essay about psychoanalytic approach

Psychoanalysis: Freud’s Psychoanalytic Approach to Therapy

Saul McLeod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

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Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

On This Page:

Psychoanalysis is a therapeutic approach and theory, founded by Sigmund Freud , that seeks to explore the unconscious mind to uncover repressed feelings and interpret deep-rooted emotional patterns, often using techniques like dream analysis and free association.

The primary assumption of psychoanalysis is the belief that all people possess unconscious thoughts, feelings, desires, and memories.

According to Freud, neurotic problems in later life are a product of the conflicts that arise during the Oedipal phase of development. These conflicts may be repressed because the immature ego is unable to deal with them at the time.

Basic Assumptions

• Psychoanalytic psychologists see psychological problems as rooted in the unconscious mind.
• Manifest symptoms are caused by latent (hidden) disturbances.
• Typical causes include unresolved issues during development or repressed trauma.
• Freud believed that people could be cured by making conscious their unconscious thoughts and motivations, thus gaining insight.
• Treatment focuses on bringing the repressed conflict to consciousness, where the client can deal with it.

Psychoanalytic therapy aims to create the right sort of conditions so that the patient can bring these conflicts into the conscious mind, where they can be addressed and dealt with.  Only by having a cathartic (i.e., healing) experience is the person helped and “cured.”

How Can We Understand The Unconscious Mind?

Remember, psychoanalysis is a therapy as well as a theory. Psychoanalysis is commonly used to treat depression and anxiety disorders.

In psychoanalysis (therapy), Freud would have a patient lie on a couch to relax, and he would sit behind them taking notes while they told him about their dreams and childhood memories.  Psychoanalysis would be a lengthy process, involving many sessions with the psychoanalyst.

During analysis, the analyst interprets the patient’s thoughts, actions and dreams , and points out their defenses. By carefully waiting until the patient himself is about to gain the same insight the analyst can maximize the impact of the interpretation.

Related to these interpretations is the problem of the patient’s denial. The analyst may well have reason to believe that a patient’s denial of an interpretation offered by the analyst is another example of the defensive process.

Analysis of defenses is emphasized by contemporary psychoanalysts (known as ego analysts) who dispute the relatively weak role that Freud assigned the ego (Davison & Neale, 1994). They argue that defence mechanisms are the ego’s unconscious tools for warding off a confrontation with anxiety.

Due to the nature of defense mechanisms and the inaccessibility of the deterministic forces operating in the unconscious, psychoanalysis in its classic form is a lengthy process, often involving 2 to 5 sessions per week for several years.

Of particular significance during psychoanalysis are the patient’s attempts at resistance. They may attempt to block discussion by changing the subject quickly, for example, or even neglecting to turn up for therapy. Freud considered these resistances a valuable insight into uncovering sensitive areas in the patient’s unconscious mind.

This approach assumes that the reduction of symptoms alone is relatively inconsequential, as if the underlying conflict is not resolved, more neurotic symptoms will be substituted.

The analyst typically is a “blank screen,” disclosing very little about themselves in order that the client can use the space in the relationship to work on their unconscious without interference from outside.

The psychoanalyst uses various techniques as encouragement for the client to develop insights into their behavior and the meanings of symptoms, including inkblots, parapraxes, free association, interpretation (including dream analysis ), resistance analysis and transference analysis.

1) Rorschach inkblots

Due to the nature of defense mechanisms and the inaccessibility of the deterministic forces operating in the unconscious,

The Rorschach inkblot itself doesn”t mean anything, it’s ambiguous (i.e., unclear). It is what you read into it that is important. Different people will see different things depending on what unconscious connections they make.

The inkblot is known as a projective test as the patient “projects” information from their unconscious mind to interpret the inkblot.

However, behavioral psychologists such as B.F. Skinner have criticized this method as being subjective and unscientific.

2) Freudian Slip

Unconscious thoughts and feelings can transfer to the conscious mind in the form of parapraxes, popularly known as Freudian slips or slips of the tongue. We reveal what is really on our mind by saying something we didn’t mean to.

Freud believed that these were no accidents but were due entirely to the workings of the unconscious. As such, they were a valuable source of insight into this part of the human mind. These are more technically known as parapraxes.

For example, a nutritionist giving a lecture intended to say we should always demand the best in bread, but instead said bed. Another example is where a person may call a friend’s new partner by the name of a previous one, whom we liked better.

Freud believed that slips of the tongue provided an insight into the unconscious mind and that there were no accidents, every behavior (including slips of the tongue) was significant (i.e., all behavior is determined).

3) Free Association

A key part of learning to conduct psychoanalytic psychotherapy involves developing skills and techniques aimed at accessing and understanding unconscious processes.

This includes facilitating the client’s free association, where the client expresses whatever thoughts or feelings come to mind without censorship. As unconscious ideas and emotions emerge, the therapist helps the client explore and make meaning of them.

Free association is a psychoanalytic term used to describe the free association of ideas that can give an insight into the unconscious mind of the patient.

In free association, the patient is encouraged to speak freely and to verbalize anything that comes to mind. In this way the patient may be able to bring content to the surface that has previously been censored by the ego.

This technique involves a therapist giving a word or idea, and the patient immediately responds in an unconstrained way with the first word that comes to mind. The analyst then offers an interpretation of the relationship observed.

It is hoped that fragments of repressed memories will emerge in the course of free association, giving an insight into the unconscious mind.

Free association may not prove useful if the client shows resistance, and is reluctant to say what he or she is thinking.

On the other hand, the presence of resistance (e.g., an excessively long pause) often provides a strong clue that the client is getting close to some important repressed idea in his or her thinking, and that further probing by the therapist is called for.

Freud reported that his free-associating patients occasionally experienced such an emotionally intense and vivid memory that they almost relived the experience.  This is like a “flashback” from a war or a rape experience.

Such a stressful memory, so real it feels like it is happening again, is called an abreaction.  If such a disturbing memory occurred in therapy or with a supportive friend and one felt better–relieved or cleansed–later, it would be called a catharsis .

Frequently, these intensely emotional experiences provided Freud a valuable insight into the patient’s problems.

4) Dream Analysis

According to Freud, the analysis of dreams is “the royal road to the unconscious.” He argued that the conscious mind is like a censor, but it is less vigilant when we are asleep.

In dream analysis , the analyst attempts to unravel and interpret the symbolic nature of the patient’s dreams. The true concerns of the patient are often disguised in their dreams and may be experienced symbolically, i.e. they dream about something that represents their concern, rather than dreaming directly about the concern itself. The true concerns of the patient are often disguised in this symbolic form to protect the conscious mind from developing full awareness of the underlying concern.

As a result, repressed ideas come to the surface – though what we remember may well have been altered during the dream process.

As a result, we need to distinguish between the manifest content and the latent content of a dream. The former is what we actually remember.

The latter is what it really means. Freud believed that very often the real meaning of a dream had a sexual significance and in his theory of sexual symbolism, he speculates on the underlying meaning of common dream themes.

5) Transference Analysis

Another core technique is examining transference, which refers to how the client relates to the therapist in ways that unconsciously reflect early important relationships, and countertransference, the therapist’s own unconscious reactions to the client that can give insight into the therapeutic relationship dynamics.

So, trainees learn to attend carefully to the emotional interchanges within the therapy relationship as a source of insight into both parties’ unconscious relational patterns stemming from their developmental histories.

Of key importance in psychoanalytic therapy is transference . Freud had originally noticed that his patients sometimes felt and acted toward him as if he were an important person from the patient’s past.

Sometimes, these feelings were positive, but sometimes they were negative and hostile. Freud assumed these were relics of attitudes held toward these important persons in the patient’s past.

Freud felt that this transference was an inevitable aspect of psychoanalysis, and used it to explain to patients the childhood origins of many of the concerns and fears.

In psychoanalysis, transference is seen as essential to a complete cure. Analysts use the fact that transference is developing as a sign that an important repressed conflict is nearing the surface.

Countertransference

In psychoanalysis, countertransference refers to the emotional reactions and unconscious biases a therapist might have towards a patient, often influenced by the therapist’s own past experiences or unresolved feelings.

It’s the therapist’s emotional response to the patient’s transference.

Clinical Applications

Psychoanalysis (along with Rogerian humanistic counseling) is an example of a global therapy (Comer, 1995, p. 143) which has the aim of helping clients bring about a major change in their whole perspective on life.

This rests on the assumption that the current maladaptive perspective is tied to deep-seated personality factors. Global therapies stand in contrast to approaches which focus mainly on a reduction of symptoms, such as cognitive and behavioral approaches, so-called problem-based therapies.

Psychoanalytic therapy has been seen as appropriate mainly for the neurotic disorders (e.g. anxiety and eating disorders) rather than for psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. It is also used for depression although its effectiveness in this area is more questionable because of the apathetic nature of the depressive patients.

A related problem is the greater likelihood of transference in depressive patients undergoing psychoanalysis. They are likely to show extreme dependency upon important people in their life (including their therapist) and more likely to develop transference (Comer, 1995).

Anxiety disorders such as phobias, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder are obvious areas where psychoanalysis might be assumed to work.

The aim is to assist the client in coming to terms with their own id impulses or to recognize the origin of their current anxiety in childhood relationships that are being relived in adulthood.  Svartberg and Stiles (1991) and Prochaska and DiClemente (1984) point out that the evidence for its effectiveness is equivocal.

Salzman (1980) suggests that psychodynamic therapies generally are of little help to clients with specific anxiety disorders such as phobias or OCDs but may be of more help with general anxiety disorders.

Salzman (1980)  expresses concerns that psychoanalysis may increase the symptoms of OCDs because of the tendency of such clients to be overly concerned with their actions and to ruminate on their plight (Noonan, 1971).

Comer also suggests that psychoanalysis may not be appropriate for patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder in that it may inadvertently increase their tendency to over-interpret events in their life.

Depression may be treated with a psychoanalytic approach to some extent.  Psychoanalysts relate depression back to the loss every child experiences when realizing our separateness from our parents early in childhood.  An inability to come to terms with this may leave the person prone to depression or depressive episodes in later life.

Treatment then involves encouraging the client to recall that early experience and to untangle the fixations that have built up around it.  Particular care is taken with transference when working with depressed clients due to their overwhelming need to be dependent on others.

The aim is for clients to become less dependent and to develop a more functional way of understanding and accepting loss/rejection/change in their lives.

Shapiro and Emde (1991) report that psychodynamic therapies have been successful only occasionally.  One reason might be that depressed people may be too inactive or unmotivated to participate in the session.  In such cases a more directive, challenging approach might be beneficial.

Another reason might be that depressives may expect a quick cure and as psychoanalysis does not offer this, the client may leave or become overly involved in devising strategies to maintain a dependent transference relationship with the analyst.

Critical Evaluation

• Therapy is very time-consuming and is unlikely to provide answers quickly.
• People must be prepared to invest a lot of time and money into the therapy; they must be motivated.
• They might discover some painful and unpleasant memories that had been repressed, which causes them more distress.
• This type of therapy does not work for all people and all types of disorders.
• The nature of Psychoanalysis creates a power imbalance between therapist and client that could raise ethical issues.

There has been criticism in recent years that if psychoanalysis is of benefit to people, it is only of benefit to those who possess certain qualities. The acronym YAVIS has been used to indicate that patients who are young, attractive, verbal, intelligent, and successful would be the ones most likely to benefit from psychoanalysis.

Few studies appear to support the first three of these suggestions, although as well as the latter two suggestions there is evidence that psychoanalysis also works best with those clients who are highly motivated and have a positive attitude towards therapy.

Eysenck (1952) delivered the most damaging indictment of psychoanalysis when he reviewed studies of therapeutic outcomes for neurotic patients. He found that about half recovered within two years. What was so damning for psychoanalysis was that for similar patients who received no treatment at all (waiting list controls), the figure was about two thirds.

Critics of Eysenck’s findings discovered that he had made a number of arbitrary judgements about ‘recoveries’ that were unfavorable to the groups that received psychoanalytic treatments.

