development occurs through a series of stages.

Fixations

Fixation

A lingering focus of pleasure seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage.

Oral stage (0-18 months)

During the first 18 months of life, infants pleasure enters on the mouth.

Sucking, biting, chewing.

Fixation issues: dependency, or aggression.

Anal stage (18 months- 3 years)

Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder.

Toilet training.

Leads to a sense of accomplishment and independence.

Too lenient parents

An anal expulsive personality could develop, messy and wasteful

Too strict parents

Being toilet trained too early, an anal retentive personality develops.

Phallic stage (3-6 years)

Pleasure focuses on the genitals as the child discovers the differences between males and females.

Penis Envy - youn girl experiencing the absence of a penis, develops a feeling of envy and desire for one.

Castration Anxiety - a boys unconscious fear of losing or damaging their genital organ.

Triggers the oedipus complex.

Oedipus complex

Young Childs development of an intense desire to replace the parent of the same sex and enjoy the affection of the opposite sex parent.

Latency stage (6-12 years)

Children enter into school and become more concerned with peers, relationships, hobbies and interests.

Intellectual pursuits.

Important in the development of social and communication skills and self confidence

Genital Stage (12 years)

Sexual reawakening, source of sexual pleasure now becomes someone outside of the family.

Individual becomes well balanced, warm and caring.

Oral

Smoking, eating, and drinking.

Anal

Excessively messy or neat.

Phallic

Penis envy, castration anxiety.

Latency

Lack of social and communication skills.

Genital

Sexual perservations may develop.