Module 6.1: Psychotherapy Approaches (Psychodynamic)

Unconscious Mind

A significant part of our mental life that operates outside conscious awareness, influencing behavior.

Early Childhood Experiences

Experiences that profoundly impact personality and psychological difficulties, with unresolved conflicts manifesting in adulthood.

Psychological Determinism

The concept that all behavior is meaningful and determined by underlying psychological factors, often unconscious.

Internal Conflict

Psychological distress arising from unconscious conflicts between different parts of the mind.

Defense Mechanisms

Unconscious strategies used by the ego to protect itself from anxiety.

Therapeutic Relationship

Crucial for exploring and understanding the patient's relational patterns, including transference and countertransference.

Repression

The unconscious act of pushing unacceptable thoughts and feelings out of awareness.

Denial

The refusal to acknowledge reality.

Projection

Attributing one's own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to others.

Displacement

Redirecting emotions to a less threatening target.

Regression

Reverting to earlier, more childlike patterns of behavior.

Freudian Slip

An unintentional error in speech or action that reveals unconscious thoughts or desires.

Rationalization

Creating logical explanations to justify unacceptable thoughts or behaviors.

Sublimation

Transforming or Channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable behaviors.

Reaction Formation

Behaving in opposition to one's true unconscious feelings.

Transference

Unconscious redirection of feelings from past relationships onto the therapist.

Countertransference

The therapist's unconscious emotional reactions towards the patient.

Interpretation

The therapist’s explanation of unconscious thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to provide insight.

Free Association

A technique where a patient says whatever comes to mind without censorship.

Dream Analysis

Interpreting dreams to uncover unconscious meanings.

Rorschach Inkblot Test

A projective test using inkblots; interpretations may reveal unconscious thoughts, feelings, and personality.

Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM)

A diagnostic handbook focusing on personality patterns, mental functioning, and subjective experience of symptoms, complementing the DSM.

Sigmund Freud

The founder of psychoanalysis.

Carl Jung

The developer of analytical psychology, emphasizing concepts like the collective unconscious and archetypes.

Alfred Adler

The founder of individual psychology, which focuses on social interest and striving for superiority.