Bergin (1971) found that by selecting different outcome criteria, improvement in the psychoanalytically treated group rose to 83% whilst the percentage of control group patients showing significant improvement dropped to 30%.

Fisher and Greenberg (1977), in a review of the literature, conclude that psychoanalytic theory cannot be accepted or rejected as a package, “it is a complete structure consisting of many parts, some of which should be accepted, others rejected and the others at least partially reshaped.”

Eysenck’s claims against the effectiveness of psychoanalysis showed the difficulties of evaluation in this area. Individual differences in patients and therapists, and the relationship between them, might confound attempts to measure the effectiveness of a particular type of treatment. Measuring the outcome of treatment may also present problems in defining what is meant by ‘cure’.

Corsini and Wedding (1995, 2013) claim that, depending on the criteria involved, estimates of ‘cure’ as a result of psychoanalysis range from 30% to 60%.

Although changes in the occurrence of symptoms might be a suitable way of measuring the effectiveness of behaviorist techniques, the effectiveness of psychoanalytic therapy, which typically spans several years, is more subjective, measurable only by the extent to which the clients themselves feel that their condition has improved .

Fonagy (1981) questions whether attempts to validate Freud’s approach through laboratory tests have any validity themselves.

Freud’s theory questions the very basis of a rationalist, scientific approach and could well be seen as a critique of science, rather than science rejecting psychoanalysis because it is not susceptible to refutation.

The case study method is criticized as it is doubtful that generalizations can be valid since the method is open to many kinds of bias (e.g., Little Hans ).

However, psychoanalysis is concerned with offering interpretations to the current client, rather than devising abstract dehumanized principles.

Anthony Storr (1987), the well-known psychoanalyst appearing on TV and Radio 4’s “All in the Mind”, holds the view that whilst a great many psychoanalysts have a wealth of “data” at their fingertips from cases, these observations are bound to be contaminated with subjective personal opinion and should not be considered scientific.

Neo Freudians

Subsequent psychoanalytic theorists built upon but also challenged Freud’s drive theory.

Object relations theory shifted focus to relationships and attachment , with key figures like Melanie Klein , Donald Winnicott, and John Bowlby emphasizing how internal working models of self/other based on early caretaker relationships shape personality and relational patterns.

Harry Stack Sullivan and interpersonal psychoanalysis highlighted social and cultural factors influencing mental health. Heinz Kohut’s self-psychology focused on empathy, attunement, and disorders of the self like narcissism.

Intersubjective and relational psychoanalysis theories view the client’s and therapist’s subjectivities as co-created in an intersubjective field, with attention to enactments and dissociated self states, especially for trauma survivors.

Attachment Theory vs Psychoanalysis

Attachment theory , developed by John Bowlby, and psychoanalytic theory, developed by Sigmund Freud, offer complementary perspectives on human development and relationships.

While attachment theory reacted against some psychoanalytic views , like drive theory, the two approaches converge on many topics. Both see early childhood experiences as shaping internal models that influence adult relationships and behavior.

Attachment research provides empirical evidence that unresolved issues from childhood perpetuate across generations, a key psychoanalytic claim. Concepts like internal working models and secure base align with psychoanalytic ideas like transference and the therapeutic relationship fostering insight.

However, attachment theory more strongly emphasizes the impact of actual childhood events, whereas psychoanalysis highlights inner reality and fantasy.

Both offer useful frameworks for understanding how relational patterns persist or change across the lifespan. Their differences can spark productive dialogue on the roles of inner and outer reality in development. 

Psychoanalytic education also involves the trainee undergoing extensive personal therapy, where through experiencing the therapy process directly they gain firsthand insight into their own psychological conflicts, attachment history, unconscious reactions , and clinical blind spots.

This helps develop self-awareness and attunement needed to understand and respond helpfully to clients’ unconscious communications.

Finally, cultural competence requires analysts to engage in ongoing self-examination around differences and power dynamics related to their own and their clients’ sociocultural identities and experiences.

Unconscious assumptions, biases, stereotypes etc. rooted in culture and privilege/oppression influence clinical perceptions and relationships, so their ongoing reflection upon is considered imperative.

The multiple layers of self-exploration around unconscious processes in one’s personal therapy, clinical work, supervision, and sociocultural context form the bedrock of psychoanalytic clinical education and skill development.

Learning Check: You are the Therapist

Read through the notes below. Identify the methods the therapist is using. What do you think Albert’s problem is?

A young man, 18 years old, is referred to a psychoanalyst by his family doctor. It seems that, for the past year, the young man (Albert) has been experiencing a variety of symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, palpitations, sleep disturbances – all associated with extreme anxiety.

The symptoms are accompanied by a constant, but periodically overwhelming fear of death. He believes that he has a brain tumor and is, therefore, going to die.

However, in spite of exhaustive medical tests, no physical basis for the symptoms can be identified. The doctor finally concludes that Albert’s symptoms are probably psychologically based.

Albert arrives at the analyst’s office accompanied by his parents. He describes his problems and depicts his relationship with his parents as “rosy” – though admitting that his father may be “a little on the strict side.”

It emerges that his father will not permit Albert to go out during the week, and he must be home by 11 pm at weekends.

Additionally, he successfully broke up a relationship between Albert and a girlfriend because he thought they were getting “too close.” In describing this, Albert shows no conscious resentment, recounting the events in an emotional, matter of fact manner.

During one session, in which Albert is encouraged to free associate, he demonstrated a degree of resistance in the following example:

“I remember one day when I was a little kid, and my mother and I were planning to go out shopping together. My father came home early, and instead of my mother taking me out, the two of them went out together leaving me with a neighbor. I felt……for some reason my mind has gone completely blank.”

This passage is fairly typical of Albert’s recollections.

Occasionally, Albert is late for his appointments with the therapist, and less often he misses an appointment, claiming to have forgotten.

ALBERT’S DREAM

During one session, Albert reports a dream in which his father is leaving on a train, while Albert remains on the platform holding hands with both his mother and his girlfriend. He feels both happy and guilty at the same time.

Sometime later, after the therapy sessions have been going on for several months, the analyst takes a two weeks holiday. During a session soon afterward Albert speaks angrily to the therapist.

“Why the hell did you decide to take a holiday with your damned wife just as we were beginning to get somewhere with my analysis.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between psychoanalysis and other forms of talk therapy.

Psychoanalysis differs from other forms of talk therapy in its emphasis on unconscious processes and childhood experiences.

Unlike shorter-term therapies, psychoanalysis typically involves several sessions per week and continues for an extended duration. Other talk therapies, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or humanistic therapy , focus more on conscious thoughts, present problems, and symptom relief.

While psychoanalysis delves into the unconscious mind and explores long-standing patterns, other therapies may prioritize practical strategies and immediate symptom management.

Are the concepts and techniques of psychoanalysis still relevant today?

Freud’s ideas about the unconscious mind, defense mechanisms, and the influence of early experiences continue to shape modern psychology.

While some aspects of Freud’s work have been refined or challenged, psychoanalysis remains valuable for understanding human behavior, emotions, and relationships.

The emphasis on self-reflection, insight, and uncovering hidden motivations can help individuals gain a deeper understanding of themselves. However, it’s important to note that other therapeutic approaches have also emerged, offering alternative perspectives and methods for addressing mental health concerns.

Is psychoanalysis only effective for specific types of mental disorders?

Psychoanalysis is not necessarily limited to specific types of mental disorders. While it was originally developed for treating neurotic disorders, its principles can be applied to a wide range of mental health concerns.

Psychoanalysis focuses on understanding the underlying emotional conflicts and unconscious processes that contribute to psychological distress. It can be helpful for various conditions, including anxiety , depression , personality disorders, and relationship difficulties.

Additionally, psychoanalysis can also be beneficial for personal growth and self-exploration, even if someone doesn’t have a specific mental disorder. The approach aims to enhance self-awareness and foster a deeper understanding of one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.

What are some of the defence mechanisms Freud described?

Freud described several defense mechanisms that people unconsciously use to cope with anxiety or distress. Some of these mechanisms include:

1. Repression: Pushing distressing thoughts or memories out of awareness. 2. Denial: Refusing to acknowledge or accept a painful reality. 3. Projection: Attributing one’s own unacceptable thoughts or feelings to someone else. 4. Displacement: Redirecting emotions from their original source to a less threatening target. 5. Rationalization: Creating logical explanations or justifications to make unacceptable behaviors or thoughts seem more acceptable. 6. Sublimation: Channeling unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable activities or outlets. 7. Regression: Reverting to an earlier stage of development in the face of stress or conflict. 8. Reaction Formation: Expressing the opposite of one’s true feelings or desires.

These defense mechanisms serve to protect the ego from overwhelming anxiety, but they can also distort reality and hinder personal growth and self-awareness.

Is transactional analysis a psychoanalytic theory?

Transactional analysis (TA) is a psychotherapeutic approach developed by Eric Berne. While it incorporates certain elements of psychoanalytic theory, especially regarding early childhood experiences, it distinctively emphasizes the “transactions” or interactions between people and introduces concepts like the Parent, Adult, and Child ego states. So, while influenced by psychoanalysis, TA stands as its unique approach.

Comer, R. J. (1995). Abnormal psychology (2nd ed.) . New York: W. H. Freeman.

Davison, G. C., & Neale, J. M. (1994). Abnormal Psychology . New York: John Willey and Sons.

Eysenck, H. J. (1952). The effects of psychotherapy: an evaluation .  Journal of Consulting Psychology ,  16 (5), 319.

Fisher, S., & Greenberg, R. P. (1977). The scientific credibility of Freud’s theories and therapy . Columbia University Press.

Fonagy, P. (1981). Several entries in the area of psycho-analysis and clinical psychology .

Freud, S. (1916-1917). Introductory lectures on psychoanalysis . SE, 22: 1-182.

Freud, A. (1937). The Ego and the mechanisms of defense. London: Hogarth Press and Institute of Psycho-Analysis.

Garfield, S. L., Prager, R. A., & Bergin, A. E. (1971). Evaluating outcome in psychotherapy: A hardy perennial .

Noonan, J. R. (1971). An obsessive-compulsive reaction treated by induced anxiety. American Journal of Psychotherapy , 25(2), 293.

Prochaska, J., & C. DiClemente (1984). The transtheoretical approach: Crossing traditional boundaries of therapy . Homewood, Ill., Dow Jones-Irwin.

Salzman, L. (1980). Treatment of the obsessive personality . Jason Aronson Inc. Publishers.

Shapiro, T., & Emde, R. N. (1991). Introduction: Some Empirical Approaches To Psychoanalysis. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association , 39, 1-3.

Storr, A. (1987). Why psychoanalysis is not a science. Mind-waves .

Svartberg, M., & Stiles, T. C. (1991). Comparative effects of short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy: a meta-analysis. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology , 59(5), 704.

Wedding, D., & Corsini, R. J. (2013).  Current psychotherapies . Cengage Learning.

Psychoanalysis: A History of Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory

However, psychoanalysis is much more than a quirky approach to understanding the human mind. It’s a specific form of talking therapy, grounded in a complex theory of human development and psychological functioning.

In this article, we’ll introduce the history of psychoanalytic theory, the basic tenets of the psychoanalytic model of the mind, and the clinical approach called psychoanalysis. We’ll explain the differences between psychoanalysis and psychotherapy and consider some criticisms of psychoanalysis.

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This Article Contains

What is psychoanalysis a definition and history of psychoanalytic theory, the approach: psychoanalytic perspective, techniques of psychoanalytic therapy, psychodynamic vs. psychoanalytic theory, psychoanalysis vs. psychotherapy, psychoanalysis test: the freudian personality test, criticisms of psychoanalytic theory, a take-home message.

Psychoanalysis is a talking therapy that aims to treat a range of mental health issues by investigating the relationship between the unconscious and conscious elements of psychological experience using clinical techniques like free association and dream interpretation (Pick, 2015).

Contemporary psychoanalysis has evolved a great deal from its roots in the classical Freudian approach, which developed in Vienna during the late 19th century.

