Psychoanalysis is a methodology based on the study, identification, and analysis of an individual’s repressed, hidden or suppressed anxieties that have clearly traumatized his psyche.
The term psychoanalysis in psychology was first introduced by Sigmund Freud, who worked on the study of unconscious processes occurring in the human psyche and motivations deeply hidden in the human subconscious.
Based on the fundamentals of the methodology, human nature is viewed from the point of view of the confrontation of antipodal tendencies. It is psychoanalysis that makes it possible to see how unconscious confrontation affects not only personal self-esteem, but also the emotionality of the individual, his connections with his immediate environment, and individual social institutions.
Usually the source of conflict is localized in the conditions of the individual's experience, and since people are both social and biological beings, their main biological aspiration is the search for pleasure while simultaneously avoiding any form of pain.
A closer look at the theory of psychoanalysis reveals the presence of three elementary, interdependent and mutually reinforcing parts: conscious, preconscious and unconscious.
It is in the preconscious that a significant number of the individual’s fantasy impulses and desires are concentrated. Moreover, if you focus enough on the goal, then it is quite possible to redirect such desires into the conscious. Those events that, due to the existing moral guidelines of the individual, are denied by him as acceptable, and perhaps are regarded as painful and therefore move to the unconscious part.
It is this part of the acquired experience that turns out to be separated from the other two by a wall, and therefore it is useful to understand that psychoanalysis is precisely focused on the existing relationships between the parts of the conscious and unconscious.
It is worth noting that psychoanalysis in psychology operates with deep analytical mechanisms, such as:
- study of spontaneous actions performed in everyday life;
- research using independent associations through dream interpretation.
Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
Human behavior is, first of all, regulated by his consciousness. Freud found out that behind the sign of consciousness there is a certain layer of it, unconscious by the individual, but prompting him to many lusts and inclinations. Due to the specific nature of his activity, he was a practicing doctor and came across a whole layer of unconscious motives.
In many cases, they became the source of nervous and mental illnesses. The discovery made contributed to the search for means that could help the patient get rid of the confrontation between the obvious and hidden in the depths of consciousness. The result was Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis, a means of spiritual liberation.
Without stopping at the treatment of neuropathic disorders, Freud, striving for the maximum restoration of the mental health of patients, developed theoretical principles psychoanalysis with their implementation in practice.
Due to its uniqueness, the proposed technology for restoring mental health has gained widespread fame and popularity over time. In the classical version, psychoanalysis announced the birth of a completely new system psychology and this event is often called a psychoanalytic revolution.
Theory of psychoanalysis
The main idea of S. Freud's theory of psychoanalysis is that the motives of a person's behavior are mostly unconscious to him and therefore completely unobvious. The beginning of the twentieth century was marked by the emergence of a new mental model, which made it possible to look at the manifestation of internal psychological tension from a completely different perspective.
Within the created model, three key components were identified, named: “It”, “I”, “Super-I”. The object of gravity of each individual is “It”, and all the processes occurring in it are completely unconscious. “It” is the embryo of the “I”, which is molded from it under the influence of the environment surrounding the individual. At the same time, “I” is a very complex set of identification with other “I”, which operates on the planes of the conscious, preconscious and unconscious, playing the role of psychological protection at all these levels.
The existing protection mechanisms are already initially prepared to adapt subjects to requests external environment habitat, as well as inner reality. However, due to improper development of the psyche, forms of adaptation that are natural within the family suddenly turn into the center of the emergence of serious problems. Any defense applied in parallel to weakening the influence of reality turns out to be an additional distorting factor. Due to extremely significant distortions, adaptation methods of defense are transformed into the phenomenon of psychopathology.
Psychoanalytic direction
Modern psychology is characterized by a large number of vectors for applying the efforts of working psychologists, one of the main among them is the psychoanalytic direction, determined by its roots in the primary research of S. Freud. After them, the most famous are the works on individual psychoanalysis by Alfred Adler and on analytical psychoanalysis by Carl Jung.
Both supported the idea of the unconscious in their works, but were inclined to limit the significance of sexual impulses. As a result, the unconscious was painted with new colors. In particular, Adler spoke about the lust for power as a compensatory tool for feelings of inferiority.
At the same time, Jung consolidated the concept of the collective unconscious; his ideas were not about the personalized saturation of the individual’s psyche with the unconscious, but due to the influence of his ancestors. Moreover, Freud assumed that the unconscious psyche of each subject is filled with phenomena that were pushed out of consciousness for one reason or another.
Methods of psychoanalysis
At its core, the concept of psychoanalysis is divided into three key stages, which hide the methods of psychoanalysis. In the first of them, analytical material is developed, in the second, its research and analysis takes place, and the third involves working interaction based on the research results obtained. When developing material, the methods of free associations, transference reactions and confrontation are used.
The methodological principle of free associations is based on the ability to transfer one situation to another in order to identify and understand certain processes occurring at the deep levels of the psyche, mostly unconsciously. In the future, the extracted data is used to correct the client’s mental disorders through his awareness existing problems and their reasons. An important point in the application of this technique is the joint purposeful activity of the psychologist and the client in the direction of combating the latter’s feelings of psychological discomfort.
The technique is based on the patient voicing the thoughts that come into his head, even if these thoughts border on complete absurdity and obscenity. The effectiveness of the technique lies in the relationships that arise between the patient and the psychotherapist. It is based on the phenomenon of transference, which consists in the unconscious transfer of the qualities of the patient’s parents to the therapist. That is, a transfer is carried out in relation to the psychologist of those feelings that the client experienced in his early age to subjects who were in his immediate environment, a projection of early childhood desires onto a substitute person is carried out.
The process of understanding the existing cause-and-effect relationships, the fruitful transformation of accumulated personal views and principles with the abandonment of previous ones and the formation of new behavioral norms, is usually accompanied by significant internal opposition on the part of the patient. Resistance is an actual phenomenon that accompanies any psychotherapeutic intervention, regardless of its form. The essence of this confrontation is that there is a strong desire to reluctance to touch the unconscious internal conflict with the parallel emergence of significant obstacles to identifying the real causes of personal problems.
At the stage of research and analysis, four sequential steps are performed, which can be carried out in different orders, these are: opposition, interpretation, clarification, development.
The next stage is working interaction, which is based on a strong relationship between the client and the psychiatrist, which makes it possible to achieve targeted coordination of actions within the framework of the analytical situation formed as a result of the analysis. As for the methodology of dream interpretation, it lies within the framework of the search for deformed unconscious truths hidden behind each dream.
Modern psychoanalysis
The conceptual research of Sigmund Freud formed the basis of modern psychoanalysis, which currently represents dynamically progressing technologies for revealing the hidden properties of the human essence.
Over a period of more than a century, a significant number of changes have occurred that have radically changed the principles of the approach to psychoanalysis, resulting in a multi-tiered system that has embraced a variety of views and approaches.
As a result, an analytical tool appeared that combined a number of integrated approaches, conducive to the study of the unconscious aspects of a person’s mental existence. Among the priority goals of psychoanalytic work is the release of individuals from unconsciously built restrictions that are the cause of lack of progress in development.
On modern stage development, there are three main directions along which the further development of psychoanalysis occurs, which exist as complements to each other, and not as separate unrelated branches.
Stand out:
- psychoanalytic ideas that form the basis for constructing actual approaches;
- applied psychoanalysis, aimed at analyzing and identifying general cultural phenomena and solving certain social problems;
- clinical psychoanalysis, used for personalized support for those who are faced with a complex of personal barriers of a psychological nature, with neuropsychic disorders.
During the period of the formation of psychoanalysis, the main concept seemed to be sexual desires, underdeveloped sexuality, but at the current stage of development of the methodology, the main preference is given to ego psychology, the idea of object relations, and this happens against the backdrop of the ongoing transformation of the technique of psychoanalysis itself.
The goal of psychoanalytic practices is not only the treatment of neurotic conditions. Despite the use of psychoanalytic techniques to eliminate neuroses, its modern technologies make it possible to successfully cope with more complex problems, from everyday psychological difficulties to the most complex psychological disorders.
And in the end, it is worth noting that the most widespread branches of psychoanalysis, which include neo-Freudianism and structural psychoanalysis.
