Psychoanalytic theory:

1. PSYCHOANALYTIC THERAPY
Psychoanalysis is a psychological therapy proposed by Sigmund Freud in the 20 th century.
There are certain concepts of psychoanalysis on which are important to understand it. These
concepts throw the light on the psychoanalysis therapy and help to understand it in depth.

1.1. Life of Sigmund Freud (1856- 1939)

Freud was born on May 6, 1856, in Freibreg, Moravia. Freud father was relatively
unsuccessful wool merchant. When his business failed in Moravia, the family moved to
Leipzig, Germany, later, when Freud was 4 years old, to Vienna, Austria, Freud remained in
Vienna for nearly 80 years. When Freud was born his father was 40 years old and mother
(elder Freud third wife) was 20. The father was strict and authoritarian. As an adult, Freud
recalled his childhood hostility, hatred, and rage towards his father. He wrote that he felt
superior to his father as early as the age of 2. Freud’s mother took pride in young Sigmund,
convinced that he would become a great man. Among Freud’s lifelong personality
characteristics were a high degree of self-confidence, an intense ambition to succeed, and
dreams of glory and fame. Reflecting the impact of his mother’s continuing attention and
support, Freud wrote, “A man who has been the indisputable favourite of his mother keeps
for life the feeling of a conqueror, that confidence of success that often induces real
success”. There were eight children in the Freud family, two of them Freud’s adult half
brothers with children of their own. Freud resented them all and expressed anger and
jealously when competitors for his mother’s affection were born.
From an early age, Freud exhibited a high level of intelligence, which his parents helped to
foster. For example, his sisters were not allowed to practice the piano lest the noise disturb
Freud’s studies. He was given a room of his own, where he spent most of his time; he even
took his meals there so as not to lose time from his studies. The room was the only one in the
apartment to contain a prized oil lamp while the rest of the family used candles.
Freud was first drawn towards study of law, but on reading the work of Charles Darwin he
became intrigued by the rapidly developing sciences of the day. Especially inspired by the
scientific investigation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, he decided to be a medical student
based on his having heard Goethe’s essay on nature read aloud shortly before he left school.
Another scientist who influenced Freud in his scientific thinking about humans was a German
philosopher, Gustav Fechner, who founded the ‘science of Psychology’ in 1860,
demonstrating that mind, could be studied scientifically and that it could be measured
quantitatively. George Mendel investigated on the garden pea and founded the ‘modern
science of genetics’. Hermann von Helmholtz, who founded the principle of energy of
conservation of energy, leading to various studies of dynamics had a great impact on Freud.
Freud was a medical doctor but became more interested in scientific study of human
behaviour and in psychotherapy than in medical practice. Freud is therefore, one of the
founders of modern psychotherapy.
While completing work for this medical degree at the university of Vienna, Freud conducted
psychological research on the spinal cord of fish and the testes of the eel, making respectable
contributions to the field. He explored the neurophysiology of aphasia and agnosia, terms he
applied to the neurological disorders of communication and recognition. Largely at Von
Brucke insistence, Freud relinquished his research interests temporarily to gain clinical
experience in psychiatry, dermatology, and nervous diseases, as resident physician to the
general Hospital of Vienna. After three years he was to return to the university, where he was
appointed lecturer in neuropathology. All these aspects show the intellectual capacity of
Freud right from his childhood.
1.2. The level of Personality