Today, there are several psychoanalytic schools that adhere to different models of the mind and clinical approaches. These include the object relations school associated with Klein and Winnicott, Jung’s analytic psychology, and Lacanian psychoanalysis (Gaztambide, 2021).

Many controversies abound between these different approaches today, although all can be classified as an approach to psychoanalysis.

A common thread between them is their focus on the transference and countertransference dynamics between the analyst and analysand as the vehicle of psychological transformation and healing (Pick, 2015). This is explained further below.

Freudian theory: Sigmund Freud & psychoanalysis

The founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, was born in Austria and spent most of his childhood and adult life in Vienna (Gay, 2006). He entered medical school and trained as a neurologist, earning a medical degree in 1881.

Soon after his graduation, he set up in private practice and began treating patients with psychological disorders. His colleague Dr. Josef Breuer’s intriguing experience with a patient, “Anna O.,” who experienced a range of physical symptoms with no apparent physical cause (Breuer & Freud, 1895/2001) drew his attention.

Dr. Breuer found that her symptoms abated when he helped her recover memories of traumatic experiences that she had repressed from conscious awareness. This case sparked Freud’s interest in the unconscious mind and spurred the development of some of his most influential ideas.

You can read more about the clinical origins of psychoanalysis in the original text Studies on Hysteria (Breuer & Freud, 1895/2001).

Models of the mind: Ego, id, & superego

Perhaps Freud’s greatest impact on the world was his model of the human mind, which divides the mind into three layers, or regions.

• Conscious Housing our current thoughts, feelings, and perceptual focus
• Preconscious (sometimes called the subconscious) The home of everything we can recall or retrieve from our memory
• Unconscious At the deepest level of our minds resides a repository of the processes that drive our behavior, including biologically determined instinctual desires (Pick, 2015).

Later, Freud proposed a more structured model of the mind that better depicted his original ideas about conscious and unconscious processes (Gaztambide, 2021).

In this model, there are three components to the mind:

• Id The id operates at an unconscious level as the motor of our two main instinctual drives: Eros, or the survival instinct that drives us to engage in life-sustaining activities, and Thanatos, or the death instinct that drives destructive, aggressive, and violent behavior.
• Ego The ego acts as a filter for the id that works as both a conduit for and check on our unconscious drives. The ego ensures our needs are met in a socially appropriate way. It is oriented to navigating reality and begins to develop in infancy.
• Superego The superego is the term Freud gives to “conscience” where morality and higher principles reside, encouraging us to act in socially and morally acceptable ways (Pick, 2015).

The image offers a context of this “iceberg” model of the mind, which depicts the greatest psychological influence as the realm of the unconscious.

Defense mechanisms

Freud believed these three components of the mind are in constant conflict because each has a different goal. Sometimes, when psychological conflict threatens psychological functioning, the ego mobilizes an array of defense mechanisms to prevent psychological disintegration (Burgo, 2012).

These defense mechanisms include:

• Repression The ego prevents disturbing memories or threatening thoughts from entering consciousness altogether, pushing them into our unconscious.
• Denial The ego blocks upsetting or overwhelming experiences from awareness, leading us to refuse to acknowledge or believe what is happening.
• Projection The ego attempts to resolve discomfort by attributing our unacceptable thoughts, feelings, and motives to another person.
• Displacement The ego satisfies an unconscious impulse by acting on a substitute object or person in a socially unacceptable way (e.g., expressing the anger you feel toward your boss at work with your spouse at home instead).
• Regression Ego functioning returns to a former stage of psychological development to cope with stress (e.g., an angry adult having a tantrum like a young child).
• Sublimation Similar to displacement, the ego overcomes conflict by channeling surplus energy into a socially acceptable activity (e.g., channeling anxiety into exercise, work, or other creative pursuits).

It is built on the foundational idea that biologically determined unconscious forces drive human behavior, often rooted in early experiences of attempting to get our basic needs met. However, these remain out of conscious awareness (Pick, 2015).

Psychoanalysis engages in a process of inquiry into adult defenses against unacceptable unconscious desires rooted in these early experiences and emphasizes their importance as the bedrock of adult psychological functioning (Frosh, 2016).

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A modern psychoanalyst may use a range of different interventions, depending on their school of psychoanalytic thought (e.g., object-relational, Lacanian, Jungian, etc.; Gaztambide, 2021).

However, there are four component techniques specific to psychoanalysis that we explain below.

What are the four ideas of psychoanalysis?

Interpretation

Interpretation refers to the analyst’s hypothesizing of their client’s unconscious conflicts. These hypotheses are communicated verbally to the client.

Generally, the analyst will attempt to make their client more aware of their defense mechanisms and their relational context, including their unconscious conflicts and the client’s motivation for mobilizing a particular defense mechanism (Kernberg, 2016).

There are three stages of interpretation (Kernberg, 2016):

• Clarification Where the analyst tries to clarify what is going on in the patient’s conscious mind
• Confrontation Gently aims to bring nonverbal aspects of the client’s behavior into their awareness
• Interpretation When the analyst proposes their hypothesis of the unconscious meaning that relates each aspect of the client’s communication with the other

Transference analysis

Transference refers to the repetition of unconscious conflicts rooted in the client’s relational past in the relationship with the analyst. Transference analysis involves tracking elements of the client’s verbal and nonverbal communications that aim to influence the analyst’s behavior toward the client (Racker, 1982).

For example, a client with a history of childhood trauma may begin to relate to the analyst as a threatening or predatory authority figure by expressing suspicion of the analyst’s motives, missing sessions, or becoming angry with the analyst.

The analysis of a client’s transference is an essential component of psychoanalysis and is the main driver of change during treatment. It provides the raw material that informs an analyst’s interpretations (Racker, 1982).

Technical neutrality

Technical neutrality refers to the analyst’s commitment to remain neutral and avoid taking sides in the client’s internal conflicts. The analyst strives to remain neutral and nonjudgmental by maintaining a clinical distance from the client’s external reality .

Additionally, technical neutrality demands that analysts refrain from imposing their value systems on the client (Kernberg, 2016).

Technical neutrality can sometimes seem like indifference or disinterest in the client, but that is not the goal; rather, analysts aim to serve as a mirror for their clients, reflecting clients’ own characteristics, assumptions, and behaviors back at them to develop a client’s self-awareness .

Countertransference analysis

Countertransference refers to the analyst’s responses and reactions to the client and the material they present during sessions, most especially the client’s transference.

Countertransference analysis involves tracking elements of the analyst’s own dispositional transference to the client that is co-determined by the client (Racker, 1982).

Countertransference analysis enables the analyst to maintain clinical boundaries and avoid acting out in the relationship with the client.

Following on from the example given above, an analyst working with a client with a history of childhood trauma may respond to the client’s transference by feeling dismissive or contemptuous of a client that misses sessions or expresses suspicion.

However, countertransference analysis enables the analyst to understand that such feelings are a response to the client’s transference rooted in their past relational conflicts. The analyst’s feelings are then observed as material for interpretation rather than expressed (Racker, 1982).

Psychodynamic theory agrees that clinical problems in adult life often originate in a client’s early relationships. It also considers a client’s current social context and their interactions with the immediate environment.

Both theoretical approaches agree on the following:

• The existence of unconscious drives/instincts and defense mechanisms
• The impact of the unconscious on human personality and behavior
• The importance of our earliest experiences in shaping later relational patterns
• The impact of internal factors on behavior, meaning behavior is never under a client’s complete control (Berzoff et al., 2008)

It may be helpful to further distinguish between the two by providing some examples of the differences and similarities in clinical approach.

First, both the psychoanalyst and the psychodynamic therapist work with transference and countertransference. In fact, any therapeutic approach that acknowledges and works with transference and/or countertransference may be termed psychodynamic, in part (Shedler, 2010).

Therefore, a psychodynamic therapist attends to their client’s communications to detect how deep-rooted unconscious conflicts may contribute to problematic behaviors, thoughts, and feelings in the present.

However, they also attend to the here-and-now social context of a client’s life to understand how real-world situations such as poverty, grief, abuse, violence, racism, sexism, and so on contribute to a client’s suffering (Berzoff et al., 2008).

A psychoanalyst will see their client (termed a patient, usually) every weekday over an indeterminate period of years. Meanwhile, a psychodynamic therapist will see a client less frequently, perhaps once or twice a week for several months or a few years, depending on the client’s needs. Psychodynamic therapy is more client centered in this respect (Berzoff et al., 2008).

A psychodynamic therapist may include techniques that are not psychoanalytic to work with transference and countertransference. These may include communication skills, such as active listening , empathy , and expressive arts interventions. Psychodynamic therapists are not limited in their approach by the traditional pillars of psychoanalytic technique mentioned above (Shedler, 2010).

A psychoanalyst works with their client on a couch to encourage regression and access unconscious material (Pick, 2015), while a psychodynamic therapist works face to face with a client sitting upright.

Now that we’ve clarified the differences between psychodynamic and psychoanalytic therapy, let’s look at the difference between psychoanalysis and psychotherapy overall.

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A psychoanalyst has a particular set of skills gained from their specific psychoanalytic training. Meanwhile, psychotherapists can train in a range of therapeutic modalities, including psychodynamic , cognitive-behavioral , humanistic , or integrative approaches (Wampold, 2018).

However, both professions focus on helping people via talk therapy. Both use their skills to help their clients gain insight into their inner worlds, address their psychological problems, and heal.

In fact, a psychoanalyst is a type of psychotherapist who specializes in psychoanalysis. Therefore, every psychoanalyst is also a psychotherapist, but not every psychotherapist is a psychoanalyst (Wampold, 2018).

Although you’ll need to consult a psychoanalyst for a more valid and reliable classification, this test can give you an idea of how psychoanalysts conceptualize personality.

The test is composed of 48 items rated on a five-point scale from Disagree to Agree. The results are in the form of scores ranging from 0% to 100% across eight personality types:

• Oral-receptive
• Oral-aggressive
• Anal-expulsive
• Anal-retentive
• Phallic-aggressive
• Phallic-compensative
• Classic hysteric
• Retentive hysteric

To understand more about Freud’s theory of psychosexual development and how it relates to personality, check out the video below.

Although psychoanalytic theory laid the foundations for much of modern psychology, it is not without flaws. Psychoanalysis is still practiced today, and psychoanalytic theory has since been updated because of our improved understanding of human behavior , neuroscience, and the brain (Frosh, 2016).

However, serious criticisms of the theory and its applications remain (Eagle, 2007).

The major criticisms include the following:

• Many of the hypotheses and assumptions of psychoanalytic theory cannot be tested empirically, making it almost impossible to falsify or validate.
• It emphasizes the deterministic roles of biology and the unconscious and neglects environmental influences on the conscious mind.
• Psychoanalytic theory was deeply rooted in Freud’s sexist ideas, and traces of this sexism still remain in the theory and practice today.
• It is deeply Eurocentric and unsupported cross-culturally and may only apply to clients from Western Judeo–Christian and secular cultures.
• Freud emphasized pathology and neglected to study optimal psychological functioning.
• The theory was not developed through the application of the scientific method, but from Freud’s subjective interpretations of a small group of patients from a specific cultural background and historical period (Eagle, 2007).

Given these valid criticisms of psychoanalytic theory, it is wise to approach Freud and his theories with skepticism.

Although his work formed the foundations of modern psychology, it did not develop from a scientifically validated evidence base and is not falsifiable. Therefore, Freud’s students and followers have borne the burden of attempting to provide evidence to support the scientific and clinical validity of psychoanalysis.

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While Freud’s classical psychoanalytic theory and traditional clinical technique have earned widespread criticism for their lack of a scientific evidence base or testability, the explanatory power of psychoanalytic theory has become part of popular culture in the West.

For example, we all know about the Freudian slip and generally accept that people often remain “unconscious” of certain aspects of themselves, their motives, behavior, and the impact they have on others.

Various defense mechanisms have become part of the everyday language of popular psychology, such as denial, repression, and projection.

There is also no denying that Freud’s interpretation of dreams has led to the widespread belief that our dreams actually mean something, rather than just being a series of random events that occur when we’re sleeping.