1890s
The idea of psychoanalysis (German: Psychoanalyse) first received serious development through Sigmund Freud, who formulated his own theory of psychoanalysis in Vienna in the 1890s. Freud was a neurologist who tried to find an effective treatment for patients with neurotic or hysterical symptoms. Freud realized that there were mental processes that were unconscious while working as a neurological consultant at a children's hospital, where he noticed that many children with aphasia had no apparent organic cause for their symptoms. He then wrote a monograph on this topic. In 1885, Freud received a grant to study with Jean Martin Charcot, the famous neurologist, at the Salpêtrière in Paris, where Freud observed the clinical manifestations of Charcot's patients, especially in the areas of hysteria, paralysis, and loss of sensation. Charcot introduced hypnosis as an experimental research tool and developed photographic representations of clinical symptoms. Freud's first theory of hysterical symptoms was presented in Studies on Hysteria (1895), co-authored with his mentor, the eminent physician Breuer, and is generally considered the "birth" of psychoanalysis. The work was based on Breuer's treatment of Bertha Pappenheim, referred to in case studies under the pseudonym "Anna O.", with Pappenheim herself dubbing the treatment the "talking cure." Breuer wrote that many factors can lead to such symptoms, including different kinds emotional trauma, and he also drew on the work of other scientists such as Pierre Janet; while Freud argued that hysterical symptoms were based on repressed memories of disturbing events, almost always having direct or indirect sexual associations. Around the same time, Freud was trying to develop a neurophysiological theory of the unconscious mental mechanisms, which he soon abandoned. It remained unpublished during his lifetime. In 1896, Freud published his so-called "theory of seduction", in which he proposed that sexual arousal in infancy was a prerequisite for the development of hysterical symptoms, and he assumed the presence of repressed memories of incidents of sexual abuse in all his patients. However, in 1898 he privately admitted to his friend and colleague Wilhelm Fliess that he no longer believed in his theory, although he did not state this publicly until 1906. Although in 1896 he reported that his patients "had no recollection of [infantile sex] scenes" and that they spoke of their "decisive disbelief" in his theory, in later sources he states that patients spoke of that they were sexually abused as children. This was disputed by several scholars in the second half of the 20th century, who argued that Freud projected his preconceived notions onto his patients. However, based on his claims that his patients reported infantile experiences of sexual abuse, Freud subsequently stated that his clinical findings in the mid-1890s provided evidence for the emergence of unconscious fantasies that supposedly exist to conceal memories of infantile sexual abuse. masturbation. Only much later did Freud, using the same conclusions, begin to talk about oedipal desires.
1900-1940s
By 1900, Freud theorized that dreams have symbolic meanings that are typically specific to the dreamer. Freud formulated his second psychological theory, suggesting that the unconscious is a "primary process" consisting of symbolic thoughts, and a "secondary process" is logical, conscious thoughts. This theory was published in his 1900 book The Interpretation of Dreams. Chapter VII was a reworking of the earlier "Project", and Freud outlined his "Topographic Theory". According to this theory, which was later superseded by structural theory, unacceptable sexual desires are repressed in the "unconscious system" due to society's condemnation of premarital sexual activity, and this repression creates anxiety. This "topographic theory" is still popular in most of Europe, although it is not widely accepted North America. In 1905, Freud published Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, in which he outlined his discovery of the so-called psychosexual phases: oral (0-2 years), anal (2-4 years), phallic-oedipal (today called the first genital ) (3-6 years), latent (6 years - puberty), and mature genital (puberty and after). Its early formulation included the idea that, due to social restrictions, sexual desires are repressed into an unconscious state, and that the energy of these unconscious desires can be converted into anxiety or physical symptoms. Thus, early treatments, including hypnosis and abreaction, were developed to make the unconscious conscious in order to reduce the pressure and symptoms presented. In his work On Narcissism (1915), Freud drew attention to the topic of narcissism. Still using energy system, Freud described the difference between energy directed towards oneself and energy directed towards others, called cathexis. By 1917, in Mourning and Melancholia, he suggested that some types of depression were associated with a transfer of guilt-induced anger onto the self. In 1919, with A Child Being Beaten, he began to address the problems of self-destructive behavior (moral masochism) and outright sexual masochism. Based on my experience with depressed and self-destructive patients and reflecting massacres During the First World War, Freud stopped considering only oral and sexual motives for behavior. By 1920, Freud turned to the theory of identification (oneself with the leader and with other members) in groups as a motivation for behavior (group psychology and ego analysis). That same year (1920), Freud proposed his theory of the "double energy" of sexuality and aggression in Beyond the Pleasure Principle to try to begin to explain human destructiveness. In addition, his “structural theory” is found here for the first time, consisting of three new concepts - id, ego and superego. Three years later, he summarized the ideas of the id, ego, and superego in a book entitled The Self and the Id. In this book, Freud revised the entire theory of mental functioning, this time taking into account that repression is only one of many defense mechanisms of the psyche, and that repression is needed in order to reduce anxiety. Thus, Freud characterizes repression as both the cause and the result of anxiety. In 1926, in Inhibition, Symptom and Anxiety, Freud described how the intrapsychic conflict between desire and superego (desire and guilt) gives rise to anxiety, and how this anxiety can lead to inhibition of mental functions such as intellect and speech. Inhibition, Symptom and Fear was written as a response to Otto Rank, who in 1924 published Das Trauma der Geburt (The Trauma of Birth), analyzing how art, myth, religion, philosophy and therapy were illuminated by the anxiety department in " phase before the development of the Oedipus complex." In Freud's theory, however, there is no such phase. According to Freud, the Oedipus complex is at the center of neurosis and is the fundamental source of all art, myth, religion, philosophy, therapy, in reality, all human culture and civilization. For the first time, someone in Freud's close circle described something other than the Oedipus complex as affecting intrapsychic development, a concept that was rejected by Freud and his followers at the time. By 1936, the "multiple function principle" had been discussed in detail by Robert Welder. He expanded the formulation that psychological symptoms are both caused and released by conflict. In addition, symptoms (such as phobias and compulsions) each represent elements of some kind of desire (sexual and/or aggressive), superego, anxiety, reality and defense. Additionally, in 1936, Anna Freud, Sigmund's famous daughter, published her seminal book, The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense, outlining the many ways in which the brain can remove unpleasant things from consciousness.
1940s to present
As Hitler's power grew, Freud's family and many of his colleagues fled to London. Within a year of moving to London, Sigmund Freud died. In the United States, after Freud's death, a new group of psychoanalysts led by Haynes Hartmann, Chris, Rappaport and Loewenstein began to explore ego function. The group was built on an understanding of the synthetic function of the ego as a mediator of mental functioning. Hartmann, in particular, made a distinction between the autonomous functions of the ego (for example, memory and intellect, which can be secondarily damaged as a result of conflict), and the synthetic functions that result from compromise education. These "ego psychologists" of the 1950s focused their analytical work on defense mechanisms (mediated by the ego) and also explored the deeper roots of unconscious conflicts. In addition, there is a growing interest in child psychoanalysis. Although psychoanalysis has been criticized since its inception, it is used as a research tool in child development, and is still used to treat some mental disorders. In the 1960s, Freud's early thoughts about child development female sexuality; this problem led to the development in various ways understanding of female sexual development, many of which modified the timing and normality of several of Freud's theories (through the treatment of women with mental disorders). A number of researchers have continued Karen Horney's research on the social pressures that affect women's development. In the first decade of the 21st century, there were approximately 35 institutions for the study of psychoanalysis in the United States accredited by the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA), which is a component of the International Psychoanalytic Association (IPA). There are over 3,000 practicing psychoanalysts in the United States. The IPA accredits psychoanalytic training centers with the help of such organizations in all other countries of the world, including in such countries as Serbia, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and many others. About six institutes are located directly in the United States.
Theories
Prevailing psychoanalytic theories can be divided into several theoretical schools. Although these theoretical schools differ, most of them emphasize the influence of unconscious elements on consciousness. Considerable work has also been done to consolidate elements of conflicting theories (cf. the work of Theodor Dorpte, B. Killingmo and S. Akhtar). As in all areas of medicine, there are some ongoing conflicts over the specific causes of certain syndromes, as well as debates regarding ideal treatments. In the 21st century, psychoanalytic ideas are beginning to be introduced into Western culture, especially in areas such as child care, education, literary studies, cultural studies, mental health, and especially psychotherapy. Although there are a number of basic analytical ideas, there are groups that follow the "precepts" of one or more later theorists. Psychoanalytic ideas also play a role in some types of literary analysis, such as archetypal literary criticism.
Topographic theory
The topographic theory was named and first described by Sigmund Freud in The Interpretation of Dreams (1900). According to this theory, the mental apparatus can be divided into conscious, preconscious and unconscious systems. These systems are not anatomical structures of the brain, but rather represent mental processes. Although Freud remained faithful to this theory throughout his life, he largely replaced it with the structural theory. Topographical theory remains one of the meta-psychological perspectives for describing how the mind functions in classical psychoanalytic theory.
Structural theory
Structural theory divides the psyche into id (it), ego and superego. It is present at birth, and is the “repository” of the basic instincts, which Freud called “Triebe” (“energies”): unorganized and unconscious, it acts only on the “pleasure principle”, without regard to reality and without the gift of foresight. The ego develops slowly and gradually, acting as a mediator between its desires and the realities of the external world; thus the ego operates on the “reality principle.” The superego is the part of the ego in which self-observation, self-criticism and other reflective and evaluative abilities develop. The ego and superego are partly conscious and partly unconscious.
