Psychoanalysis

• What is it?

  • therapy intended to treat mental disorders by investigating interactions between conscious and unconscious elements in the mind
  • uses dream interpretation and free association
• What theory informs this policy?

  • Freud: Psychoanalysis
• Application

  • being chased in a dream: avoiding acknowledging anxiety within your life
  • falling in a dream: possible loss of control
  • free association: responding to words without thinking hoping to reveal something about the person and trigger some emotion
• Arguments For

  • used extensively in UK prisons
  • supported by Freud's Psychoanalysis theory
• Arguments Against

  • is voluntary
  • can't use across all prisons
  • used as a preventative measure for first time offenders
• Does it Work?

  • very time consuming and is unlikely to provide quick answers
  • could make it worse
  • research suggests it works as well as other psychiatric treatments for criminality (E.g. Cognitive Behavioural therapy)