Freud’s original conception divided personality into three levels namely the conscious, the
preconscious, and the unconscious. The conscious, as Freud defined the term, corresponds to
its ordinary everyday meaning. It includes all the sensations and experiences of which we are
aware at any given moment. As you read these words, for example, you may be conscious of
the feel or our pen, the sight of the page, the idea you are trying to grasp, and a dog barking in
the distance. Freud considered the conscious a limited aspect of personality because only a
small portion of our thoughts, sensations and memories exists in conscious awareness at any
time. He equates the mind to an iceberg, the conscious is the portion above the surface of the
water—merely the tip of the iceberg.
More important, according to Freud, is the unconscious, that larger, invisible portion below
the surface. This is the focus of psychoanalytic theory. Its vast, dark depths are the home of
the instincts, those wishes and desires that direct our behaviour. The unconscious contains the
major driving power behind all behaviours and is the repository of forces we cannot see or
control.
John D. Mcgowan asserts that while many psychologist do not like the notion of unconscious
processes, unconscious as a part of the personality and while some have been able to dispense
with the whole notion, it an important aspect to be dealt. The aim of psychoanalytic is to
make the unconscious motives conscious in order to exercise choice. In simple terms the
unconscious mind is that depository for motivations which may propel man to action without
his conscious understanding of his motive in acting. It has been said that only a small portion
of our motivations arise out of a conscious desire to act. The major portion of our activity
stems from drives within us which lie in this reservoir of unrealized reasons for doing,
thinking and feeling.
Between these two levels is the preconscious. This is the storehouse of memories,
perceptions, and thoughts of which we are not consciously aware at the moment but that we
can easily summon into consciousness. In other words the preconscious is a provisional
storehouse whose content could be retrieved by conscious introspection. For example, if your
mind strays from this page and you begin to think about a friend or what you did last night,
you would be summoning up material from your preconscious into your conscious. We often
find our attention shifting back and forth from experiences of the moment to events and
memories in the preconscious. In simple terms it can be also understood as a memory that can
be recalled easily.