Meanwhile, the central therapeutic concepts of transference and countertransference have informed a widely accepted psychodynamic understanding of relationships, especially in health and social care settings. These ideas have also informed the development of safeguarding practices that uphold professional boundaries.

Some of Freud’s ideas may seem eccentric and of their time, but his legacy is far reaching and has influenced areas of thought far beyond the clinical practice of psychoanalysis.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. For more information, don’t forget to download our three Positive CBT Exercises for free .

Ed: Updated April 2023

• Berzoff, J., Flanagan, L. M., & Hertz, P. (2008). Inside out and outside in: Psychodynamic clinical theory and psychopathology in contemporary multicultural contexts . Jason Aronson.
• Breuer, J., & Freud, S. (2001). Studies on hysteria. In J. Strachey (Trans., Ed.), Complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud, Vol. II (1893–95) . Vintage. (Original work published 1895)
• Burgo, J. (2012). Why do I do that? Psychological defense mechanisms and the hidden ways they shape our lives . New Rise Press.
• Eagle, M. N. (2007). Psychoanalysis and its critics. Psychoanalytic Psycholog y, 24 (1), 10–24.
• Frosh, S. (2016). For and against psychoanalysis . Routledge.
• Gay, P. (2006). Freud: A life for our time . W. W. Norton.
• Gaztambide, D. J. (2021). A people’s history of psychoanalysis: From Freud to liberation psychology . Lexington Books.
• Kernberg, O. (2016). The four basic components of psychoanalytic technique and derived psychoanalytic psychotherapies. World Psychiatry , 15 (3), 287–288.
• Racker, H. (1982). Transference and countertransference . Routledge.
• Pick, D. (2015). Psychoanalysis: A very short introduction . Oxford University Press.
• Shedler, J. (2010). The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy. American Psychologis t, 65 (2), 98–109.
• Wampold, B. E. (2018). The basics of psychotherapy: An introduction to theory and practice . American Psychological Association.

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I am a third-year university student, hoping to obtain my honors in Clinical Psychology. I must say that I am quite impressed with your writings and have now obtained a much clearer understanding of both the Freudian theory of Psychoanalysis and the process by which a relationship between the therapist and the client is conceptualized in Psychoanalytic theory. Thank you for this simplified version. From Namibia

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This is Prabhu Harle from Bangalore, India. I am overwhelmed by the simplicity of the language used in explaining the Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory. The write-up contains several very useful information. Thank you very much, Ms. Jo Nash.

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Freudian Theory and Consciousness: A Conceptual Analysis**

Avinash de sousa.

* Consultant Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist, Mumbai, India.

This paper aims at taking a fresh look at Freudian psychoanalytical theory from a modern perspective. Freudian psychology is a science based on the unconscious (id) and the conscious (ego). Various aspects of Freudian thinking are examined from a modern perspective and the relevance of the psychoanalytical theory of consciousness is projected. Do psychoanalysis and the unconsciousness have something to teach us about consciousness? Approaching Freud from a historical, psychoanalytical, anthropological and sociological perspective, we need to look at how Freudian theory may contribute to a better understanding of consciousness. We also need to look at psychoanalytical psychotherapy and its contribution to a better understanding of body-mind dualism and consciousness as a whole. Ego psychology is considered in the present day context and it is synthesized with various psychological studies to give us a better understanding of consciousness.

Introduction

“If often he was wrong and, at times absurd, to us he is no more a person now but a whole climate of opinion under whom we conduct our different lives…”

( W.H. Auden, In Memory of Sigmund Freud) (Auden and Mendelson, 1991 )

Despite distorted understandings of Freudian views and despite periodic waves of Freud bashing, Auden’s assessment remains essentially correct. Freud’s influence continues to be enormous and pervasive. He gave us a new and powerful way to think about and investigate human thought, action and interaction. He often made sense of the ranges that were neglected or misunderstood. Although one might wish to reject or argue with some Freudian interpretations and theories, his writings and insights are too compelling to simply turn away. There is still much to be learned from Freud (Neu, 1991). Much to be learned in relation to issues in contemporary philosophy of mind, moral and social theory. The special characteristics of unconscious states including their relations to states described by modern psychology and the relevance of the Freudian unconsciousness to questions concerning the divided or multiple self is equally important. This paper looks at the connection between Freudian theory/concepts and modern day conceptualisation of consciousness.

Is the Freudian unconscious relevant in the light of modern day consciousness?

Psychoanalysis regarded everything mental being in the first place unconscious, and thus for them, consciousness might be present or absent. This of course provoked a denial from philosophers for whom consciousness and mental were identical and they could never conceive of an absurdity such as an unconscious mental state. Reasons for believing in the existence of the unconsciousness are of course empirical, but the question as to what most fundamentally distinguishes the Freudian unconscious is a conceptual one. It is very important that one understands the nature of the unconsciousness in broad holistic terms rather than the fine details that Freud gave, and also one must follow the coherence of such a concept to understand our present day understanding of consciousness (Freud, 1912; Ricoeur, 1970).

The qualified specialization of consciousness that can be located in ordinary thought about the mind provides a source of motivation that is free from conceptual confusion. The analysis of what it is to be in consciousness has a further importance for the concept of unconscious mentality. If one assumes that all mental states are conscious alone, we will take a highly sceptical stand on Freudian theory and the topographical model of the mind proposed by him (Laplanche and Pontalis, 1983). For example, mental states like beliefs and values do not exist solely by virtue of the consciousness in them. Freud’s notion of unconscious mentality is arrived at by pressing the distinction of mental states from consciousness and combining it with the topographical model where all the psychological locales are spoken of as existing independently from their members at any given moment (Freud, 1915; Freud, 1937).

In William James’s The Principles of Psychology (James, 1890), the concept of unconscious mentality is considered in terms of its role as a necessary concomitant of what James calls the mind stuff theories by which he means theories that regard mental states as empirically analysable compounds.

It would now be helpful to spell out more precisely various conceptions of the psychoanalytic concept of the unconsciousness in terms of successive degrees of independence from the concept of consciousness.

Unconsciousness may be entirely composed of ideas that were previously conscious and have been repressed. This would meet the Lockenian condition on mentality, that is, there can be nothing in the mind that has not been previously in awareness (Ricoeur, 1970).

Unconsciousness may be perceived as entirely composed of, or at least as including some ideas that were not originally conscious but that could become conscious (Sears, 1943).

The last of these conceptions matches the unconsciousness as described in the writings of Melanie Klein and Wilfred Bion (Bion, 1984; Dryden, 2004), but it is also most probably attributable to Freud. The evidence for the same comes from Freud’s explicit statements that the concept of unconsciousness is broader than that of the repressed and also is made up of a phylogenetic heritage and primal fantasies (Freud, 1938).

A different question now needs to be addressed. It has been supposed that positive reason to believe in the existence of unconsciousness may come, and does in fact come from the notion that unconsciousness is necessary as data of consciousness have very large number of gaps in them (Freud, 1915). Consciousness is characterized by a special kind of unity, on account of which it does not tolerate gaps of any kind. We could interpret Freud’s notion in terms of gaps in self-explanation. These gaps are as such fully psychological in nature and they occur at points where we would ordinarily expect an intentional psychological explanation to be available and in this way, they stand apart from other merely nominal gaps in ordinary psychological explanation (for example, the impossibility of explaining how it is that one ordinarily remembers something).

Freud in his topographical model never looked at the mind to be built up of a number of agencies or systems, but rather these were terms used in a very special way, and it is a further puzzle as to what precisely Freud wanted them to signify (Freud, 1923). Consciousness and unconsciousness are not inimical properties and they are not intrinsically antagonistic to each other. Conflict between them is not regarding their status but because of the particular character of the contents of unconsciousness and their consequent connection with repression (Wollheim, 1973).

Many questions remain unanswered, but it is fitting to conclude that consciousness and unconsciousness are both a set of states with representational content distinguished by special features which need not be regarded as propositional attitudes, characteristically endowed with phenomenology but attributed in a spirit of pure plain psychological realism (Archard, 1984).

Relationships Between Freudian Theory and Cognitive Psychology with Reference to Consciousness

Though over a century has elapsed since Freud first proposed his theory, there has been very little comparison between Freudian theory and its links to nonpsychoanalytic academic psychology. The choice of cognitive psychology in this discussion stems from the fact that cognitive theory and cognitive psychology have a basis in almost all facets of modern psychology. Though cognitive psychology has explained many areas unknown to us 50 years earlier, one must admit that no other theorist ever constructed a conceptual and metatheoretical framework like Freud did, in order to understand psychological questions. No theory so far has ever provided a theory conceptually superior to Freud’s (Reiser, 1984).

Freud reduced the role of consciousness to that of an epistemological tool to know about certain areas of one’s mental state, removing all ontological implications. The evidence available in his time suggested that some mental states might exist outside ones awareness. Thus, Freud had to reject the principle that all mental states are conscious (ontological), but he retained the principle that all conscious states are accessible to awareness (epistemological). The demotion of consciousness to a purely epistemological role leads to serious failure, both by Freud and other theorists. In the transformation of psychology from a science of consciousness to a science of mental representations, there has been a gain in theoretical power, but there has been a loss of something of great value. Psychologists may in fact be avoiding the problem that made the mental realm so puzzling in the first place, the problem of consciousness, and thereby ignoring the mystery that is at the heart of the nature of meaning and mind (Grunbaum, 1984; Holt, 1989; Roth, 1998).

The term ‘conscious’ refers to an irreducible and irreplaceable phenomenon, no matter what the name. Terms such as awareness, reflective awareness, phenomenal awareness and phenomenal representation have all been used to refer to the same thing. Awareness has been used to refer to what we mean when we are at the moment conscious of something but also refers to the latent knowledge of something. The term conscious, unless burdened with additional meaning, may serve to mean what is immediately, subjectively and introspectively given in experience. We may be thus conscious of a rational abstract idea, an obsessional preoccupation or even a hallucination. We are conscious in psychosis, dissociative states, in intoxication and so forth. But each of these represents a quite different mental organisation of experiences, obeying different principles of organisation and existing on different levels of categorization and abstraction (Kihlstrom, 1987).

We shall now take a look at the confusion, both terminological and conceptual, that dogged Freudian thought as well as contemporary cognitive psychology. Freud always struggled with what has been called an adjectival and substantive use of the term conscious. It simply means that the term conscious idea denotes an idea that is directly, subjectively given and capable of being introspected, although it need not be. The experience can be conscious in a variety of different states, i.e., waking alert state, dream state, psychotic state and so on. It is better to refer to the above states as psychological states rather than different states of consciousness. The experience of consciousness may be different in each state but consciousness as a subjective, introspective given, is indivisible no matter what the state of consciousness. But the principles of organisation, levels of categorization and abstraction affecting or producing the experience may be different.

Cognitive psychology has not been immune to confusing and ambiguous uses of the term conscious and consciousness. If consciousness can occur in a variety of psychological states regardless of the principles of organisation, what purpose does being conscious serve and what shall then be the special conditions needed for consciousness to occur? What is the role that consciousness must play in our lives, apart from the operation of the different principles of organisation and levels of abstraction?

Freud gave consciousness the quality and capacity to transform experienced activity into unconscious states, similar to how different forms of energy are interchanged in physics. It could also play a part in inhibiting and restricting certain thoughts from becoming conscious. It also served the purpose of transforming quantities of unconscious excitation into qualitative experiences of pleasure and unpleasure (Freud, 1900; Hartmann, 1964).

Conclusions [see also Figure 1 ]

Flowchart of the paper

Whether psychoanalytic and cognitive science views of the consciousness are fraternal or identical twins, we do not know, but they were certainly reared apart from one another. The psychoanalytic twin was raised in the consulting room, exposed to primal scenes, intrapsychic conflict and the risky improvisations of clinical work, whereas the cognitive twin was raised in the scientific laboratory where calm and order prevailed. There is no doubt that the cognitive and psychoanalytic views are different and come out of different traditions (Shervin and Dickman, 1980). Cognitive science focusses on motive, affect and conflict, whereas psychoanalysis focusses on conflict and underlying psychological processes. There are in fact convergences between these two radically different views but from a holistic perspective. They follow a similarity in the nature of the problems they address, though at first look they seem to be far apart.