Ego Psychology
Egopsychology was originally proposed by Freud in Inhibition, Symptom and Anxiety (1926). The theory was expanded by Hartmann, Loewenstein and Chris in a series of articles and books from 1939 to the late 1960s. Leo Bellak also contributed to the development of this theory. This series of concepts, paralleling some of the later developments of cognitive theory, includes the concepts of autonomous ego functions: mental functions do not depend, at least in their origin, on intrapsychic conflict. Such functions include sensory perception, motor control, symbolic reasoning, logical reasoning, language, abstraction, integration (synthesis), orientation, concentration, danger judgment, reality testing, adaptive capacity, executive decision making, hygiene, and self-preservation. Freud noted that inhibition is one way in which the mind can inhibit any of these functions in order to avoid painful emotions. Hartmann (1950s) noted that there may be delays or deficits in such functions. Frosch (1964) described differences in people who exhibit a disturbed attitude toward reality, but who may be aware of it. Deficiencies in the ability to organize thoughts are sometimes called blocking or free association (Bleuler), and are characteristic of schizophrenia. Deficits in abstraction and self-preservation also suggest psychosis in adults. Deficits in orientation and sensorium often indicate a medical illness affecting the brain (and thus the autonomic functions of the ego). Deficits in some ego functions are commonly found in children who have been sexually or physically abused, and the powerful effects created during childhood can undermine functional development. According to ego psychology, ego strengths, later described by Kernberg (1975), include the ability to control oral, sexual, and destructive impulses; tolerate painful effects; and to prevent the admission of strange symbolic fantasies into the consciousness. Synthetic functions, in contrast to autonomous functions, arise from the development of the ego and serve to manage conflict processes. Defense mechanisms are synthetic functions that protect consciousness from forbidden impulses and thoughts. One of the goals of ego psychology is to emphasize that some mental functions can be seen as basic functions rather than derived from desires, emotions, or defense mechanisms. However, the ego's autonomic functions may be secondarily affected due to unconscious conflict. For example, a patient may have hysterical amnesia (memory is an autonomous function) due to intrapsychic conflict (when he does not want to remember something because it is too painful). Together, the above theories represent a group of metapsychological assumptions. In this way, a group of different classical theories can provide a cross-sectional understanding of human thinking. There are six "points of view", five were described by Freud and a sixth was added by Hartmann. Unconscious processes can thus be assessed from each of these six points of view. These “points of view” are: 1. Topographical 2. Dynamic (conflict theory) 3. Economic (energy flow theory) 4. Structural 5. Genetic (provisions concerning the origin and development of mental functions) and 6. Adaptive (psychological phenomena and their relation to the outside world).
Modern conflict theory
Modern conflict theory, a variation of ego psychology, is a revised version of structural theory, differing most notably in its changes in concepts related to where repressed thoughts are stored (Freud, 1923, 1926). Modern conflict theory views emotional symptoms and personality traits as complex methods for resolving mental conflict. It works with the concepts of the fixed id, ego and superego, and postulates conscious and unconscious conflicts together with desires (dependent, controlled, sexual and aggressive), feelings of guilt and shame, emotions (especially anxiety and depressive affect) and ways of protecting the consciousness. In addition, healthy (adaptive) functioning is also largely determined by conflict resolution. One of the main goals of modern psychoanalytic conflict theory is to change the balance of conflict in the patient, making aspects of less adaptive solutions (also called “compromise formations”) conscious so that they can be rethought, and searching for more adaptive solutions. Contemporary theorists who postulate many of Brenner's proposals (see especially Brenner's 1982 book The Mind in Conflict) include Sandor Abend, M.D. (Abend, Porder, and Willick (1983), Borderline Patients: Clinical Perspectives), Jacob Arlow (Arlow and Brenner (1964), Psychoanalytic Concepts and Structural Theory), and Jerome Blackman (2003), 101 Defenses: How the Mind Defends Itself.
Object Relations Theory
Object Relations Theory attempts to explain good and bad periods. human relations through the study of how internal representations of self and others are organized. Clinical symptoms indicative of object relations problems (typically developmental delays across the lifespan) include disturbances in the individual's ability to feel warmth, empathy, trust, security, personality stability, consistent emotional closeness, and stability in relationships with significant others. Although the basic concepts concerning internal representations (also sometimes called "introspections", "representations of self and (other) objects", or "internalization of self and others") are often thought to have been coined by Melanie Klein, they actually first appear in early concepts of Sigmund Freud in his theory of drive (Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, 1905). In his 1917 article “Mourning and Melancholia,” Freud, for example, hypothesized that unresolved grief is caused by the internalized image of the survivor merging with the internalized image of the deceased. The survivor transfers unacceptable anger towards the deceased onto an already complex image of himself. Vamik Volkan, in Linking Objects and Linking Phenomena, expanded on Freud's ideas on this issue, describing syndromes of "established pathological mourning" versus "reactive depression" based on similar dynamics. Melanie Klein's hypotheses regarding internalization during the first year of life leading to a paranoid and depressive position were subsequently challenged by René Spitz (for example, in The First Year of Life, 1965), who divided the first year of life into a kinesthetic phase lasting the first six months , and a diacritic phase lasting the next six months. Margaret Mahler (Mahler, Fine and Bergman " Psychological birth human infant," 1975) and her group, first in New York and then in Philadelphia, described the various phases and subphases of child development leading to "separation-individuation" during the first three years of life, emphasizing the importance of the constancy of parental figures in the face of the child's destructive aggression, for the child's internalization, stability in emotion regulation, and ability to develop healthy autonomy. John Frosch, Otto Kernberg, Salman Akhtar, and Sheldon Bach developed a theory of self-object constancy and how this affects adult mental disorders such as psychosis and borderline states. Peter Blos (in a book called On Adolescents, 1960) described how a similar separation-individuation occurs in adolescence, which is of course different from the first three years of life: the teenager usually eventually leaves the parents' home (this depends on the culture). Erik Erikson (1950s–1960s) described an “identity crisis” in adolescence that involves identity-diffusion anxiety. In order for an adult to experience “warmth, empathy, trust, intimacy, identity, and stability” in a relationship (see Blackman, 101 Defenses: How the Mind Shields Itself, 2001), the adolescent must resolve issues related to identity and rethink the constancy of perceptions of self and others.
Self psychology
Self-psychology emphasizes the development of a stable and integrated sense of self through empathic contacts with other people, significant others, designated as “self-objects.” Self-objects satisfy needs developing personality in the mirror, idealizing and twin narcissistic transference, and thereby enhance the development of the self. The treatment process proceeds through “transmuting internalizations,” in which the patient gradually acquires the functions of self-objects provided by the therapist. Self-psychology was originally formed in the works of Heinz Kohut, and was further developed thanks to Arnold Goldberg, Frank Lachman, Pavel and Anna Ornstein, Mariana Tolpin and others.
Jacques Lacan and his psychoanalysis
Lacanian psychoanalysis, which integrates ideas from psychoanalysis, structural linguistics, and Hegelian philosophy, is particularly popular in France and parts of Latin America. Lacan's psychoanalysis represents a departure from traditional British and American psychoanalysis, which is predominantly ego psychology. In his seminars and in his writings, Jacques Lacan often used the phrase "retourner à Freud" ("return to Freud"), as he argued that his theories were a continuation of Freud's own theory, and opposed to the ideas of Anna Freud, ego psychology, object theories relationships and self-theories, and also spoke about the need to read the complete works of Freud, and not just individual parts. In his concepts, Lacan refers to the "mirror stage", the "real", the "imaginary" and the "symbolic", and argues that "the unconscious is structured like a language". Although Lacan had a major influence on psychoanalysis in France and parts of Latin America, his translation into English language took longer, and because of this it had less influence on psychoanalysis and psychotherapy in the English-speaking world. In the UK and US, his ideas are most widely used for text analysis in literary theory. Due to his increasingly critical stance towards Freud, Lacan was expelled from the IPA as an analyst, which led him to create his own school, in order to maintain an institutional structure for many candidates wishing to continue their analysis with him.
Interpersonal psychoanalysis
Interpersonal psychoanalysis emphasizes the nuances of interpersonal interactions, particularly how people protect themselves from anxiety by interacting with others, and the importance of actual experiences with other people in childhood (such as family members and peers) and in life. adulthood. This contrasts with the predominance of intrapsychic forces as in classical psychoanalysis. Interpersonal theory was first introduced by Harry Stack Sullivan, M.D., and was further developed in the work of Frieda Fromm-Reichmann, Clara Thompson, Erich Fromm, and others who contributed to the founding of the William Alanson White Institute and to interpersonal psychoanalysis in general. .
Culturalist psychoanalysis
A certain group of psychoanalysts are called culturalists because they believe that behavior is primarily influenced by culture. Culturalists include Erich Fromm, Karen Horney, Harry Stack Sullivan and others. These psychoanalysts are in conflict with “traditional” psychoanalysts.
Feminist psychoanalysis
Feminist theories of psychoanalysis emerged in the second half of the 20th century, in an attempt to articulate feminine, maternal, and sexual difference and development from the perspective of female subjects. For Freud, man is the subject and woman is the object. For Freud, Winnicott and object relations theory, the mother is structured as an object for rejection (Freud) and destruction (Winnicott) in the infant. For Lacan, "woman" can either take on phallic symbolism as an object or represent absence in the symbolic dimension. Feminist psychoanalysis is essentially post-Freudian and post-Lacanian. Feminist theorists include Toril Moy, Joan Kopjek, Juliet Mitchell, Teresa Brennan and Griselda Pollock. They rethought Art and Mythology after French feminist psychoanalysis. French theorists such as Luce Irigaray challenge phallogocentrism. Bracha Ettinger proposes a "matriarchal" dimension of the subject, which takes into account the prenatal stage (connection with the mother) and speaks of feminine Eros, the matrix and primal fantasies about the mother. Jessica Benjamin talks about femininity and love. Feminist psychoanalysis includes gender theory, queer theory, and postfeminist theories.
Adaptive paradigm of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy
The "Adaptive Paradigm of Psychotherapy" develops from the work of Robert Langs. The adaptive paradigm interprets mental conflict, first of all, from the point of view of conscious and unconscious adaptation to reality. In his recent work, Langs returns to some extent to the earlier Freud, preferring a modified version of the topographical model of the psyche (conscious, preconscious and unconscious) rather than the structural model (id, ego and superego), including focusing on attention to trauma (although Langs considered death-related trauma rather than sexual trauma). At the same time, Langs' model of the mind differs from Freud's because he understands the mind in terms of evolutionary biological principles.