Id, ego and super-ego

Psychoanalysis was founded by Sigmund Freud. Freud believed that people could be cured
by making conscious their unconscious thoughts and motivations, thus gaining "insight". The
aim of psychoanalysis therapy is to release repressed emotions and experiences, i.e. make the
unconscious conscious. Psychoanalysis is commonly used to treat depression and anxiety
disorders. It is only by having a cathartic (i.e. healing) experience can a person be helped and
"cured".
Id
The id according to Freud is the part of the unconscious that seeks pleasure. His idea of the id
explains why people act out in certain ways when it is not in line with the ego or superego.
The id is the part of the mind, which holds all of humankind’s most basic and primal
instincts. It is the impulsive, unconscious part in the mind that is based on the desire to seek
immediate satisfaction. The id does not have a grasp on any form of reality or consequence.
Freud understood that some people are controlled by the id because it makes people engage
in need-satisfying behavior without any accordance with what is right or wrong. Freud
compared the id and the ego to a horse and a rider. The id is compared to the horse, which is
directed and controlled, by the ego or the rider. This example goes to show that although the
id is supposed to be controlled by the ego, they often interact with one another according to
the drives of the ego.
Ego
In order for people to maintain a realistic sense here on earth, the ego is responsible for
creating a balance between pleasure and pain. It is impossible for all desires of the id to be
met and the ego realizes this but continues to seek pleasure and satisfaction. Although the ego
does not know the difference between right and wrong, it is aware that not all drives can be
met at a given time. The reality principle is what the ego operates in order to help satisfy the
id’s demands as well as compromising according to reality. The ego is a person’s "self"
composed of unconscious desires. The ego takes into account ethical and cultural ideals in
order to balance out the desires originating in the id. Although both the id and the ego are
unconscious, the ego has close contact with the perceptual system. The ego has the function
of self-preservation, which is why it has the ability to control the instinctual demands from
the id.
"The ego is first and foremost a bodily ego; it is not merely a surface entity but is itself the
projection of a surface. If we wish to find an anatomical analogy for it we can best identify it
with the ‘cortical homunculus’ of the anatomists, which stands on its head in the cortex,
sticks up its heels, faces backward and, as we know, has its speech-area on the left-hand side.
The ego is ultimately derived from bodily sensations, chiefly from those springing from the
surface of the body. It may thus be regarded as a mental projection of the surface of the body,
representing the superficies of the mental apparatus."
Superego
The superego, which develops around age four or five, incorporates the morals of society.
Freud believed that the superego is what allows the mind to control its impulses that are
looked down upon morally. The superego can be considered to be the conscience of the mind
because it has the ability to distinguish between reality as well as what is right or wrong.
Without the superego, Freud believed people would act out with aggression and other
immoral behaviors because the mind would have no way of understanding the difference
between right and wrong. The superego is considered to be the "consciousness" of a person’s
personality and can override the drives from the id. Freud separates the superego into two
separate categories; the ideal self and the conscience. The conscience contains ideals and
morals that exist within a society that prevent people from acting out based on their internal
desires. The ideal self contains images of how people ought to behave according to society's
idea.
Unconscious mind
Freud believed that the answers to what controlled daily actions resided in the unconscious
mind despite alternative views that all our behaviors were conscious. He felt that religion is
an illusion based on human values that are created by the mind to overcome inner
psychological conflict. He believed that notions of the unconsciousness and gaps in the
consciousness can be explained by acts of which the consciousness affords no evidence. The
unconscious mind positions itself in every aspect of life whether one is dormant or
awake.Though one may be unaware of the impact of the unconscious mind, it influences the
actions we engage in. Human behavior may be understood by searching for an analysis of
mental processes. This explanation gives significance to verbal slips and dreams. They are
caused by hidden reasons in the mind displayed in concealed forms. Verbal slips of the
unconscious mind are referred to as a Freudian slip. This is a term to explain a spoken
mistake derived from the unconscious mind. Traumatizing information on thoughts and
beliefs is blocked from the conscious mind. Slips expose our true thoughts stored in the
unconscious.Sexual instincts or drives have deeply hidden roots in the unconscious mind.
Instincts act by giving vitality and enthusiasm to the mind through meaning and purpose. The
ranges of instincts are in great numbers. Freud expressed them in two categories. One is Eros
the self-preserving life instinct containing all erotic pleasures. While Eros is used for basic
survival, the living instinct alone cannot explain all behavior according to Freud. In contrast,
Thanatos is the death instinct. It is full of self-destruction of sexual energy and our
unconscious desire to die. The main part of human behavior and actions is tied back to sexual
drives. Since birth, the existence of sexual drives can be recognized as one of the most
important incentives of life
Anxiety and defense mechanisms
Freud proposed a set of defense mechanisms in one's body. These set of defense mechanisms
occur so one can hold a favorable or preferred view of themselves. For example, in a
particular situation when an event occurs that violates one's preferred view of themselves,
Freud stated that it is necessary for the self to have some mechanism to defend itself against