The newer developments in the field of cognitive science dealing with levels of categorisation and organisation will be of immense value in studying the hierarchical relationship between unconscious and conscious experiences. The chasm between the consulting room and scientific laboratory may soon narrow. We are now at a stage where we must broaden and deepen the scientific investigation of consciousness and conscious states in a way never done before. We need to apply our imagination and good will while being open minded and flexible at the same time.

Take home message

Freudian theory needs to be given a fresh look. Though considered outdated by some, it has a lot to offer to modern theories of consciousness. Insights from Freudian theory are relevant to modern day concepts of consciousness in cognitive neuroscience. Consciousness and unconsciousness are both independent and interdependent phenomena and their study will yield a different perspective on the evolution of conscious phenomena.

Conflict of interest

None declared

Declaration

This is to state that this is my original, unpublished work and has not been submitted for publication elsewhere.

CITATION: De Sousa A., (2011), Freudian Theory and Consciousness: A Conceptual Analysis. In: Brain, Mind and Consciousness: An International, Interdisciplinary Perspective (A.R. Singh and S.A. Singh eds.), MSM , 9(1), p210-217.

Questions That This Paper Raises

• Is Freudian relevant today, or must it be done away with?
• Does Freudian theory play a role in explaining our modern day concept of consciousness?
• Does the Freudian concept of ‘conscious’ relate at least conceptually to the concept of ‘conscious’ in cognitive psychology?
• Do parts of Freudian theory have resemblance with modern day cognitive psychology and its theories?
• Should qualitative research on Freudian concepts be carried out in the light of modern theories of consciousness?
• Should modern methods of neuroimaging and neuroscience in the light of new data be used to validate Freudian models of conscious phenomena?

About the Author

Avinash De Sousa is a consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist with a private practice in Mumbai. He is an avid reader and has over 40 publications in national and international journals. His main areas of interest are alcohol dependence, child and adolescent psychiatry, mental retardation, autism and developmental disabilities. He is also the academic director of the Institute of Psychotherapy Training and Management, Mumbai. He teaches psychiatry, child psychology and psychotherapy at over 18 institutions as a visiting faculty.

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In This Article Expand or collapse the "in this article" section Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Theory

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Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Theory by Jerrold Brandell , Kate Schechter LAST REVIEWED: 25 February 2014 LAST MODIFIED: 25 February 2014 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0170

A psychodynamic theory is a theory that explains human behavior and human motivation in terms both of conscious and unconscious forces and the interplay between these. Although many different psychodynamic theories exist, they all emphasize unconscious motives and desires, as well as the importance of early childhood experiences in shaping personality. They all emerge from the matrix of psychoanalytic theory. Psychoanalytic theory is not a unified body of knowledge; rather, it is composed of multiple theories, models, and schemata pertaining to human development, psychopathology, and clinical method and technique. It is a literature of vast scope whose evolution now spans more than a century. The psychoanalysis of today, well over a century after the publication of Studies in Hysteria 1893–1895 and The Interpretation of Dreams (1900) is greatly changed from the psychoanalysis of Freud’s day. Multiple psychoanalytic psychologies, each with its own vision of human development, psychopathology, and the treatment process, now stand alongside Freud’s classical formulations. Challenges made to the empirical basis of psychoanalytic treatment and its formulations about development and dysfunction have spawned a new and more promising body of research. The shift from a one-person to a two-person viewpoint and the gradual ascendancy of relational ideas, as well as interest in and sensitivity to the environmental surround, have, likewise, been momentous developments. Once the dominant force in American psychiatry, psychoanalysis has all but disappeared as a medical specialty, even as it has taken up a place in the fields of social work and psychology. A very different trend, one that attempts to link psychoanalysis with the neurosciences, has emerged in the early 21st century and is viewed by many as an important new direction for psychodynamic thought and practice, both within social work and within psychoanalysis more generally. These are a few of the more significant changes that mark the beginning of the second century of psychoanalytic thought. Social work, too, has changed in many ways since its earliest attempts to employ psychoanalytic concepts in better understanding and serving its clientele. Although psychoanalytic ideas once held a revered status among clinical social workers and casework theorists, this has been altered by the introduction of newer cognitive and behavioral treatments, the changing requirements of the agencies and clients we serve, and an overriding focus on short-term interventions. The authors of this article believe that it is time for a reappraisal of psychoanalysis and what it offers the social work clinician. In the material that follows, our delineation of some essential introductory and reference works, representing several of the most prominent psychoanalytic psychologies and their central theoretical tenets, will be presented. We will also discuss psychoanalytic contributions to the understanding of therapeutic process, highlighting particular concepts and themes that are unique to a psychodynamic point of view. We conclude with a brief review of the current state of research on psychodynamic treatment.

Since it is impossible to cover the subject of psychodynamic theory in social work in a comprehensive way, the initial approach taken is to provide a list of introductory publications that together offer a comparative framework for reference on the subject, as well as offering current perspectives on the relationship between social work and psychodynamic theory more broadly. Berzoff, et al. 2011 offers an introduction to central psychodynamic perspectives used in social work practice, with special emphasis on the issues of race, culture, and gender. In a later work, Berzoff 2012 examines psychoanalytic ideas as these are applied to a social work framework in working with vulnerable populations. Borden 2009 provides an overview of central psychoanalytic concepts and theories in relation to various clinical situations and practice settings, while Brandell 2004 offers a historical overview of the relationship between clinical social work and psychoanalytic thought, as well as an examination of the therapeutic process, work with special populations, and various phenomena such as transference and countertransference. Goldstein 2001 comments on two important theoretical systems—object relations and self psychology—and how each theory may be applied to specific client situations associated with modern clinical practice in social work. The widely cited Mitchell and Black 1996 provides a synopsis of each of the major psychoanalytic traditions, while Pérez Foster, et al. 1996 , in the authors’ examination of the role of culture in therapeutic relationships, offers a reaffirmation of what they believe to be psychotherapy’s commitment to progressive social change. Finally, Sudbery 2002 focuses on the most-essential dimensions of the client-worker relationship in clinical social work.

Berzoff, J., ed. 2012. Falling through the cracks: Psychodynamic practice with vulnerable and oppressed populations . New York: Columbia Univ. Press.

Discusses the psychodynamic perspective from the standpoint of social work with vulnerable populations such as prisoners, orphans, and immigrants, and racial and gender minorities.

Berzoff, J., L. M. Flanagan, and P. Hertz, eds. 2011. Inside out and outside in: Psychodynamic clinical theory and psychopathology in contemporary multicultural contexts . 3d ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Provides an introduction to the major psychodynamic perspectives used in social work practice; a discussion of race, gender, and culture in psychodynamic theories; and a discussion of the psychodynamic treatment of several commonly treated clinical conditions (psychosis, personality disorder, mood and anxiety disorders, and trauma). First published in 1996 (Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson).

Borden, W. 2009. Contemporary psychodynamic theory and practice . Chicago: Lyceum.

Provides an overview of major psychodynamic concepts and theories and applies them to several clinical settings and situations.

Brandell, J. R. 2004. Psychodynamic social work . Foundations of Social Work Knowledge. New York: Columbia Univ. Press.

Provides an overview of the psychodynamic perspective in social work historically, an introduction to the therapeutic process in psychodynamic social work, a discussion of the application of psychodynamic social work to special clinical populations, and a discussion of current research.

Goldstein, E. G. 2001. Object relations theory and self psychology in social work practice . New York: Free Press.

Introduces two of the predominant variants or schools of psychodynamic theory today, object relations and self psychology, and applies principles from these theories to the phases of social work practice with clients and to work with couples and families.

Mitchell, S. A., and M. J. Black. 1996. Freud and beyond: A history of modern psychoanalytic thought . New York: Basic Books.

Provides an overview of each of the major psychoanalytic traditions, situating each in its historical context. Case examples make each tradition come alive and provide an apt counterpart to the theoretical exposition of each model.

Pérez Foster, R., M. Moskowitz, and R. A. Javier, eds. 1996. Reaching across boundaries of cultures and class: Widening the scope of psychotherapy . Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.

Reaffirming psychotherapy’s roots in a progressive approach to social change, the authors describe work with clients previously thought to be unresponsive to psychodynamic therapy. Numerous examples guide the clinician to a better understanding of the role of culture in the therapeutic relationship.

Sudbery, J. 2002. Key features of therapeutic social work: The use of relationship. Journal of Social Work Practice 16.2: 149–162.

DOI: 10.1080/0265053022000033711

Argues that expertise in relationships is central to effective social work, whatever the setting, and conceptualizes relationships in psychodynamic terms. Analyzes the key components of the social worker’s use of the relationship with the client, in terms of attention to the client’s basic need, responsiveness to her or his aggression, and aid in the diminution of the client’s self-criticism.

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How Psychoanalysis Influenced the Field of Psychology

Psychoanalysis theorists.

• Pros and Cons

Support and Criticism

• Its Past and Present

Psychoanalysis Today

Psychoanalysis is a method of therapy in which the patient talks about experiences, early childhood, and dreams. It refers to both a theory and a type of therapy based on the belief that all people possess unconscious thoughts, feelings, desires, and memories.

According to the American Psychoanalytic Association (APA), psychoanalysis can help people understand themselves by exploring their unrecognized impulses hidden in the unconscious.

In psychotherapy, people are able to feel safe as they explore feelings, desires, memories, and stressors that can lead to psychological difficulties. Research has demonstrated that the self-examination utilized in the psychoanalytic process can contribute to long-term emotional growth.

Psychoanalysis Theories

Psychoanalysis is based on Freud's theory that people can experience  catharsis  and gain insight into their state of mind by bringing the content of the unconscious into conscious awareness. Through this process, a person can find relief from psychological distress.

Psychoanalysis also suggests that:

• A person's behavior is influenced by their unconscious drives.
• Emotional and psychological problems such as depression and anxiety are often rooted in conflicts between the conscious and unconscious mind.
• Personality development is heavily influenced by the events of early childhood (Freud suggested that personality was largely set in stone by the age of five).
• People use defense mechanisms to protect themselves from information contained in the unconscious.

Skilled analysts can help a person bring certain aspects of their unconscious mind into their conscious awareness by using psychoanalytic strategies such as dream analysis and free association.

History of Psychoanalysis

Many of  Freud's observations and theories  were based on clinical cases and case studies. This made his findings difficult to generalize to the larger population. Still, Freud's theories changed how we think about the human mind and behavior and left a lasting mark on psychology and culture.

Freud's theories of  psychosexual stages , the unconscious, and dream symbolism are still popular among both psychologists and laypeople, but others view his work with skepticism.

Today, psychoanalysis encompasses:

• Applied psychoanalysis (which applies psychoanalytic principles to the study of art, literature, and real-world settings and situations)
• Neuro-psychoanalysis (which applies neuroscience to psychoanalytic topics such as dreams and repression)
• Psychoanalytic therapy

Although traditional Freudian approaches have fallen out of favor, modern approaches to psychoanalytic therapy emphasize a non-judgmental, empathetic approach.

Important Milestones

• 1856 – Sigmund Freud was born
• 1882 – Josef Breuer described the case of Anna O to Freud
• 1886 – Freud first began providing therapy
• 1895 – Anna Freud was born
• 1900 – Sigmund Freud published his book  The Interpretation of Dreams
• 1896 – Sigmund Freud first coined the term psychoanalysis
• 1908 – The Vienna Psychoanalytic Society was formed and the first international meeting of psychoanalysts was held
• 1909 – Freud made his first and only trip to the United States
• 1910 – The International Psychoanalytic Association was formed
• 1913 – Jung broke from Freud and psychoanalysis
• 1938 – The Vienna Psychoanalytic Society was dissolved
• 1939 – Sigmund Freud died in London following a long battle with oral cancer

Sigmund Freud was the founder of psychoanalysis and the psychodynamic approach to psychology. Freud believed that the human mind was composed of three elements:  the id, the ego, and the superego.