Relational psychoanalysis
Relational psychoanalysis combines interpersonal psychoanalysis and object relations theory, as well as intersubjective theories, as important to mental health. Relational psychoanalysis was introduced by Stephen Mitchell. Relational psychoanalysis emphasizes how a person's personality is formed through real and imagined relationships with other people, and how these relational patterns will be re-enacted in the interaction between analyst and patient. In New York, key proponents of relational psychoanalysis include Lew Aron, Jessica Benjamin, and Adrienne Harris. Fonagy and Target, in London, have argued for the need to help isolated patients by developing their ability to "mentalize" - thinking about relationships and themselves. Arietta Slade, Susan Coates, and Daniel Schechter in New York further contributed to the application of relational psychoanalysis to the treatment of the adult patient-as-parent, a clinical study of mentalization in the parent-child relationship, and the intergenerational transmission of attachment and trauma.
Interpersonal-relational psychoanalysis
The term "interpersonal-relational psychoanalysis" is often used as a professional identification. Psychoanalysts within this broader movement debate exactly what differences exist between the two schools, without any current clear consensus.
Intersubjective psychoanalysis
The term “intersubjectivity” was introduced into psychoanalysis by George E. Atwood and Robert Stolorow (1984). The intersubjective approach emphasizes how personality development and the therapeutic process are influenced by the relationships between the patient's subjective perspective and that of others. Authors of interpersonal-relational and intersubjective approaches: Otto Rank, Heinz Kohut, Stephen A. Mitchell, Jessica Benjamin, Bernard Brandchaft, J. Vosshagh, Donna M. Orange, Arnold "Arnie" Mindell, Thomas Ogden, Owen Renick, Irwin Z. Hoffman , Harold Searles, Colvin Trevarthen, Edgar A. Levinson, Jay Greenberg, Edward R. Ritvo, Beatrice Beebe, Frank M. Lachmann, Herbert Rosenfeld, and Daniel Stern.
Modern psychoanalysis
"Modern psychoanalysis" is a term coined by Hyman Spotnitz and his colleagues to describe theoretical and clinical approaches that aim to expand Freud's theory to make it applicable to the full range of emotional disorders and to expand the possibilities for treating pathologies considered incurable in the modern world. classical methods. Interventions based on this approach are primarily designed to provide emotionally mature communication for the patient rather than to promote intellectual insight. These measures, in addition to insight-oriented purposes, are used to resolve resistances that are presented in the clinical setting. This school of psychoanalysis provides professional training to students in the United States and in countries around the world. The journal “Modern Psychoanalysis” has been published since 1976.
Psychopathology (mental disorders)
Adult patients
Various psychoses are associated with deficits in the autonomous functions of the ego, such as the integration (organization) of thought, the ability to abstract, relation to reality and reality testing. In depressions with psychotic features, the self-preservation function may also be impaired (sometimes due to overwhelming depressive affect). Because of integrative deficits (often causing what psychiatrists call “free association,” “blocking,” “flight of ideas,” “verbigeration,” and “escape”), the development of self-object concepts is also impaired. Clinically, therefore, psychotic individuals exhibit limitations in warmth, empathy, trust, identity, intimacy, and/or stability in relationships (due to anxiety problems associated with the fusion of self and object). In patients whose autonomic ego functions are less affected but who still have problems with object relations, the diagnosis often falls into a category known as “borderline.” Borderline patients also show deficits, often in impulse control, affect, or fantasy, but their reality-checking abilities remain more or less intact. Adults who do not experience feelings of guilt and shame and engage in criminal activity are typically diagnosed as psychopaths, or, using the DSM-IV-TR, as having antisocial personality disorder. Panic, phobias, conversions, obsessions, compulsions and depression (analysts call these “neurotic symptoms”) are not generally caused by functional deficits. Instead, they are caused by intrapsychic conflicts. These conflicts typically occur with sexual and hostile-aggressive desires, feelings of guilt and shame, and reality factors. Conflicts can be conscious or unconscious, but provoke anxiety, depressive affect and anger. And finally, the various elements are controlled by defensive operations, essentially shutdown mechanisms in the brain that keep people unaware of that element of conflict. “Suppression” is a term for a mechanism that isolates thoughts from consciousness. Affect isolation is a term used to describe a mechanism that isolates sensations from consciousness. Neurotic symptoms can be observed with or without deficits in ego function, object relations, and strengths ego. Thus, obsessive-compulsive schizophrenics, panic patients who also suffer from borderline personality disorder, etc. are not uncommon.
Childhood background
Psychoanalysis in Great Britain
The London Psychoanalytic Society was founded by Ernest Jones on October 30, 1913. Due to the expansion of psychoanalysis into the United Kingdom, the society was renamed the British Psychoanalytic Society in 1919. Soon after, the Institute of Psychoanalysis was created to manage the activities of the Society. The Society's activities include: training psychoanalysts, developing the theory and practice of psychoanalysis, providing treatment through the London Clinic of Psychoanalysis, publishing books in the New Library of Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Ideas. The Institute of Psychoanalysis also publishes the International Journal of Psychoanalysis, maintains a library, promotes research, and holds public lectures. The Society has a Code of Ethics and an Ethics Committee. The society, institute and clinic are located in Byron House. Society is integral part The IPA has members on all five continents committed to professional and ethical practices. The Society is a member of the Psychoanalytic Council of Great Britain (PSC); PSV publishes a register of British psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists. All members of the British Psychoanalytic Society are required to undertake continuing professional development. Members of the Society included Michael Balint, Wilfred Bion, John Bowlby, Anna Freud, Melanie Klein, Joseph J. Sandler and Donald Winnicott. The Institute of Psychoanalysis is the main publisher of psychoanalytic literature in the world. 24 Standard Edition volumes Full meeting The psychological writings of Sigmund Freud have been published and translated under the direction of the British Psychoanalytic Society. The Society, in conjunction with Random House, will soon publish a new, revised and expanded Standard Edition. Thanks to new library psychoanalysis, the Institute continues to publish books by leading theorists and practitioners in the field of psychoanalysis. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis is also published by the Institute of Psychoanalysis. The magazine has one of the largest circulations among psychoanalytic journals.
Research
For over a hundred years, case reports and studies in Modern Psychoanalysis, Psychoanalytic Quarterly, International Journal of Psychoanalysis, and Journal of the American Psychoanalytic have analyzed the effectiveness of analysis in cases of neurosis and character or personality problems. Psychoanalysis has been modified by object relations techniques, the effectiveness of which has been demonstrated in many cases of deep-rooted intimacy and relationship problems (see many books by Otto Kernberg). As a means of therapeutic treatment, psychoanalytic techniques may be useful in a one-session consultation. In other situations, psychoanalytic treatment can last from about a year to many years, depending on the severity and complexity of the pathology. Psychoanalytic theory, from the very beginning, has been the subject of criticism and controversy. Freud noted this early in his career when he was ostracized by other doctors in Vienna for his conclusions that conversion hysterical symptoms were not limited to women. Objections to analytic theory began with Otto Rank and Alfred Adler (turn of the 20th century), whose initiative was taken up by behaviorists (eg Wolpe) in the 1940s and 50s, and by our contemporaries (eg Miller). Criticism involves disagreement with the idea that there are mechanisms, thoughts or feelings that may be unconscious. The idea of "infantile sexuality" (the recognition that children between the ages of two and six imagine how people reproduce) has also come under criticism. Criticism of the theory led to changes in analytical theories, such as the work of Ronald Fairbairn, Michael Balint and John Bowlby. Over the past 30 years or so, criticism has focused on the problem of empirical testing, despite many empirical, promising scientific research, which have been empirically confirmed (for example, see the studies of Barbara Milrod at Cornell University Medical School, etc.). There are studies in the scientific literature that support some of Freud's ideas, such as the unconscious, repression, etc. Psychoanalysis has been used as a tool in the study of early childhood development (see Journal of Psychoanalytic Study of the Child), and has been developed into a flexible, effective method of treating several mental disorders. In the 1960s, Freud's early (1905) ideas about the development of childhood female sexuality were challenged; this problem led to major research in the 1970s and 80s and then to a reformulation of female sexual development that adjusted some of Freud's concepts. See also various works by Eleanor Galenson, Nancy Chodorow, Karen Horney, Françoise Dolto, Melanie Klein, Selma Freiberg and others. More recently, psychoanalytic researchers who have integrated attachment theories into their work, including Alicia Lieberman, Susan Coates, and Daniel Schechter, have explored the role of parental trauma in the development of young children's mental representations of themselves and others. There are various forms of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy that practice psychoanalytic thinking. In addition to classical psychoanalysis, there is, for example, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, a therapeutic approach that expands the “accessibility of psychoanalytic theory and clinical practice.” Other examples are good known methods treatments that also use ideas from psychoanalysis include mentalization-based treatment and transference-focused psychotherapy. Psychoanalytic thinking continues to influence various areas of mental health care. Let us give an example: in psychotherapeutic training in the Netherlands, psychoanalytic and systemic therapeutic theories, projects and methods are combined and integrated. Other psychoanalytic schools include the Kleinian, Lacanian, and Winnicotian schools.
