psychodynamic approach

Assumption 1

The tripartite personality

Assumption 1 explained

We are split into three parts

1. ID, EGO, superEGO

They appear at different times during our childhood

They always compete, its important they are kept balanced

ID (devil)

Pleasure principle which wants to seek pleasure with no moral reasoning

Dosent consider consequences

EGO (mediator)

Develops around 2 years old also called the reality principle which attempts to keep the ID in check

SUPEREGO (angel)

Last to develop - 4yrs

What teaches you right and wrong - a moral sense

Assumption 2

Influence of childhood experiences

Influence of childhood experiences

Experiences during childhood shape our adult hood personality

All kids go through psychosexual development

5 stages - with a libido

With different fixations

Frustration

When the stage has not been resolved because needs have not been met, the child in under-satisfied

Overindulgence

This is when the needs of the child have been more than satisfied and the result is that the child feels to conformable and reluctant to move onto the next stage

Oral stage

Source of pleasure - mouth

Key event - breast feeding, sucking

Outcome of fixation - optimistic and gullible and dependent - aggressive, pessimistic, envious and suspicious

Anal stage

Source of pleasure - anus

Key event - potty training

Outcome of fixation - too little gratification - stubbornness, orderliness and stinginess

Frustration = stubborn

Phallic stage

Source of pleasure - genitals

Key event - exploration and interest in genitals - undergo gender identity

Outcome of fixation - self-assured, vain, may have problems with sexuality and difficulty building and maintaining relation shops in adult hood

Latency stage

Source of pleasure - dormant

Key event - acquiring knowledge and understanding

Outcome of fixation - no fixations and no pleasure focus

Genital phase

Source of pleasure - genitals

Key event - heterosexual intercourse

Outcome of fixation - well-developed adult personality, well adjusted

Assumption 2 pneumonic

Old age pensioners love guinness

Oral stage age

0-18 months

Anal stage age

18 months - 3yrs

Phallic stage age

3-6 yrs

Latency stage age

6-puberty

Genital stage age

Puberty - mature sexuality

Oedipus complex

Boy starts to desire his mother and wants to have sex with her

The boy sees his father as a rival for his mothers attention and wishes to kill him

He fears that if his father finds out he will castrate him

The boy is in a state of conflict he resolves this by internalising and identifying with his father

This leads to the development of the supergo the boy substitutes his mother into desire for another women

Electra complex

The girl begins to develop penis envy, she blames her mother for removing her penis

She starts to sexually desire her father who has a penis

The girl sees her mother as a sexual rival for her father

To resolve this the girl identifies with her mother so that she can have her father

The supergo develops as does gender identity she replaces penis envy for desire for a baby

Unconscious mind in terms of dream analysis

The main aim to psychoanalysis is to make the unconscious conscious so that people become aware of unconscious influences

Dream analysis is though to be ‘via regia’ the ‘royal road’ to the unconscious mind

Child hood experiences in the terms of dream analysis

Any traumatic even that has occured during early childhood may have been repressed and surface in the form of dreams in the context of the clients life

Tripartite personality

Freud believes when a person is dreaming the ego becomes suppressed and the ID is given free rein and dreams may represent unconscious motives, wishes and desires that would be socially acceptable in the waking world

Dreams as wish fulfilment

Freud believes all dreams were ‘unconscious fulfilment of wishes that could not be satisfied in the conscious mind’

Dreams protect the sleeper but also allow expression to these buried verges

The symbolic nature of dreams

Content of dreams - expressed symbolically

Real meaning of a dream is transferred to more innocuous symbolic meanings of things e.g objects that look similar will symbolise other objects

Dreams must be considered in context of a persons life

Dreamwork

Latent content of dreams transferred to manifest content through the process of dreamwork

Role of the therapist

To reverse the dream work process to decide manifest content back to latent content

Suggest various interpretations of the dream based on patients feedback and life experiences, allowing patient to select those that make sense

Condensation

is the idea that many elements that make up the latent content of the dream are represented in the dream by just one image/picture therefore the information condenses

Displacement

is the idea that significant features of the manifest content were sometimes represented as seemingly insignificant. This means that what the dream seems to be about is very different to the meaning

Representation

is the idea that an abstract thought is represented by a visual image when we describe our dreams we use words to describe the image

Symbolism

is that any significant features of the dream may be replaced by a symbol, for example, a sword representing a penis

Secondary elaboration

is the process occured by the unconscious connecting all the images within the dream and fitting them together to make sense of the dream, giving it a logical story but by doing this it further disguising the latent content

LDLR gene

Involved in formation of LDL receptors, allowing cells to take up LDL

LDLR mutation

This effects the formation or shape of the LDL receptors leading to little uptake of LDL and higher LDL levels in the blood

1 in 500 carry the gene which may account for 5-10% if CHD in those below 55

Salt risk factor

Causes retention of water in the kidneys leading to higher blood pressure

Lack of antioxidants risk factor

Good evidence to suggest that a diet rich in antioxidants can reduce the risk of heart disease

Eating fruits and vegetables daily reduces the risk of CHD by 33%

Stress risk factor

This releases adrenaline which raises blood pressure it can also affect other factors such as diet and exercise

Alcohol risk factors

Excess alcohol intake can directly damage organs and raise blood pressure

It impacts the ability of the liver to remove lipids and glucose from the blood leading to fat retention

Processing ethanol into ethanal may increases LDL levels

Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a rise in HDL levels

Caffeine risk factor

Both positive and negative results