Other thinkers—including his own daughter,  Anna Freud —also left a significant mark on the field. Among the most prominent names in psychoanalysis were Erik Erikson ,  Erich Fromm , and Carl Jung Erik Erikson expanded on Freud's theories and stressed the importance of lifelong growth. Erikson's psychosocial stage theory of personality remains influential today in our understanding of human development.

Karl Abraham, Otto Rank, John Bowlby, Melanie Klein, Karen Horney, and  Sabina Spielrein were also key contributors to the evolution of psychoanalytic theory.

Psychoanalysis also involves a number of different terms and ideas related to the mind, personality, and treatment.

Case Studies

A case study is defined as an in-depth study of one person, group, or event. Some of Freud's most famous case studies include Dora, Little Hans, and  Anna O . These cases had a powerful influence on the development of his psychoanalytic theory.

In a case study, the researcher attempts to intensely examine every aspect of an individual's life. By closely studying a person, a researcher can gain insight into how an individual's history contributes to their current behavior.

Although the hope is that the insights gained from a single case study could apply to others, it is difficult to generalize the results, because case studies tend to be highly subjective. In some instances, the factors involved in a particular case are so individualized that they may not apply to others.

The Conscious and Unconscious Mind

The  unconscious mind  includes all of the things that are outside of our conscious awareness, such as early childhood memories, secret desires, and hidden drives. According to Freud, the unconscious contains things that we might consider to be unpleasant or even socially unacceptable. We bury these things in our unconscious because they might bring us pain or conflict.

While these thoughts, memories, and urges are outside of our awareness, they still influence how we think and behave. In some cases, the things that are outside of our awareness can influence behavior in negative ways and lead to psychological distress. 

The conscious mind, on the other hand, includes everything that is inside of our awareness. The contents of the conscious mind are the things we are aware of or can easily bring into awareness.

Thoughts, urges, or feelings that are unpleasant, difficult, or even socially unacceptable.

Buried because they can bring about pain or conflict.

Can sometimes be brought into awareness using certain techniques.

Thoughts, feelings, and urges that we are aware of or can easily bring into awareness.

Not hidden or suppressed.

May be influenced by unconscious thoughts, feelings, or memories.

The Id, Ego, and Superego

Freud believed that an individual's personality had three components: the id, the ego, and the superego.

The first of the key elements of personality to emerge is known as the id. The id contains all of the unconscious, basic, and primal urges.

The second aspect of personality to emerge is known as the ego. This is the part of the personality that must deal with the demands of reality. It helps control the urges of the id and makes us behave in ways that are both realistic and acceptable.

Rather than engaging in behaviors that are designed to satisfy our desires and needs, the ego forces us to fulfill our needs in ways that are socially acceptable and realistic. In addition to controlling the demands of the id, the ego also helps strike a balance between our basic urges, our ideals, and reality.

The superego is the final aspect of personality to emerge, and it contains our ideals and values. The values and beliefs that our parents and society instill in us are the guiding force of the superego and it strives to make us behave according to these morals.

The Ego's Defense Mechanisms

Defense mechanisms are strategies that the ego uses to protect itself from anxiety . These defensive tools act as a safeguard to keep unpleasant or distressing aspects of the unconscious from entering our awareness. When something is experienced as overwhelming or even inappropriate, defense mechanisms keep the information from entering our consciousness, which minimizes our distress.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Over the course of the early 20th century, the influence of psychoanalysis grew. However, it was not without critics. Despite its flaws, psychoanalysis continued to play a key role in the development of psychology. It influenced our approach to treating mental health conditions and continues to exert an influence on psychology today. 

• Even though most psychodynamic theories did not rely on experimental research, the methods and theories of psychoanalytic thinking contributed to the development of experimental psychology.
• Many of the theories of personality developed by psychodynamic thinkers, such as Erikson's theory of psychosocial stages and Freud's psychosexual stage theory, continue to influence the field today.
• Psychoanalysis opened up a new view on mental illness, particularly that talking through problems with a psychoanalytic professional could help alleviate a person's psychological distress. 
• Freud's theories overemphasized the unconscious mind, sex, aggression, and childhood experiences.
• Many of the concepts proposed by psychoanalytic theorists are difficult to measure and quantify.
• Most of Freud's ideas were based on case studies and clinical observations rather than empirical, scientific research.

Many of the criticisms of psychodynamic approaches are based on the earlier Freudian approaches to treatment. Many people are skeptical of psychoanalysis because the evidence supporting its effectiveness has often been viewed as weak. One of the critics' main arguments is that it's not as effective as other treatments.

More recently, however, research has demonstrated that this approach can have a number of benefits.  One systematic review of previous studies concluded that psychoanalytic therapy was an effective treatment that resulted in the reduction of symptoms and long-term changes that persisted for years after treatment ended.

A 2015 review found that psychodynamic therapy could be effective in the treatment of a number of conditions include:

• Eating disorders
• Somatic disorders
• Some anxiety disorders

Another critique is that psychoanalysis often requires an investment of time, money, and effort. Psychoanalysis is also generally a long-term proposition. In the world we live in today, people are usually seeking fast results and approaches that yield an effect in days, weeks, or months. Psychoanalytic therapy typically involves a client and therapist exploring issues over a period of years.

Using the criteria established for evidence-based treatment, traditional psychoanalysis alone does not, in fact, pass muster as a method of therapy for the large majority of  psychological disorders . However, to dismiss Freud’s contributions as irrelevant to psychology... is an oversimplification.

Past and Present

Many of Freud's ideas have fallen out of favor in psychology, but that certainly does not mean that his work is without merit. Research also supports at least some of Freud's original ideas.

His approach to therapy (specifically, the suggestion that mental illness was treatable and that talking about problems could bring relief) was a revolutionary concept that changed how we approach the treatment of mental illness.

"Reviews of neuroscientific work confirm that many of Freud's original observations, not least the pervasive influence of non-conscious processes and the organizing function of emotions for thinking, have found confirmation in laboratory studies," explained Peter Fonagy in an article published in  World Psychiatry .  

Sigmund Freud was also very much a product of his time. Although he was known for his audacious theories (which were considered especially shocking in the Victorian period), his view of the world was colored by the time in which he lived. If Freud were alive today, his ideas might be regarded very differently—and his own work would likely take a different direction.

Some have suggested that if Freud were alive today, he would likely be interested in topics related to brain functioning. Prior to the development of psychoanalysis, Freud's interests had centered on developing a neural model of behavior. Researchers today also suggest that the neurobiological underpinnings of psychoanalysis are worth further exploration.

Susan Krauss Whitbourne, PhD

Psychologists today talk about the  psychodynamic , not the  psychoanalytic perspective . As such, this perspective refers to the dynamic forces within our personalities whose shifting movements underlie much of the basis for our observable behavior. Psychoanalysis is a much narrower term referring to the Freudian-based notion that to understand, and treat, abnormal behavior, our unconscious conflicts must be worked through.

Psychoanalysis as Freud conceived it might be on the decline, but that does not mean that the psychodynamic perspective has disappeared or that it will be going anywhere soon.

If you ask someone what comes to mind when they think of psychology, Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis are likely to be common responses. There is no question that psychoanalysis—both as a therapeutic approach and theoretical outlook—has left its mark on psychology.

Most psychologists today employ a more eclectic approach to the field of psychology, though there are some professionals who still take a purely psychoanalytical point of view on human behavior.

Many contemporary psychologists view psychoanalysis with skepticism.   Some even feel derision toward Freud's school of thought. In a world of psychology where cognitive processes, neuroscience, and biopsychology dominate, is there still room for psychoanalysis?

In general, there is a perceived decline in traditional psychoanalysis. A report published by the APsaA in 2008 found that psychology departments typically treat psychoanalysis as a purely historical artifact, while subjects such as art, literature, history, and other humanities were more likely to teach psychoanalysis as an ongoing and relevant topic.  

Some suggest that psychoanalysis has fallen by the wayside as an academic topic within psychology partly because of its failure to test the validity of its therapeutic approach and earlier failures to ground the discipline in evidence-based practices.

The Future of Psychoanalysis

There are a few things that psychoanalysis as a field can do to ensure its continued relevance in the world of psychology. Some things that can help improve the legitimacy and relevance of psychoanalytic methods include:

• Place a greater emphasis on scientific research and empirical evidence.
• Explore evidence-based treatments in greater depth.
• Improve data-gathering methods.
• Give greater consideration of other possible explanations for behavior.
• Collaborate actively with other mental health professionals.

Some current efforts to revitalize psychoanalysis focus on psychoanalytic concepts that are more evidence-based (such as attachment theory) or on connecting Freud's idea of the unconscious to modern neuroscience.  

A Word From Verywell

Freud's mark on psychology is still felt today.  Talk therapy is most often associated with psychoanalysis, but therapists also use the technique in other approaches to treatment, including  client-centered therapy  and  group therapy .

Psychoanalysis might not be the force it was back in 1910, but Freud's theories have had a lasting influence on both popular culture and psychology.

Psychoanalysis . Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary.

American Psychoanalytic Association. About psychoanalysis . 

Shedler J. The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy .  Am Psychol . 2010;65(2):98-109. doi:10.1037/a0018378

de Maat S, de Jonghe F, Schoevers R, et al. The effectiveness of long-term psychoanalytic therapy: A systematic review of empirical studies . In: Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE): Quality-assessed Reviews [Internet]. York (UK): Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (UK); 2009.

Fonagy P. The effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapies: An update . World Psychiatry . 2015;14(2):137-50. doi:10.1002/wps.20235

Fonagy P. Psychoanalysis today .  World Psychiatry . 2003;2(2):73-80.

Solms ML. The neurobiological underpinnings of psychoanalytic theory and therapy .  Front Behav Neurosci . 2018;12:294. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00294

Paris J. Is psychoanalysis still relevant to psychiatry?   Can J Psychiatry . 2017;62(5):308-312. doi:10.1177/0706743717692306

Redmond J, Shulman M. Access to psychoanalytic ideas in American undergraduate institutions . J Am Psychoanal Assoc . 2008;56(2):391-408. doi:10.1177/0003065108318639

Cieri F, Esposito R. Psychoanalysis and neuroscience: The bridge between mind and brain . Front Psychol . 2019;10:1790. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01983

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Psychoanalytic Theories: Examples and Explanations

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

Learn about our Editorial Process

Psychoanalysis is the branch of psychology that investigates the interaction of conscious and unconscious elements in the mind.

Founded by Sigmund Freud in the late 19th century, this theoretical framework aims to bring repressed fears and conflicts into the conscious mind, allowing an individual to confront and better understand their feelings and behaviors. The process usually involves dialogue between a patient and a psychoanalyst, often focusing on the patient’s dreams and childhood memories.

Psychoanalysis posits that human behavior is a product of internal conflicts, unconscious desires, and past experiences. In this framework, resolving these conflicts and bringing them to consciousness can lead to improved mental health and a clearer understanding of oneself.

While Freud’s ideas are largely debunked, subsequent researchers have build-on his foundations to develop their own useful ideas about the subconscious psyche.

Psychoanalytic Theory Examples

1. ego psychology (freud).

Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, developed a theory of how the subconscious mind operates.

He held that the mind contained three components: the id, ego, and superego . Each influence one another and are in struggle. The id represents impulse, the ego represents pragmatism, and the superego represents morals:

See Also: Freudian Slip Examples

2. Psychosexual Development Theory (Freud)

Freud’s second important contribution to psychoanalysis was his theory of development. In this theory, he believed people developed through distinct stages, driven by sexual desires.

Each of Freud’s stages is characterized by a different sexually-related challenge that must be overcome, or else we will develop a complex for the rest of our lives.

The stages are outlined below:

Go Deeper: Freud’s Theory of Personality – An Overview

3. the Collective Unconscious (Jung)

Carl Jung, a prominent Swiss psychiatrist, introduced the concept of the collective unconscious to psychology.

The collective unconscious is proposed to be a part of the unconscious mind, manifested by universal archetypes or symbols that are shared among all humans due to ancestral experience.