Efficiency mark
The effectiveness of pure psychoanalysis is difficult to assess; Freudian therapy relies too heavily on the therapist's interpretation, which cannot be confirmed. The effectiveness of more modern, subsequently developed techniques can be assessed. Meta-analyses conducted in 2012 and 2013 show that there is evidence of the effectiveness of psychoanalytic therapy, thus further research is needed. Other meta-analyses published in last years , have shown that psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapy are effective, with treatment results comparable to or superior to those of other types of psychotherapy or antidepressants, but these arguments have also been criticized. In 2011, the American Psychological Association made 103 comparisons between psychodynamic treatment and its non-dynamic competitor. It was found that in 6 cases psychodynamic therapy was better, in 5 cases it was worse, in 28 cases there was no difference, and in 63 cases the difference was adequate. The study found that this could be used "to make psychodynamic psychotherapy an empirically evaluated treatment method." A meta-analysis of brief psychodynamic psychotherapy (BPT) found effect sizes ranging from 0.34 to 0.71 compared with no treatment, and a follow-up study found CBPT to be slightly better than other therapies. Other reviews have found effect sizes of 0.78–0.91 for somatic disorders compared with no treatment for depression. A 2012 meta-analysis of the Harvard Psychiatry Review of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (I-STPP) found effect sizes ranging from 0.84 for interpersonal problems to 1.51 for depression. The overall I-STPP had an effect size of 1.18 compared with no treatment. A systematic review of long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy conducted in 2009 found an overall effect size of 0.33. Other data show effect sizes of 0.44–0.68. According to a French review conducted by INSERM in 2004, psychoanalysis has been shown to be effective in treating panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and personality disorder. The world's largest randomized controlled trial of treatment for outpatients with anorexia, the ANTOP study, published in 2013 in The Lancet, found that modified psychodynamic therapy should be more effective than cognitive behavioral therapy in the long term. A 2001 Cochrane Collaboration systematic review of the medical literature concluded that there is no evidence demonstrating that psychodynamic psychotherapy is effective in treating schizophrenia and severe mental illness. The authors cautioned that the treatment should always be used alongside any type of talk therapy in cases of schizophrenia. A French review from 2004 found the same. The Schizophrenia Patient Research Group does not recommend the use of psychodynamic therapy in cases of schizophrenia, arguing that more trials are needed to establish its effectiveness.
Criticism
Psychoanalysis as a field of science
Both Freud and psychoanalysis have been subject to very harsh criticism. The exchanges between critics and defenders of psychoanalysis are often so heated that they are called the "Freudian Wars." Early critics of psychoanalysis believed that its theories were based on too little quantitative and experimental research and relied too heavily on the clinical method of research. Some have accused Freud of deception, such as in the case of Anne O. Frank Cioffi, author of Freud and the Question of Pseudoscience, cites false statements of scientific evidence about a theory and its elements as the strongest basis for proving that Freud's work and his school are pseudoscientific. Others suggest that Freud's patients suffered from now easily identifiable illnesses unrelated to psychoanalysis; for example, Anna O. is believed to have suffered from an organic disorder such as tuberculous meningitis or temporal lobe epilepsy rather than hysteria (see modern interpretations). Karl Popper argued that psychoanalysis is a pseudoscience because what it claims is unverifiable and cannot be refuted; that is, it cannot be falsified. Imre Lakatos later noted: "The Freudians were not discouraged by Popper's basic observation regarding the scientific integrity of their theories. In fact, they refused to specify the experimental conditions under which they would abandon their basic assumptions.” Cognitive scientists, in particular, have also contributed to the criticism of Freud. One famous academician within positive psychology wrote: “Thirty years ago, the cognitive revolution in psychology toppled both Freud and the behaviorists, at least in academic circles. Thinking is not simply the result of emotions or behavior. Emotion is always generated by thinking, and not vice versa.” Linguist Noam Chomsky has criticized psychoanalysis for lacking a scientific basis. Steven Pinker considers Freudian theory unscientific. Evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould viewed psychoanalysis as a theory influenced by pseudoscientific theories such as recapitulation theory. Psychologists Hans Eysenck and John F. Kihlstrom also criticized Freudian teaching as pseudoscientific. Adolf Grünbaum argues that theories based on psychoanalysis can be falsified, but that the positions stated by psychoanalysis are not based on available clinical data. Richard Feynman called psychoanalysts "witch doctors": "If you look at everything complex ideas which they developed in an infinitesimal amount of time, if you compare with any other science how long it takes for one idea to be followed by another, if you take into account all the structures and inventions and complex things, the id and the ego, the tensions and forces , I submit that you will see that this cannot be true. It is impossible for one brain or several brains to concoct such a theory in such a short period of time.” E. Fuller Torrey, in Medicine Men and Psychiatrists (1986), agreed that psychoanalytic theories have no more scientific basis than those of traditional healers, "witch doctors" or modern "cult" alternative medicine. Psychologist Alice Miller, in her book For Your Own Good, stated that psychoanalysis is like “toxic pedagogy.” She thoroughly researched and rejected Freud's theories, including the Oedipus complex, which she and Jeffrey Masson said blamed the child for adult sexual misconduct. Psychologist Joel Kapfersmid examined the validity of the Oedipus complex by considering its nature and origins. He concluded that there was little evidence to support the existence of the Oedipus complex. Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze argued that the institution of psychoanalysis had become a center of power, and that its confessional methods resembled the Christian tradition. Jacques Lacan criticized some American and British schools of psychoanalysis for their emphasis on what he saw as the proposal of putative "causes" for symptoms, and recommended a return to Freud. Deleuze and Felix Guattari criticized the idea of the Oedipus complex. Luce Irigaray criticized psychoanalysis using Jacques Derrida's concept of phallogocentrism to describe the phenomenon of the exclusion of women from Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalytic theories. Deleuze and Guattari, in their 1972 work Anti-Oedipus, took the cases of Gerard Mendel, Béla Grünberger and Janine Chasseguet-Smirgel, prominent representatives of the most respected associations (MPA), to suggest that, traditionally, psychoanalysis enthusiastically embraced the idea of police state. Psychoanalysis is still practiced by psychiatrists, social workers, and other mental health professionals; however, this practice is less common than before. "I think most people would agree that psychoanalysis as a form of treatment is on its last legs, so to speak," says Bradley Peterson, a psychoanalyst, child psychiatrist and director of the Institute for the Developing Mind at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. The theoretical foundations of psychoanalysis are associated with the philosophical movements that lead to interpretative phenomenology, rather than with the teachings that lead to scientific positivism, which makes the theory largely incompatible with the positivist approach to the study of the mind. According to a 2004 French report from INSERM, psychoanalytic therapy is less effective than other types of psychotherapy (including cognitive behavioral therapy) for treating some illnesses. Meta-analyses of numerous other studies were used to determine whether treatment was “proven” or “presumed” to be effective in various diseases. Numerous studies have shown that the effectiveness of therapy is related to the qualifications of the therapist, and not to the characteristics of the psychoanalytic school or technique or training method.
Freud's theory
Many aspects of Freud's theory are indeed outdated, and this is not surprising, since Freud died in 1939, and he was in no hurry to modify his theory. His critics, however, are equally behind the times, attacking the Freudian views of the 1920s as if they still had any validity in their original form. Psychodynamic theory and therapy have evolved significantly since 1939, when Freud's bearded face last graced the scientific horizon. Modern psychoanalysts and psychodynamic therapists no longer place as much emphasis on the concepts of the id and ego, and they do not consider the treatment of psychological disorders to be an "archaeological expedition" in search of lost memories.-Drew Westen Everyone addresses this criticism large quantity empirical research by academic psychologists and psychiatrists. A review of scientific research suggested that while personality traits corresponding to Freud's oral, anal, oedipal and sexual phases can be observed, they do not necessarily appear as stages in children's development. These studies also did not confirm that such traits in adults are the result of childhood experiences (Fisher & Greenberg, 1977, p. 399). However, these stages should not be considered as having vital importance for modern psychoanalysis. What is truly crucial to modern psychoanalytic theory and practice is the power of the unconscious and the phenomenon of transference. The idea of the "unconscious" is disputed because human behavior can be observed, while a person's mental activity is not obvious to an outsider. However, the unconscious is currently the most popular research topic in the field of experimental and social psychology(e.g., attitude assessment, fMRI and PET scans, and other indirect tests). The idea of the unconscious and the phenomenon of transference have been widely researched and their relevance is said to have been confirmed in the fields of cognitive psychology and social psychology (Westen & Gabbard, 2002), although the Freudian interpretation of unconscious mental activity is not pursued by most cognitive psychologists. Recent developments in the field of neuroscience have led, on the one hand, to providing a biological basis for unconscious emotional processing in accordance with psychoanalytic theory, i.e., neuropsychoanalysis (Westen & Gabbard, 2002), while, on the other hand, such findings make psychoanalytic theory obsolete. Shlomo Kahlo explains that the materialism that flourished in the 19th century did serious damage to religion and rejected everything that is called spiritual. In particular, the institution of confession to a priest suffered greatly. The void created as a result of this was quickly occupied by a new field - psychoanalysis. In his writings, Kahlo argues that the basic approach of psychoanalysis, which is that happiness is unattainable and that man's natural desire is to use his fellow men for his own pleasure and benefit, is erroneous. Freud's psychoanalysis was also criticized by his wife, Martha. Renée Laforgue writes that Martha Freud stated: “I must admit that if I had not realized how seriously my husband took his method, I would have thought that psychoanalysis was a form of pornography.” In Martha's opinion, there was something vulgar in psychoanalysis, and she distanced herself from it. According to Marie Bonaparte, Martha did not like what her husband was doing and the very method of his work (treatment of sexuality). Jacques Derrida incorporated aspects of psychoanalytic theory into his theory of deconstruction to question what he called the “metaphysics of presence.” Derrida also translates some of these ideas against Freud, revealing tensions and contradictions in his work. For example, although Freud defines religion and metaphysics as movements of identification with the father in resolving the Oedipus complex, Derrida (The Postcard: From Socrates to Freud and Beyond) insists that the important role of the father in Freud's own analysis is itself overridden. father in Western metaphysics and theology since Plato. Lakatos, Imre; John Worrall and Gregory Currie, eds. (1978). The Methodology of Scientific Research Programs. Philosophical Papers, Volume 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 146
Drew Westen, "The Scientific Legacy of Sigmund Freud Toward a Psychodynamically Informed Psychological Science." November 1998 Vol. 124, No. 3, 333-371
Derrida, Jacques, and Alan Bass. The Postcard: From Socrates to Freud and Beyond. Chicago & London: Univ. of Chicago, 1987.
