psychodynamic approach

• psychodynamic assumptions

  • freud encouraged clients to speak freely about what was on their mind and they need to unveil memories from their unconscious mind and sicker the roots of their problems
• role of the unconscious mind

  • freud described CONSCIOUS MIND: which consists of mental processed of which we are aware, this is seen as the tip of the ice berg
  • PRECONSCIOUS:thoughts and feelings we are unaware of which can be easily brought to consciousness
  • UNCONSCIOUS MIND: inaccessible mental processes which influence feelings and behaviours . freud says it's the primary source of human behaviour. where our past experiences are stored.
• Structure of personality

  -personality is made up of 3 parts:

  • ID: 0-18 months, pleasure driven and self focus which is irrational and unconscious for instant gratification
  • EGO: 18 months-3 years, 'reality principle' which is conscious and rational. deals the id's pleasure drive and balances the id and super ego
  • SUPER EGO: 3-6 years, 'morality principle' which is unconscious and acts as the person's coscience e.g. feeling guilty. helps form morals based on parental and societal values
• defence mechanisms

  • REPRESSION: pushing an unpleasant memory into the unconscious mind so it's not accessible to the conscious mind and can't cause anxiety. there isn no recall of the event or situation.`
• Defence mechanisms


  Used by the ego
• Repression


  Pushing an unpleasant memory into the unconscious mind so it's not accessible to the conscious mind and can't cause anxiety. There is no recall of the event or situation.
• Denial


  Refusal to accept the reality of an unpleasant situation. This reduces anxiety caused by the situation. The individual may believe the situation isn't actually negative and therefore resists the reality.
• Displacement


  When the focus of a strong emotion is expressed onto a neutral person or object. This reduces anxiety by allowing expression of that emotion. The individual may channel a strong emotion onto an uninvolved person or object.
• oral stage

  • from birth
  • oral passive phase- sucking when breastfeeding, gullible
  • oral aggressive phase- biting due to teething, physically or verbally aggressive
  • fixation- if child is weaned too early or late, the are more likely to smoke or chew nails
• anal stage

  • 18 months
  • pleasure from anus (potty training)
  • fixation- if keen to potty train, anally explusive
  • anal explusive character-messy, generous, temper
  • anal retentive character- obsessively clean, neat, hoarder
• phallic stage

  • 3 years
  • pleasure from genitals
  • oedipus complex- boys are sexual towards mother
  • electra complex- girls have 'penis envy'
  • fixation-jealous, anxious adult. freud also believed males were gay due to being in a single sex parent household with no father to identify with
• latent stage

  • 6 years
  • sexual energy has calmed down and now focus on being a child
  • repressed sexual impulses
  • defence mechanisms towards school work, hobbies and friendships
  • energy is channelled into learning new skills
  • NO FIXATION
• genital stage

  • 12 years
  • libido focus on genitals where it stays for life
  • from this stage the child becomes an adult
  • NO FIXATION, 'normal adult personality develops as freud expected adults to stay in this stage
• same the psychosexual stages

  • oral-birth
  • anal-18 months
  • phallic-3 years
  • latent- 6 years
  • genital- 12 years
• psychodynamic approach evaluation


  + importance of childhood experience is highlighted, emphasis on nurture

  -sexist theory- ignores certain population e.g. single parents

  -the unconscious mind is untestable