In essence, Jung’s idea posits that our behaviors and thoughts are not merely personal but influenced by ancestral knowledge contained within the collective unconscious. This concept distinguishes itself from the personal unconscious, which refers to information that has been acquired during one’s life but has been forgotten or repressed.

According to Jung, exploring your collective unconscious (through dreams or various forms of therapy) allows you to tap into universal experiences (known as Jungian archetypes) and ideas that shape your thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Go Deeper: Jung’s Collective Unconscious – An Overview

4. Psychological Archetypes (Jung)

The second key contribution of Carl Jung to psychoanalysis is the concept of archetypes. Jung defined these as universal and innate symbols present in the collective unconscious of all human beings.

Psychological archetypes, according to Jung, play a vital role in influencing human thoughts, actions, and feelings. They are generally formed through historical experiences shared by our ancestors and can be recognized through patterns that emerge in dreams, literature, art, or religion.

Some of the main Jungian archetypes include the Self, the Persona, the Shadow, the Anima/Animus, the Great Mother, the Wise Old Man, the Hero, and the Trickster.

Each archetype represents a different aspect of the human psyche. For instance, the Persona represents the image we present to the world while the Shadow houses our darkest desires and impulses. Understanding these archetypes, Jung argued, could help individuals to gain insights into their behaviors and deeper selves.

Go Deeper: Jungian Archetypes – An Overview

5. Adler’s Individual Psychology

Alfred Adler, an Austrian psychotherapist, established a unique perspective called Individual Psychology. It emphasizes the person as a whole unit and highlights the importance of societal factors, notably family and community, on individual development.

Adler argued that human character traits are shaped by an individual’s drive to overcome feelings of inferiority, which he called Inferiority Complex. The feelings arise in childhood from our realization of being lesser and weaker than adults. Correctly overcoming these feelings guides us toward mastery and personal growth, known as striving for superiority.

According to Adler, this pursuit of superiority is influenced by one’s lifestyle, an overall strategy we construct to navigate society and face challenges. The relational approach encouraged by Adler manifests in our goal-setting and problem-solving behavior, underscoring how our interactions with society profoundly shape our individuality.

6. Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development

Erik Erikson made Freudian psychology far more palatable with his psycho social rather than psycho sexual model of development.

Whereas Freud argued that psychosexual energy (called the libido) was the driving force behind development, Erikson argued that it was social desires that are core to psychological development.

Erikson went on to formulate a set of lifelong stages, where the core challenge or crisis in each stage was not sexual in nature, but social:

Each stage presents a central conflict or crisis that individuals must navigate. Successfully resolving each crisis leads to the development of a basic virtue that contributes to a healthy personality and interactions with others.

Go Deeper: Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages of Development

7. Klein’s Object Relations Theory

Melanie Klein, a prominent child psychoanalyst, offered a novel perspective through her Object Relations Theory.

This theory focuses on our interpersonal relations, asserting that our experiences with others (objects) significantly impact our personal growth and perception of the world.

According to Klein, early childhood experiences, particularly those involving primary caregivers, play an instrumental role in shaping our psyche, our expectations of others, and our relationships. These “objects” or people can either be part-objects, such as a mother’s breast to a hungry baby, or whole objects like the mother herself.

Klein proposed that we develop both positive and negative feelings towards these objects, resulting in what she termed the “paranoid-schizoid” and “depressive” positions:

• Paranoid-Schizoid: This refers to a child’s early perception of good and bad objects.
• Depressive: This introduces the awareness that objects can possess both good and bad qualities.

By understanding these interactions, Klein believed, we could grapple with our difficulties and derive insights into our relationships.

Before you Go

I’ve provided links throughout this piece to help you go deeper into your exploration of the various psychoanalytic theories. But it’s also worth zooming out to see the range of other theories in psychology , including:

• Cognitive Psychology : This branch studies mental processes such as thinking, memory, perception, and problem-solving.
• Behavioral Psychology: This focuses on observable behaviors and the effects of the environment on them.
• Humanist Psychology: This emphasizes individual potential, self-actualization, and the intrinsic nature of human beings.
• Developmental Psychology: This examines the psychological changes and growth that occur throughout the human lifespan.
• Personality Theories in Psychology: These seek to explain the enduring patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion that characterize individual humans.

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 15 Green Flags in a Relationship
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• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 15 Red Flags Early in a Relationship

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• Introduction

Subject Matter of Psychoanalysis

Depth-psychology, pleasure-pain principle, mental topography, sexual instincts, the oedipus complex, transference, the psychoanalytic movement, bibliography.

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Sigmund Freud on psychoanalysis

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• Table Of Contents

The term psychoanalysis was not indexed in the Encyclopædia Britannica until well into the 20th century. It occurs in the 12th edition (1922) in such articles as “Behaviorism” and “Psychotherapy.” The first treatment of psychoanalysis as a subject unto itself appeared in the 13th edition (1926), and for that article Britannica went to the best possible authority, Sigmund Freud . He described the subject as he understood it at that time but also as he wished it to be understood later. “The future will probably attribute far greater importance to psychoanalysis as the science of the unconscious,” Freud wrote, “than as a therapeutic procedure.” Freud also chafed at what he seemed to think was the too-small space allotted to his article. “It is enough to say,” Freud declared, “that psychoanalysis, in its character of the psychology of the deepest, unconscious mental acts, promises to become the link between Psychiatry and all of these other fields of study,” among them medicine, anthropology, and literary history. As a unique piece of anthology, this article provides a remarkably clear exposition of psychoanalytic theory interlaced with Freud’s reflections upon his own scientific legacy.

PSYCHOANALYSIS: FREUDIAN SCHOOL

In the years 1880–2 a Viennese physician, Dr. Josef Breuer (1842–1925), discovered a new procedure by means of which he relieved a girl, who was suffering from severe hysteria, of her various symptoms. The idea occurred to him that the symptoms were connected with impressions which she had received during a period of excitement while she was nursing her sick father. He therefore induced her, while she was in a state of hypnotic somnambulism, to search for these connections in her memory and to live through the “pathogenic” scenes once again without inhibiting the affects that arose in the process. He found that when she had done this the symptom in question disappeared for good.

This was at a date before the investigations of Charcot and Pierre Janet into the origin of hysterical symptoms, and Breuer’s discovery was thus entirely uninfluenced by them. But he did not pursue the matter any further at the time, and it was not until some 10 years later that he took it up again in collaboration with Sigmund Freud. In 1895 they published a book, Studien über Hysterie , in which Breuer’s discoveries were described and an attempt was made to explain them by the theory of Catharsis . According to that hypothesis, hysterical symptoms originate through the energy of a mental process being withheld from conscious influence and being diverted into bodily innervation (“ Conversion ”). A hysterical symptom would thus be a substitute for an omitted mental act and a reminiscence of the occasion which should have given rise to that act. And, on this view, recovery would be a result of the liberation of the affect that had gone astray and of its discharge along a normal path (“ Abreaction ”). Cathartic treatment gave excellent therapeutic results, but it was found that they were not permanent and that they were dependent on the personal relation between the patient and the physician. Freud, who later proceeded with these investigations by himself, made an alteration in their technique, by replacing hypnosis by the method of free association. He invented the term “ psychoanalysis ,” which in the course of time came to have two meanings: (1) a particular method of treating nervous disorders and (2) the science of unconscious mental processes, which has also been appropriately described as “depth-psychology.”

Psychoanalysis finds a constantly increasing amount of support as a therapeutic procedure, owing to the fact that it can do more for certain classes of patients than any other method of treatment. The principal field of its application is in the milder neuroses—hysteria, phobias and obsessional states, but in malformations of character and in sexual inhibitions or abnormalities it can also bring about marked improvements or even recoveries. Its influence upon dementia praecox and paranoia is doubtful; on the other hand, in favourable circumstances it can cope with depressive states, even if they are of a severe type.

In every instance the treatment makes heavy claims upon both the physician and the patient: the former requires a special training, and must devote a long period of time to exploring the mind of each patient, while the latter must make considerable sacrifices, both material and mental. Nevertheless, all the trouble involved is as a rule rewarded by the results. Psychoanalysis does not act as a convenient panacea (“cito, tute, jucunde”) upon all psychological disorders. On the contrary, its application has been instrumental in making clear for the first time the difficulties and limitations in the treatment of such affections.

The therapeutic results of psychoanalysis depend upon the replacement of unconscious mental acts by conscious ones and are operative in so far as that process has significance in relation to the disorder under treatment. The replacement is effected by overcoming internal resistances in the patient’s mind. The future will probably attribute far greater importance to psychoanalysis as the science of the unconscious than as a therapeutic procedure.

Psychoanalysis, in its character of depth-psychology, considers mental life from three points of view: the dynamic, the economic and the topographical.

From the first of these standpoints, the dynamic one, psychoanalysis derives all mental processes (apart from the reception of external stimuli) from the interplay of forces, which assist or inhibit one another, combine with one another, enter into compromises with one another, etc. All of these forces are originally in the nature of instincts ; that is to say, they have an organic origin. They are characterised by possessing an immense (somatic) persistence and reserve of power (“ repetition-compulsion ”); and they are represented mentally as images or ideas with an affective charge (“ cathexis ”). In psychoanalysis, no less than in other sciences, the theory of instincts is an obscure subject. An empirical analysis leads to the formation of two groups of instincts: the so-called “ego-instincts,” which are directed towards self-preservation and the “object-instincts,” which are concerned with relations to an external object. The social instincts are not regarded as elementary or irreducible. Theoretical speculation leads to the suspicion that there are two fundamental instincts which lie concealed behind the manifest ego-instincts and object-instincts: namely ( a ) Eros, the instinct which strives for ever closer union, and ( b ) the instinct of destruction, which leads toward the dissolution of what is living. In psychoanalysis the manifestation of the force of Eros is given the name “ libido .”

From the economic standpoint psychoanalysis supposes that the mental representations of the instincts have a cathexis of definite quantities of energy, and that it is the purpose of the mental apparatus to hinder any damming-up of these energies and to keep as low as possible the total amount of the excitations to which it is subject. The course of mental processes is automatically regulated by the “ pleasure-pain principle ”; and pain is thus in some way related to an increase of excitation and pleasure to a decrease. In the course of development the original pleasure principle undergoes a modification with reference to the external world, giving place to the “ reality-principle ,” whereby the mental apparatus learns to postpone the pleasure of satisfaction and to tolerate temporarily feelings of pain.

Topographically , psychoanalysis regards the mental apparatus as a composite instrument, and endeavours to determine at what points in it the various mental processes take place. According to the most recent psychoanalytic views, the mental apparatus is composed of an “ id ,” which is the reservoir of the instinctive impulses, of an “ ego ,” which is the most superficial portion of the id and one which is modified by the influence of the external world, and of a “ super-ego ,” which develops out of the id, dominates the ego and represents the inhibitions of instinct characteristic of man. Further, the property of consciousness has a topographical reference; for processes in the id are entirely unconscious, while consciousness is the function of the ego’s outermost layer, which is concerned with the perception of the external world.

At this point two observations may be in place. It must not be supposed that these very general ideas are presuppositions upon which the work of psychoanalysis depends. On the contrary, they are its latest conclusions and are in every respect open to revision. Psychoanalysis is founded securely upon the observation of the facts of mental life; and for that very reason its theoretical superstructure is still incomplete and subject to constant alteration. Secondly, there is no reason for astonishment that psychoanalysis, which was originally no more than an attempt at explaining pathological mental phenomena, should have developed into a psychology of normal mental life. The justification for this arose with the discovery that the dreams and mistakes (“ parapraxes ,” such as slips of the tongue, etc.) of normal men have the same mechanism as neurotic symptoms.

Theoretical Basis

The first task of psychoanalysis was the elucidation of nervous disorders. The analytical theory of the neuroses is based upon three ground-pillars: the recognition of (1) “ repression ,” of (2) the importance of the sexual instincts and of (3) “ transference .”

