The Psychodynamic Approach

• Who came up with the psychodynamic approach?

  • sigmund freud
• What is the role of the conscious mind?

  • a storehouse of biological drives and instincts that have an influence on our personality and behaviour
  • awareness
• What is the role of the unconcious mind?

  • contains any threatening or disturbing memories
  • any traumatic events have been repressed or locked away here from concious awareness
  • never truly forgotten - can be accessible via dreams, psychoanalysis and fantasies
• What is the role of the pre conscious mind?

  • sits between the two
  • holds thoughts and memories that we can access if we want too
• What is the structure of the personality?

  • a tripartite personality
  • consists of the ID, Ego and Superego
• What is the ID?

  • from birth
  • pleasure principle
  • holds any unconscious biological drives/instincts
  • demands immediate gratification
• What is the ego?

  • from 2 years
  • reality principle
  • mediates conflict between ID and Superego
  • uses defence mechanisms
• What is the Superego?

  • morality principle
  • from 5 years
  • punishes the ego with guilt but rewards it with pride
  • in constant conflict with ID
• What are the defence mechanisms?

  used by the ego to cope with everyday life

  1- Denial - refusal to believe events are causing distress

  2 - Repression - forcefully forgetting a distressing memory

  3 - Displacement - transferring your emotions from an original source to a less disstressing source
• What are the psychosexual stages?

  • Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital
• What is the oral stage?

  • 0-1 years
  • main source of pleasure is the mouth - enjoy sucking, tasting, biting
  • object of desire is mothers' breast
  • successful completion = weaning
  • Oral fixation - sarcastic, binge eats, smokes, bites nails
• What is the Anal stage?

  • 1 -3 years
  • main source of pleasure is defecation
  • succesful completion = potty training
  • anally retentive - tidy, stubborn, obssessive
  • anally explusive - thoughtless, messy
• What is the Phallic stage?

  • 3-5 years
  • main source of pleasure - genitals
  • oedipus complex - boy wants mother
  • electra complex - girl wants father/ jealous of mother
  • phallic personality - narcissitic, reckless, possibly homosexual
• What is the latency stage?

  • 6 to puberty
  • sexual urges are sublimated into sports or hobbies
  • developing same sex friendships
  • no successful completion requirements
• What is the genital stage?

  • puberty to adulthood
  • focus on genitals
  • succesful completion - healthy adult relationships
  • difficulty forming heterosexual realtionships
• Evaluation of the psychodynamic approach -

  • One strength is the approach introduced psychoanalysis which treats mental disorders. Led to creation of new treatments
  • A limitation is that Freud used case studies to conduct research for the approach. This means there is a lack of generalisability.
  • Another limitation is psychoanalysis is quite innapropriate as it requires patients to report sexual desires. Patients may not be comfortable in doing so.