Psychodynamic approach

• Sigmund Freud believed that behaviour was determined more by psychological factors than biological factors or environmental reinforcement.
• Freud believed that people are born with basic instincts/drives and that behaviour is largely controlled by the unconscious mind
• Freud used the metaphor of an iceberg to describe the mind
• The tip of the iceberg represents the conscious mind which contains all thoughts, memories and feelings which we are aware of
• The unconscious mind is the larger part of the iceberg hidden under water. This is where the majority of the personality is - containing the ego, superego and ID
• Freud believed that the mind actually prevents traumatic memories from the unconscious from reaching the conscious awareness i.e the mind uses defence mechanisms to prevent the person coming aware of them.
• Id - operates solely in the unconscious and according to the pleasure principle, it demands immediate gratification regardless of the circumstance.
• Superego - i.e the conscience is the internalisation of societal rules, it decides which behaviours are acceptable and feelings of guilt are caused when rules are broken.
• Ego - balances the id’s impulsive demands and the moralistic demands of the superego.
• defence mechanisms may be triggered to reduce anxiety
• Defence mechanisms allow individuals to stop becoming aware of unpleasant memories associated with a traumatic situation.
• Repression - refers to the process by which unbearable memories are kept out of consciousness. These repressed thoughts influence behaviour without an individual being aware
• Denial - is the refusal to accept reality so as to avoid having to deal with any painful feelings that might be associated with the event. The person carries on acting as if the traumatic event never occurred.
• Displacement - is the redirecting of (usually) hostile thoughts/feelings by directing emotions to an innocent victim instead of the person they should be directing it towards.
• Pyschosexual stages: Freud claimed that we have to pass through these five stages successfully (without getting fixated) or it would cause problems for our adult personality
• Oral- 0-2 years- Id gratification is focused on the stimulation of the mouth e.g. sucking/biting.
• Anal- 2-3- years Potty training occurs at this age which places focus of pleasure on the anus. A major issue is a child learning to control bodily waste
• Phallic- 3-6- years Sexual energy is now focused on the genitals (physically). Boys develop a Oedipus complex where they have unconscious sexual desires for their mothers. Whereas girls develop an Electra complex, where they too have unconscious sexual desires for their father and then develop penis envy
• Latent- 6-12 years- A child suppresses any sexual desires as they aren’t fixated on any centre of pleasure and instead focus interest on social interaction, school work and hobbies
• Genital- 12+ years- Focus returns on the genital region and as a result a sexual and romantic interest becomes directed towards peers.
• Freud carried out a case study with a boy called Hans who had a phobia of horses. He was directly observed by his father, who noted details of Hans’ dreams and what he said to then pass them on to Freud for analysis.
• freud found that Hans was afraid of horses because he thought they might bite or fall onto him. Throughout the study, Hans developed an interest in his penis. His mother told him not to play with it, or she’ll cut it off
• The results suggest that Hans had reached the ‘phallic’ stage of development as he showed evidence of the oedipus complex i.e. he wanted to have an exclusive relationship with his mother and was jealous of his father. His fear of horses was an example of displacement i.e a defence mechanism that protected him from the real fear of his father
• Psychodynamic approach was the first theory to focus on psychological causes of disorders as before this the focus had always been on physical causes, or things like possession by evil spirits
• The psychodynamic approach was also one of the first approaches to suggest mental health disorders may have some correlation to unresolved conflicts in childhood.
• (+) psychodynamic approach- It offers methods of therapy e.g. psychoanalysis which may also reveal unconscious conflicts i.e. patients can understand the causes of their problems to then resolve them and release their anxieties.
• +) Finally, Freud’s theory places emphasis on how early childhood experiences can affect later development which has formed the basis of lots of other important theories.
• (-) Freud claims are based on his subjective interpretations of his patients dreams i.e. they are often unreliable and open to bias
• freud theories are also related to the unconscious mind which cannot be assessed, meaning his theories are unfalsifiable.
• (-) Furthermore, psychoanalysis may take a long time and can become very expensive
• The childhood conflicts that are revealed may be emotionally distressing and potentially inaccurate depending on the reliability of the patient's memory, the techniques used to uncover them and the interpretations made.
• (-) The focus is on the patient's past, rather than on the problems they are currently suffering and the unscientific research method means it is not possible to show cause and effect.
• (-) Finally the approach is based on case studies of people in distress i.e. the findings may not generalise to the wider population