There is a force in the mind which exercises the functions of a censorship, and which excludes from consciousness and from any influence upon action all tendencies which displease it. Such tendencies are described as “repressed.” They remain unconscious; and if the physician attempts to bring them into the patient’s consciousness he provokes a “ resistance .” These repressed instinctual impulses, however, are not always made powerless by this process. In many cases they succeed in making their influence felt by circuitous paths, and the indirect or substitutive gratification of repressed impulses is what constitutes neurotic symptoms.

For cultural reasons the most intensive repression falls upon the sexual instincts; but it is precisely in connection with them that repression most easily miscarries, so that neurotic symptoms are found to be substitutive gratifications of repressed sexuality. The belief that in man sexual life begins only at puberty is incorrect. On the contrary, signs of it can be detected from the beginning of extra-uterine existence; it reaches a first culminating point at or before the fifth year (“early period”), after which it is inhibited or interrupted (“latency period”) until the age of puberty, which is the second climax of its development. This double onset of sexual development seems to be distinctive of the genus Homo. All experiences during the first period of childhood are of the greatest importance to the individual, and in combination with his inherited sexual constitution, form the dispositions for the subsequent development of character or disease. It is a mistaken belief that sexuality coincides with “genitality.” The sexual instincts pass through a complicated course of development, and it is only at the end of it that the “primacy of the genital zone” is attained. Before this there are a number of “pre-genital organisations” of the libido—points at which it may become “fixated” and to which, in the event of subsequent repression, it will return (“ regression ”). The infantile fixations of the libido are what determine the form of neurosis which sets in later. Thus the neuroses are to be regarded as inhibitions in the development of the libido.

There are no specific causes of nervous disorders; the question whether a conflict finds a healthy solution or leads to a neurotic inhibition of function depends upon quantitative considerations, that is, upon the relative strength of the forces concerned. The most important conflict with which a small child is faced is his relation to his parents, the “ Oedipus complex ”; it is in attempting to grapple with this problem that persons destined to suffer from a neurosis habitually fail. The reactions against the instinctual demands of the Oedipus complex are the source of the most precious and socially important achievements of the human mind; and this probably holds true not only in the life of individuals but also in the history of the human species as a whole. The super-ego, the moral factor which dominates the ego, also has its origin in the process of overcoming the Oedipus complex.

By “ transference ” is meant a striking peculiarity of neurotics. They develop toward their physician emotional relations, both of an affectionate and hostile character, which are not based upon the actual situation but are derived from their relations toward their parents (the Oedipus complex). Transference is a proof of the fact that adults have not overcome their former childish dependence; it coincides with the force which has been named “suggestion”; and it is only by learning to make use of it that the physician is enabled to induce the patient to overcome his internal resistances and do away with his repressions. Thus psychoanalytic treatment acts as a second education of the adult, as a corrective to his education as a child.

Within this narrow compass it has not been possible to mention many matters of the greatest interest, such as the “ sublimation ” of instincts, the part played by symbolism, the problem of “ ambivalence ,” etc. Nor has there been space to allude to the applications of psychoanalysis, which originated, as we have seen, in the sphere of medicine, to other departments of knowledge (such as Anthropology, the Study of Religion, Literary History and Education) where its influence is constantly increasing. It is enough to say that psychoanalysis, in its character of the psychology of the deepest, unconscious mental acts, promises to become the link between Psychiatry and all of these other fields of study.

The beginnings of psychoanalysis may be marked by two dates: 1895, which saw the publication of Breuer and Freud’s Studien über Hysterie , and 1900, which saw that of Freud’s Traumdeutung . At first the new discoveries aroused no interest either in the medical profession or among the general public. In 1907 the Swiss psychiatrists, under the leadership of E. Bleuler and C.G. Jung , began to concern themselves in the subject; and in 1908 there took place at Salzburg a first meeting of adherents from a number of different countries. In 1909 Freud and Jung were invited to America by G. Stanley Hall to deliver a series of lectures on psychoanalysis at Clark University, Worcester, Mass. From that time forward interest in Europe grew rapidly; it showed itself, however, in a forcible rejection of the new teachings, characterised by an emotional colouring which sometimes bordered upon the unscientific.

The reasons for this hostility are to be found, from the medical point of view, in the fact that psychoanalysis lays stress upon psychical factors, and from the philosophical point of view, in its assuming as an underlying postulate the concept of unconscious mental activity; but the strongest reason was undoubtedly the general disinclination of mankind to concede to the factor of sexuality such importance as is assigned to it by psychoanalysis. In spite of this widespread opposition, however, the movement in favour of psychoanalysis was not to be checked. Its adherents formed themselves into an International Association, which passed successfully through the ordeal of the World War, and at the present time comprises local groups in Vienna, Berlin, Budapest, London, Switzerland, Holland, Moscow and Calcutta, as well as two in the United States. There are three journals representing the views of these societies: the Internationale Zeitschrift für Psychoanalyse , Imago (which is concerned with the application of psychoanalysis to non-medical fields of knowledge), and the International Journal of Psycho-Analysis .

During the years 1911–3 two former adherents, Alfred Adler , of Vienna, and C.G. Jung, of Zürich, seceded from the psychoanalytic movement and founded schools of thought of their own. In 1921 Dr. M. Eitingon founded in Berlin the first public psychoanalytic clinic and training-school, and this was soon followed by a second in Vienna. For the moment these are the only institutions on the continent of Europe which make psychoanalytic treatment accessible to the wage-earning classes.

Breuer and Freud, Studien über Hysterie (1895); Freud, Traumdeutung (1900); Zur Psychopathologie des Alltagslebens (1904); Drei Abhandlungen zur Sexualtheorie (1905); Vorlesungen zur Einführung in die Psychoanalyse (1916). Freud’s complete works have been published in Spanish ( Obras completas ) (1924), and German ( Gesammelte Schriften ) (1925); the greater part of them has been translated into English and other languages. Short accounts of the subject-matter and history of psychoanalysis will be found in: Freud, Ueber Psychoanalyse (the lectures delivered at Worcester, U.S.A.) (1909); Zur Geschichte der psychoanalytischen Bewegung (1914); Selbstdarstellung (in Grote’s collection Die Medizin der Gegenwart ) (1925). Particularly accessible to English readers are: A.A. Brill, Psycho-Analysis (1922); Ernest Jones, Papers on Psycho-Analysis (1923).

The Psychoanalytic Approach to Personality Report (Assessment)

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Introduction

The psychoanalytic approach, the stages of freud’s theory, freudian defense mechanisms, reference list.

Personality is hard to define; it is an attempt by man to summarize an individual. It means describing and understanding other people. More than five different perspectives are employed in the study of personality and include the trait, learning, psychoanalytic and biological perspectives (Carver & Scheier, 2000).

This paper aims at highlighting the major characteristics, similarities and differences between the psychoanalysis theories of Freud, Jung and Adler. It will lay a particular emphasis on the stages of Sigmund Freud’s theory, major Freudian defense mechanisms and their application to real life scenarios.

This was an approach to the study of personality developed by Sigmund Freud in late 19th century proposing that the human mental activities depended on his unconscious mind. Freud was a neurologist at a hospital in Italy where he dealt with psychiatric patients.

Over the course of his career, Freud was faced with a major challenge, he realized that most of his patient’s nervous symptoms lacked a physiological explanation and that neither science nor rational laws could explain phobias and other physical complains. Faced with these problems, Freud developed his now famous theory on personality and child development that helped him in solving neurotic disorders.

Major aspects of the Freud’s theory are: 1) the unconscious mind contains hidden memories and is in most of the times responsible for our actions and manners, 2) That we are born with certain instincts that govern our behavior, 3) what we experience at childhood influences our development of emotions and personality, and 4) Id, ego and superego are three vital biological elements that represent our inherited instinctual drives.

Jungian theory (Jung’s analytic psychology) divides the human mind into three:-

• The ego (conscious mind)
• Personal (unconscious) ego- things forgotten but can be remembered,
• Collective unconscious (e.g. immediate love). This is the part of the mind that differentiates his theory of analytic psychology from Freud’s psychoanalytic approach. This part of the mind according to Carl Jung’s theory is the inherited psyche (Boeree 2006). It keeps an individual’s experiences but he/she is not aware, it influences ones emotions.

His collective unconscious mind is believed to be deeper and made of emotional symbols he called archetypes. Jung postulated that these symbols are universal and are found in all of us. They are passed down generations through repeating events. These archetypes make individuals respond similarly to common stimuli (Friedman & Schustack, 2009). Unlike Freud’s theory, Jung’s theory was not focused on sex, was more on history and leant on spiritual.

Alfred Adler experimented with the inferiority complex and the importance of the society. Adler’s Individual psychology laid much importance on the uniqueness of individual’s motivation and the importance of each individual’s place in the society. His emphasis was on the goal directedness of every individual nature and its influence on ones personality.

Adler’s theory differed with the Freudian theory in that when Freud stressed on pleasure and sexuality, Adler emphasized the complexity of individual motivation. He (Adler) also laid much emphasis on social conditions which Freud tended to ignore.

The theories of Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler all touch on the ego or ‘I’. The ingenuity with which these three great psychologists handle this item of the human mind is an enough convincement to me. I in particular buy the whole of Freud’s definition of this term. I also agree with their conclusion that the unconscious mind generally influences our behavior and emotions.

Their (especially Freud) division of the human mind into three different structures is inconclusive as we know it today. Their postulates were based on poor understanding of the human mind. All these theories were developed on medical ground and therefore largely pessimistic towards human personality. They are also pathological in outlook.

Freud’s psychological world involved a series of differing tensions like that between selfishness and the society. According to him, sexual energy was the underlying drive/motivation. His theory of psychoanalytic approach was an endeavor to unearth the reason libido was the motivation for so many actions (Friedman & Schustack, 2009).

• Oral stage – The urge by infants to fulfill their hunger and thirst drives, security and pleasure make them suckle. When weaned at age one, a crisis arises between remaining dependent and growing up. Those infants fixated at this stage may forever seek satisfaction as adults from biting, chewing or even smoking.
• Anal stage – Occurs between ages two and three as children are taught to use toilet. Some learn rather fast while others remain stagnant at this stage where they seek to maintain control over when and where they relieve themselves. At adult life, Freud says that these anal character types develop a certain personality like bathroom humor, orderliness, and organization.
• Phallic stage – Phallic phase occur at age four where they direct their libido at their genitals and tend to discover their gender by age six. The Oedipus complex may develop at this stage. This is a great unconscious fear termed castration anxiety that a small five year boy developed from horses that he unconsciously likened to his father.
• Penis envy – These stage develop in some little girls who when they realize they don’t have a penis associate with their father to have one and want to have a baby at adult life. At adult, they develop a weird personality that revolves around her genital identity. They tend to look for husbands who resemble their father to have a baby while men marry ladies who either look like their mother or are the opposite of their mothers.
• Latency stage – This is the stage between the Oedipus complex and puberty (11 years). This phase is marked by little sexual expression and instead their libido is channeled towards going to school, making new friends, and generally socializing.
• Genital stage – Occur in those children that never got trapped in any childhood stages. These children lead a normal life as adults.

These are the processes one’s ego uses to protect itself from the reality.

• Repression – helps an individual’s ego push threatening thoughts into the unconscious mind e.g. post traumatic stress
• Reaction formation – an ego defense strategy that tend to hide threatening impulses from one’s memory and instead put stress on the opposing thoughts.
• Projection – this defense strategy places on others the anxiety arousing impulses.

Personality can simply be termed as meaning ‘I’. Sigmund Freud has been considered the greatest psychologist of all times. Freud, Jung and Adler differed in most of their approaches toward the study of identity but while Jung and Freud divided the mind into three structures, Adler’s approach was different. Freud’s theory on psychosexual analysis has been shown to be in stages advancing from infancy to adulthood. Freud also showed that the ego employs different defense mechanisms to deal with reality.

Boeree, G. (2006). Carl Jung . Web.

Carver, C. S. & Scheier, M. F. (2000). Perspectives on personality (4th ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Friedman, H. & Schustack, M. (2009). Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research . Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon.

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Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Psychoanalytic Approach to Personality." September 6, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-psychoanalytic-approach-to-personality/.