Psychoanalytical

Theory: Psychoanalytic

Theorist: Sigmund Freud

Focus: Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality is based on the idea that the mind is comprised of three categories, the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is driven by pleasure and is regulated by the ego and superego. The ego is driven by reality, and the superego is driven by morality. Freud theorized that development occurred through a series of psychosexual stages; oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital. Conflicts that arose and were not resolved during these stages were considered to be the cause of psychological problems and neuroses in later life.

Strengths: Psychoanalytic therapy addresses issues that arose in childhood and adolescence that may have been repressed or ignored in later life. This therapy looks at the stages of development and analyses things that may have impact on adulthood.

Weaknesses: Freud’s theories considered psychosexual factors to be the main influence on personality development and neglected other factors such as social and environmental influences. Freud’s theories also made it hard to individualize treatment by assuming that all people should pass through the psychosexual stages in the same manner.

Techniques: Psychoanalytic therapy focuses on events that happened throughout development in childhood and adolescence that impact the client’s present state. Free association is employed to allow the client to become comfortable with the therapist and talk freely and candidly, which elicits issues and conflicts that are important to the client, which they may be focusing on consciously or unconsciously. This therapy also focuses on transference, in which the client unconsciously applies emotions and feelings that originated form one individual (typically and parent) to another (a spouse, friend, or therapist).

Personal example: When I was a child, my family would have occasional “family meetings” during which my and my siblings were told to express any issues or conflicts we felt needed to be addressed. My parents, however, were not attentive during these meetings, and often ignored what we had to say by watching television, reading, or doing a crossword puzzle during the time in which we were supposed to express our emotions. I never felt that my voice was heard during these meetings, and to this day I have a very difficult time articulating and expressing how I feel to others. This conflict that arose during my childhood was never resolved and still causes me issues to this day.