this unfavorable event; this is known as defense mechanisms. Freud's work on defense
mechanisms focused on how the ego defends itself against internal events or impulses, which
are regarded as unacceptable to one's ego. These defense mechanisms are used to handle the
conflict between the id, the ego, and the superego.
Freud noted that a major drive for people is the reduction of tension and the major cause of
tension was anxiety.He identified three types of anxiety; reality anxiety, neurotic anxiety, and
moral anxiety. Reality anxiety is the most basic form of anxiety and is based on the ego. It is
typically based on the fear of real and possible events, for example, being bit by a dog or
falling off of a roof. Neurotic anxiety comes from an unconscious fear that the basic impulses
of the id will take control of the person, leading to eventual punishment from expressing the
id's desires. Moral anxiety comes from the superego. It appears in the form of a fear of
violating values or moral codes and appears as feelings like guilt or shame.
When anxiety occurs, the mind's first response is to seek rational ways of escaping the
situation by increasing problem-solving efforts and a range of defense mechanisms may be
triggered. These are ways that the ego develops to help deal with the id and the superego.
Defense mechanisms often appear unconsciously and tend to distort or falsify reality. When
the distortion of reality occurs, there is a change in perception which allows for a lessening in
anxiety resulting in a reduction of tension one experiences. Sigmund Freud noted a number of
ego defenses that were noted throughout his work but his daughter, Anna Freud, developed
and elaborated on them. The defense mechanisms are as follows: 1) Denial is believing that
what is true is actually false 2) Displacement is taking out impulses on a less threatening
target 3) Intellectualization is avoiding unacceptable emotions by focusing on the intellectual
aspects 4) Projection is attributing uncomfortable feelings to others 5) Rationalization is
creating false but believable justifications 6) Reaction Formation is taking the opposite belief
because the true belief causes anxiety 7) Regression is going back to a previous stage of
development 8) Repression is pushing uncomfortable thoughts out of conscious awareness 9)
Suppression is consciously forcing unwanted thoughts out of our awareness 10) Sublimation
is redirecting ‘wrong’ urges into socially acceptable actions. These defenses are not under our
conscious control and our unconscious will use one or more to protect one's self from
stressful situations. They are natural and normal and without these, neurosis develops such as
anxiety states, phobias, obsessions, or hysteria.
What Is Psychoanalysis?
Psychoanalysis, also known as “talk therapy,” is a type of treatment based on the theories of
Sigmund Freud, who is frequently called the “father of psychoanalysis.” Freud developed this
treatment modality for patients who did not respond to the psychological or medical
treatments available during his time.
Freud believed that certain types of problems come from thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
buried deeply in the unconscious mind. Therefore, the present is shaped by the past — an
individual’s current actions are rooted in early childhood experiences.
Psychoanalysts help clients tap into their unconscious mind to recover repressed emotions
and deep-seated, sometimes forgotten experiences. By gaining a better understanding of their
subconscious mind, patients acquire insight into the internal motivators that drive their
thoughts and behaviors. Doing so enables patients to work toward changing negative,
destructive behaviors.
What Does a Psychoanalyst Do?
Using the principles of psychoanalytic theory, an analyst provides therapy. During the
therapy sessions, the psychoanalyst listens as the patient discusses fantasies and dreams and
narrates experiences. The therapist searches for recurring patterns or events from the past that
may play a role in the patient’s current problems. A psychoanalyst also:
Meets with patients individually
Holds sessions approximately four times a week for 50 minutes or longer each session
Encourages patients to self-identify their emotional states
Helps patients understand the subconscious factors that drive their behavior
Maintains patient confidentiality
Keeps detailed notes of each session
What Issues Can Psychoanalysis Treat?
Psychoanalysis is used to treat a variety of conditions and emotional problems in both adults
and children. A variety of issues typically respond well to this type of treatment, including:
Anxiety
Depression
Panic attacks
Phobias
Obsessive behavior
Trauma
Eating disorders
Self-esteem problems
Sexual difficulties
Relationship problems
Self-destructive behaviors
How Does Psychoanalytic Treatment Work?
Numerous assumptions underlie the theories behind psychoanalysis. Firstly, three functions
exist within everyone’s personality — the id, ego, and superego. The id, comprising both
instinct and basic fundamental drives, is unconscious energy; it also includes aggressive and
sexual tendencies. The conscious mind, or the ego, serves to keep the id in check by exerting
a moderating influence. Finally, the superego represents the external reality, including
conscious thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, which reflect parental or societal mores and
values.
These three components form the structural model of what we know as personality. The
interaction between the three presents a struggle for dominance, which takes place within
every person. Psychoanalytic treatment helps alleviate the underlying tensions that occur
between the id, ego, and superego. In an attempt to balance these three mental functions,
patients must unveil their unconscious thoughts and feelings.

In most traditional psychoanalysis therapies, the patient lies on a couch while the therapist
sits behind the patient to prevent eye contact. This position helps the patient feel comfortable,
so he or she can reach a more intimate level of discussion with the psychotherapist.
Psychoanalytic therapy typically comprises a long-term course of treatment. Clients often
meet with their therapist at least once a week and can remain in therapy