Psychoanalysis is a way of identifying a person’s experiences and actions driven by unconscious motives in order to treat mental illness. At the beginning of the last century, it was introduced by the Austrian scientist S. Freud and was widely used together with hypnosis.
Internal conflict
The main feature of Freud's theory and his psychoanalysis is that in man there is hidden conflict between his internal unconscious forces, such as libido, the Oedipus complex and a hostile environment that dictates and imposes on him various laws and rules of behavior.
Those laws and norms of behavior that external reality imposes on him suppress the energy of unconscious drives and this energy is released in the form of neurotic symptoms, scary dreams and other mental disorders.
According to Freud's theory of psychoanalysis personality consists of three components:
- unconscious (It),
- ego (I)
- beyond the ego (superself).
Unconscious represents sexual and aggressive instincts seeking to satisfy their desires in external reality.
Ego (I) contributes to the individual’s adaptation to reality, preserves information about the world around him in the human mind in the interests of his life and self-preservation.
Superego is the repository of moral norms, prohibitions and encouragements of a person and thus serves as a person’s conscience. Norms are acquired by a person unconsciously during the process of upbringing and therefore manifest themselves in a person as feelings of fear, guilt and remorse. Thus, the inability of unconscious energy to be freely released leads to a person’s conflict with the environment and the appearance of various mental illnesses.
The task of a psychologist or psychotherapist is identifying unconscious experiences in the patient and ideas and their displacement from the sphere of the It (unconscious) into the sphere of human consciousness, i.e. liberation through catharsis.
During the psychotherapeutic session, the negative transfer (the transfer of the patient’s feelings and sensations towards his loved ones onto the personality of the psychotherapist) of the patient to the psychologist is replaced by a positive, emotionally charged one. Thus, the patient’s self-esteem increases and gradual recovery occurs, but it must be borne in mind that before this, the psychologist must enter into a trusting relationship with the patient in order to reduce his resistance to the psychotherapy process. During S. Freud’s lifetime, hypnosis was widely used to treat mental disorders, but after his works they began to increasingly use it in practice. suggestion, autogenic training and self-hypnosis.
Me and It
- the role of verbal representation and perception in human consciousness
- the role of intermediate links in the transition from It to I
- dominance of the unconscious in a person according to the theory of psychoanalysis
Under consciousness Freud in his theory of psychoanalysis meant the superficial layer of a person’s personality in relation to the outside world. Sensory perceptions that come from outside, as well as sensations and feelings that come from within, are conscious. With the help of verbal ideas, all our sensations and feelings become conscious and appear in consciousness.
Verbal representation is traces of memories in our memory, which remained due to the perceptions of some processes occurring in the past. Any processes, in order to be conscious of a person, must pass into external perception and become memories, which then take on verbal form and become thought processes.
With the help of verbal-figurative links, various perceptions can be displaced from the sphere of the unconscious into the preconscious, and then into consciousness. This internal perception is felt by the consciousness as pleasure or displeasure and is primary than sensations coming from the outside.
Sensations perceived as pleasure do not motivate action and are felt as a decrease in energy, but Displeasure motivates us to take action and leads to increased energy.
Thus, if our libido is hidden in the unconscious and tries to manifest itself in the personality in the form of sexual feelings or aspirations, then in order to sublimate and receive pleasure it must be transferred to the sphere of consciousness, that is, made conscious. According to Freud and his theory of psychoanalysis, in order to do this, so-called intermediate links, but for sensations that flow into consciousness naturally, there is no such need.
Freud calls the entity emanating from the surface conscious (W) as the I, and those areas where this entity is going to penetrate are designated by the word It.
The personality is represented as an unconscious and unknown It, which is covered from above by the I, emerging from the W system. The I is only a part of the It changed under the influence of the external world and through conscious perception. The ego is trying to replace the external world and reality with the principle of pleasure, which reigns supreme in the sphere of the id. The I is characterized by perception, and the sphere of the It is characterized by attraction. The I is characterized by rationality and thinking, and the sphere of the It is characterized by passion.
The self, in the theory of psychoanalysis, represents the place from which both external and internal perceptions come. If we look for an anatomical analogy, then the Self is like a little man in the brain, which is upside down, looks back and controls the left hemisphere of the brain and the speech zone.
We're used to it main role assign to consciousness and believe that the play of passions occurs mainly in the subconscious, but Freud argues that even difficult intellectual work can occur subconsciously and not reach consciousness. For example, in a state of sleep a decision occurs difficult task, over which the person struggled the day before to no avail.
It is noteworthy that some people have such higher manifestations of personality as conscience, self-criticism and guilt. appear unconsciously, which can lead to various types of mental illness. As a result, Freud, in his theory of psychoanalysis, concludes that not only what is most deep and unknown in the ego, but also what is highest in the ego can be unconscious. Thus, demonstrating and speaking about the conscious I, Freud calls it the I-body and emphasizes its direct and inalienable connection with the unconscious.
Two kinds of drives
- drives that control personality
- sublimation of libido into the sphere of consciousness
- obstacles to sublimation
So, according to Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis, we found out that the personality consists of the conscious (superself), preconscious (I) and unconscious (It). From our ordinary life we know that a person can live not only in harmony with himself, but also be in conflict with himself in cases where he wants to achieve something, but cannot. According to Freud, it turns out that a person cannot subjugate his internal degree of the unconscious, as a result of which it turns out to be a conflict.
According to Freud, the basis of this conflict is attraction based on energy of a sexual nature. He highlights two types of attraction: on the one hand - erotic, sexual attraction or eros, love, and on the other hand - the attraction to hatred, decay, death.
If a person can subordinate this unconscious energy to his ego or libido, as Freud called it, then it is released and the person lives a harmonious life. In another case, accumulating in the muscles of the body, this energy accumulates its destructive power and rushes to the outside world.
Sublimation- a protective psychological mechanism in which the energy of a person’s sexual attraction is transformed into socially acceptable forms of activity (for example, creativity).
Thinking and thought processes are also subject to the sublimation of erotic desire. Sublimation itself is carried out strictly under the control of the I within the individual.
In ordinary life or reality there is no such thing as good or bad, i.e. with human point sight, death or decay of something is bad. For example, if we take the universe and a star decays in it, then this is not bad, because other stars, as well as planets and various objects of the universe, are formed from the decayed components. IN human life hatred, decay, decomposition and death are not entirely acceptable things and a person tries, by switching to love, goodness and creation, to avoid their manifestation, and due to the fact that a person is a complex biological structure, it is very difficult for him to do this.
Freud's theory of psychoanalysis warns personality not only from taking the path of hatred, but also from narcissism, i.e. narcissism. It (the unconscious) strives to possess an object by transferring libido into the I. Now the I is endowed with the properties of libido and proclaims itself a love object, that is, an object for admiration.
Many of you, of course, have seen the scene when a psychotherapist listens to the ravings of a patient lying next to him on the couch, but not many have wondered why all this circus. This is exactly what we are learning now, the mechanism and principle of work of psychoanalysis.
So, what is Sigmund Freud's classic psychoanalysis and which side to bite from?
A little history
The very first direction of psychotherapy. In 1895, a book by the Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist Sigmund Freud— “Interpretation of dreams.”
In this work, he first outlined the theory of psychoanalysis, based on many years of practical observations of patients. Freud can safely be called the first psychotherapist in history. Before him, psychotherapy as such did not exist. In his works Freud showed that a person has a part of his psyche hidden from himself - the unconscious, and it greatly influences both a person’s life and his interpersonal relationships, and on the development of mental illnesses. At the time, this was a real breakthrough, changing our view of human nature once and for all.
Today we constantly use the expressions “subconsciously”, “I did it unconsciously”, etc. What today we call anxiety, apathy, depression, at the end of the 19th century was considered degeneration of the nervous system. The treatment that was used at that time included baths, massage, and healing mud. The well-known Charcot douche (massage with strong water pressure) was invented by psychiatrist Jean Martin Charcot to treat mental illnesses and strengthen the nervous system. It is still used in some psychiatric institutions.
Psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy, like no other direction, are overgrown with rumors, myths, peculiar interpretations, etc. This is most likely due to a misunderstanding the most complex works Freud. Despite the fact that modern psychoanalytic knowledge has gone far ahead compared to what it was 100 years ago, Freud's work is still the subject of close study and understanding.
Works of Sigmund Freud, his research, which he carried out between 1856 and 1939. later developed by other authors, and formed the basis of different areas of psychotherapy. Psychoanalysis has developed significantly over the past 100 years. At the moment, this technique is the most powerful and effective, allowing you to work with the widest range of mental disorders.
Not limiting himself to studying and treating patients with psychopathology and working hard to restore their mental health, Freud created a theory that explained the experiences and behavior of not only sick people, but also healthy people. He developed a model of the human mental apparatus with its own laws and principles.
What is the difference between psychoanalytic psychotherapy and psychoanalysis?
Psychoanalysis. The frequency of meetings is 3-5 times a week, the patient lies on the couch, the psychoanalyst sits behind the patient's head. It is believed that in a supine position the patient is more immersed in his inner world, due to which access to his deepest experiences becomes possible.
Psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Frequency of meetings 1-3 times a week, the patient sits face to face with the therapist. Currently, this modification of psychoanalysis is used much more often than classical psychoanalysis.
100 years ago, when Sigmund Freud began working with patients, his method was a great success, patients came from different countries, the number of patients grew every year. Freud worked a lot, was very busy, and most of all he was tired of the eyes and looks of his patients. That is why he began to put patients on the couch to avoid hours of visual contact with patients. Subsequently, the use of the couch acquired the above meaning.
Basic concepts and interpretation of words
Eid(translated from Latin means “it”) - exclusively primitive, instinctive and innate aspects of personality. More often we're talking about about the following: eros (the desire for pleasure, life, sexual satisfaction) and thanatos (the desire for destruction, aggression, extinction, death). IN Ancient Greece the word "eros" meant love. For Plato, eros is the motivating force of spiritual ascent, aesthetic delight and ecstatic aspiration to contemplate the ideas of truly existing things, goodness and beauty. Thanatos - in Greek mythology, the god of death, is associated with chaos, darkness, and sleep.
Ego(translated from Latin means “I”) - a component of the mental apparatus responsible for decision making. Seeks to express and satisfy desires Eid according to the restrictions imposed by the outside world. Evolves from Eid and borrows some of the energy from Eid.
Superego- social norms and standards of behavior - a system of values, norms and ethics that is reasonably compatible with those accepted in the environment. It is acquired in the process of socialization, which is interpreted as the process of formation of the superego.
Sigmund Freud also introduced into scientific use the concept of “libido” (from the Latin libido - attraction, desire, desire). Initially, this concept denoted the energy underlying all sexual manifestations and was used as a synonym for sexual attraction. In later works the word was used as a synonym for eros.
Unconscious. The id and the part of the superego that presses on it are located in the unconscious.
Preconscious. That which is not realized under normal conditions, but under certain conditions can be realized. Here are parts of the Ego and Superego.
Consciousness, contact with the outside world. Components are also presented here Ego and Superego.
The purpose of psychoanalytic therapy according to 3. Freud: “Where the Id was, there will be the Ego”, that is, mental processes occurring at the unconscious level must be revealed as deeply as possible and presented to consciousness for integration into the existential organization. A person must come to terms with reality. 3. Freud wrote about sublimation(from Lat. sublimo - I lift up) - a protective mechanism (protection from identifying unacceptable instinctive impulses), which allows a person, for the purpose of adaptation, to change his impulses so that they can be expressed through socially acceptable thoughts and actions. 3. Freud considered this mechanism to be the only constructive defense mechanism. Within the framework of classical psychoanalysis, the following methods have been developed and used to help the client achieve a high degree of effective functioning:
Well, actually Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
1.Free association method. The client relaxes, sits on a couch or chair, and says out loud all the thoughts and memories that come to mind, no matter how trivial, absurd, or illogical they may seem. The therapist stays out of sight of the client to reduce tension. It is believed that one association entails another, more deeply located in the unconscious. Associations produced by the client are interpreted as a symbolic expression of repressed emotions and feelings. Thus, free associations are not free at all. In the process of working with a client using the method of free association, psychic energy is released, which can be used for better adaptation.
2.Interpretation of resistance. The client may unconsciously resist remembering repressed conflicts and impulses. It is necessary to help him realize the tricks of his resistance when work has stalled.
3.Dream analysis. Their content, according to S. Freud, reveals repressed desires. S. Freud called dream analysis “the royal road to the unconscious.” Sleep is a symbolic satisfaction of desires. Its content partly reflects early childhood experiences.
4.Transfer analysis. Transfer is a substitution in the process of working with a client, which is a protective mechanism. In this case, the unconscious impulse is discharged on some person or object, but not on the one to whom it was originally directed. Example: transference to the analyst of feelings of love and hatred that were initially attributed to the parents.
The transfer reflects a person’s need to find an object in order to be able to express his repressed feeling of love. Transfer can be found in verbal communications, free associations, and the content of dreams. The analyst encourages the development of the transfer to the state of “transfer neurosis”, when the client’s behavior becomes clearly inadequate. This state increases the likelihood of the client developing insight (translated from English as insight, understanding; meaning direct comprehension, “illumination”). The client must become suddenly aware of his deeply ingrained ways of experiencing, feeling, and reacting to significant others, beginning in the early years of life. He must also realize the connection of these experiences with current pressing difficulties.
5.Emotional retraining. At the final stages of working with the client, encouraging him to use new intellectual insights in Everyday life. For example, a client who has realized that he has spent much of his life annoying his father with his choices of potential brides and behavior must begin to relate to him based on the realities of today, function independently of his parents, and build more mature interpersonal relationships.
6. Interpretation- clarification of the unclear or hidden meaning for the client of certain aspects of his experience or behavior. In this case, unconscious phenomena must become conscious. Interpretation includes the following procedures:
- identification (designation);
- clarification (actual interpretation);
- translation of the interpretation into the language of the client’s everyday life.
Basic rules of interpretation:
- Go from the surface deep down.
- Interpret what the client is already ready to accept.
- Before interpreting a client's experience, it is necessary to point out to him the defense mechanism that underlies it.
Basic defense mechanisms:
1.Negation- information that is disturbing and can lead to internal conflict is not perceived. For example, in a mass sociological survey, adults were asked whether press materials convinced them that smoking causes lung cancer. “Yes” was said by 54% of non-smokers and only 28% of smokers. Accepting the material would imply awareness of a serious danger to one's health.
2.crowding out- true, but unpleasant motives are repressed, rejected by “censorship” at the threshold of consciousness in order to be replaced by others that are acceptable from the point of view of society. The repressed motive creates emotional-vegetative tension, which is subjectively perceived as a state of vague anxiety and fear.
3.Projection- unconscious attribution to another person of one’s own feelings, desires, and inclinations, which a person does not want to admit to himself, understanding their social unacceptability.
4.Identification- unconscious transference to oneself of feelings and qualities inherent in another person, but desirable for oneself. In children, this is the simplest mechanism for assimilating norms of social behavior and ethical values. Through identification, symbolic possession of a desired but unattainable object is also achieved. Identification in the expanded sense of the word is an unconscious adherence to models and ideals, allowing one to overcome one’s own weakness and sense of inferiority.
5.Rationalization- a pseudo-reasonable explanation by a person of his desires, actions, in reality caused by reasons, the recognition of which would threaten the loss of self-esteem. In particular, rationalization is associated with an attempt to reduce the value of what is not available (“sour grapes”) or to exaggerate the value of what is available (“sweet lemon”). For example, if a person is dismissive of higher education, it is possible that he is thus protecting himself from grief in connection with the missed opportunity to study.
6.Inclusion- the significance of the traumatic factor is reduced due to the fact that the old value system is placed as part of a new, more global system. The relative importance of the traumatic factor decreases compared to other, more powerful ones. An example of inclusion-type protection is catharsis (from the Greek katharsis - purification) - the relief of internal conflict by empathizing with the dramatic situations of other people, which are significantly more painful and traumatic than one’s own. Since ancient times, catharsis has been associated with the theater.
7.Substitution- transferring an action aimed at an inaccessible object to an action with an accessible object. For example, activity can be transferred from a practical plane to the realm of fantasy.
8.Insulation, or alienation - isolation within the consciousness of factors traumatic to a person. Unpleasant emotions are blocked from entering consciousness, so that the connection between an event and its emotional coloring is not reflected in consciousness. Lost emotional connection with other people. The phenomena of derealization, depersonalization, and splitting of personality (multiplicity of “I”s) are associated with this protective mechanism.
9.Regression- a form of psychological defense consisting of a return to early types of behavior associated with childhood, a transition to previous levels mental development. Response methods that were successful in the past are being updated. The individual returns to the stage of mental development at which a feeling of pleasure is experienced (for example, from food).
10.Reactive education- a person protects himself from forbidden impulses by expressing opposing impulses in behavior and thoughts. Socially approved behavior appears exaggerated and inflexible. For example, a woman who experiences anxiety about her own expressed sexual desire may become an adamant fighter in her circle against pornographic films.
11.Sublimation- the energy of instincts is diverted through other channels of expression - those that society considers acceptable. For example, if over time masturbation causes more and more anxiety in a young man, he can sublimate his impulses into socially approved activities - football, hockey, and other sports. Within the framework of classical psychoanalysis, it is generally accepted that the sublimation of sexual impulses served as the main impetus for great achievements in Western science and culture.
Beret at the end of the nineteenth century. Freud's ideas were based on two important stages, which became the prerequisites for the creation of psychoanalysis. First of all, this is the method developed by Joseph Breir, a doctor from Vienna, the second point preceding Freud's theory is the method of the psychiatrist Hippolyte Bernheim. Sigmund worked with Breuer for a short time, and the professor observed the work of Bernheim’s method at one of the demonstration training sessions. How to characterize Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis briefly? It's worth starting from the beginning.
Josef Breuer method
The Austrian psychiatrist worked for several years to develop a method called catharsis. Research lasted from 1880 to 1882. The doctor's patient was a 21-year-old girl with paralysis of both right limbs and a complete lack of sensation. The girl also had an aversion to food and many other not only physical, but also mental disorders. Dr. Breuer introduced the patient into hypnosis, through which he brought the girl to that point in her life when experiences that traumatically appeared for the first time. He sought the psychological and emotional state that possessed her at that moment in her life and got rid of the symptoms of such a state “stuck” in her consciousness. The patient's medical history was a real breakthrough, and in 1895, Breuer and Freud published a joint work based on these data - a work entitled “Studies in Hysteria.” The experiences and disorders that provoked the symptoms of the disease were subsequently called mental trauma. Breir's work had a significant influence on Sigmund Freud's Introduction to Psychoanalysis.
Hippolyte Bernheim Method
The psychiatrist also used hypnosis in the treatment process. Freud's work was greatly influenced by the peer method, since in 1889 Sigmund attended one of Bernheim's teaching sessions. The psychiatrist's lessons made it possible to derive concepts such as resistance and repression. These aspects are a protective mechanism of the psyche of any person. Subsequently, Freud used the method of free association instead of hypnosis. The result of the work was the introduction of the concept of a conscious substitute to displace the unconscious.
Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
The main ideological component of the theory and concept is characterized by the following provisions: for both men and women, erotic disorders are the main factor leading to the development of the disease. Freud came to this conclusion because other mental experiences do not give rise to repression and replacement. The psychoanalyst noted that other, non-erotic emotional disturbances do not lead to the same results, they do not have such significant significance, and even more - they contribute to the action of sexual moments and can never replace them. Such observations and problems of Freud's psychoanalysis were based on many years of practical experience and were described by the professor in his work “On Psychoanalysis.”
Freud also noted that only childhood experiences explain sensitivity to future trauma. This theory is described in Sigmund Freud's book "Introduction to Psychoanalysis". And only by revealing in our consciousness these childhood memories, which are always forgotten in adulthood, can we get rid of the symptoms. Analytical work must extend to the time of puberty and early childhood. Freud substantiated the proposed theory through the concept of the “Oedipus complex” and the sequence of phases in the psychosexual development of each person. There are 4 of these stages in total and they can be associated with basic instincts: oral, anal, phallic, genital.
What is classical psychoanalysis?
The process of recognizing what is hidden in the depths of consciousness is carried out through the following methods and basic instincts:
- Free association method;
- Interpretation of dreams;
- The use of accidental slips, as well as erroneous human actions.
Any session is based on one main rule - the patient must say absolutely everything, without fear or embarrassment. Freud wrote that one should say everything that comes to mind, even if at first glance the thoughts seem incorrect or even meaningless to the patient. There is no room for critical choice here. And only if you follow this rule will it be possible to “pull” out of a person the material that will enable the psychoanalyst to repress all complexes. This is how you can explain the essence of Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis in a concise form.
Free association method
The basis of psychoanalysis is precisely the essence of the technique: if some objects are perceived at one time or in close proximity, then in the future the appearance in the consciousness of one of them may entail the awareness of a completely different one.
Freud wrote that the patient sometimes becomes abruptly silent and refers to the fact that he has nothing more to say and there are no thoughts in his head. However, if you look at it, one hundred percent refusal on the part of thoughts never happens in the human consciousness. Accidental slips of the tongue, erroneous actions are nothing more than hidden desires, repressed intentions and fears hidden in the depths of the subconscious. This is all that a person, for some reason, cannot show to others and to himself. This is how Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis can be briefly described.
Dream interpretation
One of Freud's most popular theories was the interpretation of dreams. The psychoanalyst described dreams as messages from the unconscious part of the brain, which are encrypted and represent meaningful images. When Freud was seventy years old, in 1931 the book “The Interpretation of Dreams” was republished for the third time. The professor himself wrote that this work contains the most valuable of all the discoveries he made in his entire life. Freud believed that such insights occur only once in a person’s entire life.
Transfer process
The essence of the transference process is that a person who does not fully satisfy the need for love pays attention to any new face, in the hope of throwing out his active force libido. That is why it is quite normal for these hopes to turn towards their psychoanalyst. The doctor, in turn, must clearly understand that the patient’s love directed towards him is mostly forced, and in no case is a confirmation of the superiority of the psychoanalyst. The doctor has no reason to take this state of affairs seriously, and under no circumstances should he be proud of such a “conquest.” Countertransference is put in opposition to the transference process. When the analyst experiences reciprocal unconscious feelings towards the patient. Freud believed that this phenomenon was quite dangerous, primarily for the doctor. This is because such feelings can lead to mental illness for both in the future. Each of the processes was described by Freud in his books on psychoanalysis.
Resistance processing process
An important stage is overcoming resistance and psychoanalysis of the individual. It begins with the doctor revealing to the patient those thoughts, feelings and resistances that have never been recognized before. After which the mentee is given time to penetrate as deeply as possible into resistance unknown to him until now, in order to further process and overcome it.
What are the patient's resistances? First of all, this is a mechanism that works on an unconscious level, and its task is to prevent the awareness of those unacceptable thoughts and desires that were previously repressed. Freud wrote that processing resistance is a very difficult part, and in practice it becomes truly painful not only for the patient. The psychoanalyst also faces a real test of patience. However, despite the complexity, it is this part of the work on consciousness that has the maximum transformative effect on the patient. This is where analytical treatment differs from treatment by suggestion.
Catharsis
This process promotes liberation from repressed experiences that traumatize the psyche through emotional release. This internal conflict is resolved at a neurotic level due to those memories and traumas that were once stuck in the psyche as negative emotions.
Technique of classical psychoanalysis
For a general introduction and description of the techniques of classical psychoanalysis, Freud used the following explanations:
- The psychoanalyst insisted that the patient should lie on a sofa or couch during the session, and the doctor, in turn, should be behind the patient in such a way that he could not see him, but only hear him. This is because the psychoanalyst’s facial expression should not give the patient food for thought, and certainly not influence what the patient says.
- Under no circumstances should you tell the patient what he should or should not talk about. The doctor must know everything about the patient that he knows about himself.
- The patient must say absolutely everything, without hiding names, dates, places, and so on. There are no secrets or modesty in psychoanalysis.
- During the session, the patient should devote himself entirely to unconscious memory. That is, a person must turn off conscious influence on his memory. Simply put, you just need to listen and not think about whether you remember something or not.
- We must not forget about working with dreams, because this is one of the main methods of the theory of psychoanalysis. Freud believed that if you understand the unconscious needs of a person that are expressed in dreams, you can find the key to solving that very basic problem;
It is not possible to disclose to the patient all the information received, to explain the meaning of his thoughts and condition. before that the moment the transfer process begins. The patient must be attached to the doctor, and this will only take time.
Scope and guarantees
Briefly about the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud and the scope of application of the theory, the following can be said: the professor mentioned that psychoanalysis in its classical sense is not designed for people over 50 years old. He explained this by saying that older people had already lost the flexibility of mental experiences, which is what therapy is aimed at. It is not recommended to arrange psychoanalysis sessions for loved ones. Freud wrote that he felt confused about the issue of relatives and said that he did not believe in individual influence on their subconscious. Also, some patients, before starting work, ask to eliminate one specific symptom, but the doctor cannot be responsible for the selective power of the analysis. You can touch what is “not necessary”, at least using the associative method. Typically, psychoanalysis is a very long process that can drag on for years. Freud noted that he gives each of his patients the opportunity to say “stop” and terminate treatment at any time. However, short-term treatment can create the effect of an unfinished operation, which can only worsen the situation in the future. The scope of application of the method is described in more detail in the works of Sigmund Freud.
Criticism of the theory of psychoanalysis
Freud's theory of psychoanalysis causes a storm of debate to this day. First of all, because some provisions do not have a way to refute them, and therefore are unscientific. His point of view was expressed by Paul Bloom (professor of psychology), who wrote that the provisions of Freud's theory are vague and cannot be verified by any scientifically reliable method. This is why they cannot be used scientifically.
The famous biologist Peter Medawar, who at one time was awarded Nobel Prize. The professor described the theory of psychoanalysis as the greatest intellectual fraud of the twentieth century. The philosopher Leslie Stevenson, who analyzed Freud's theory in his book, shared the same opinion.
Freud also had followers, including such famous personalities as Erich Fromm, Jung, Karen Horney. However, in the future, in their studies, they also abandoned the key thought and ideas of Freud’s psychoanalysis - that the main motive for the occurrence of mental trauma is nothing more than a sexual factor. Research has changed directions towards the impact of social and cultural elements of society and the environment on a person’s mental and mental state.
