PSYCHODYNAMIC

APPROACH
• Psychodynamic counselling evolved from the work of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). During his career as a
medical doctor, Freud came across many patients who suffered from medical conditions which appeared to
have no ‘physical cause’.
• This led him to believe that the origin of such illnesses lay in the unconscious mind of the patient.
• Freud therefore started to investigate the unconscious mind, so that he could understand his patients and
help them recover. Over time, many of Freud’s original ideas have been adapted, developed, disregarded or
even discredited. They have therefore been used in a number of different schools of thought and practice.
• Psychodynamic counselling is based on Freud’s idea that true knowledge of people and their problems is
possible through an understanding of three particular areas of the human mind.
• Psychodynamic theory (sometimes called psychoanalytic theory) explains personality in terms of
unconscious psychological processes (for example, wishes and fears of which we’re not fully
aware), and contends that childhood experiences are crucial in shaping adult personality.
• Psychodynamic theory is most closely associated with the work of Sigmund Freud, and with
psychoanalysis, a type of psychotherapy that attempts to explore the patient’s unconscious thoughts
and emotions so that the person is better able to understand him- or herself.
• The Psychodynamic theory has 3 core assumptions that are peculiar to it
ASSUMPTION 1

• Psychodynamic theorists contend that the majority of psychological processes take place
outside conscious awareness. In psychoanalytic terms, the activities of the mind (or
psyche) are presumed to be largely unconscious. Research confirms this basic premise of
psychoanalysis: Many of our mental activities—memories, motives, feelings, and the
like—are largely inaccessible to consciousness (Bargh & Morsella, 2008; Bornstein, 2010;
Wilson, 2009).
ASSUMPTION 2

• Psychodynamic theory is not alone in positing that early childhood events play a role in
shaping personality, but the theory is unique in the degree to which it emphasizes these
events as determinants of personality development and dynamics.
• According to the psychodynamic model, early experiences—including those occurring
during the first weeks or months of life—set in motion personality processes that affect
us years, even decades, later (Blatt & Levy, 2003; McWilliams, 2009).
ASSUMPTION 3

• The third core assumption of psychodynamic theory is that nothing in mental life
happens by chance—that there is no such thing as a random thought, feeling, motive, or
behaviour.
• This has come to be known as the principle of psychic causality, and though few
psychologists accept the principle of psychic causality precisely as psychoanalysts
conceive it, most theorists and researchers agree that thoughts, motives, emotional
responses, and expressed behaviours do not arise randomly, but always stem from some
combination of identifiable biological and psychological processes (Elliott, 2002; Robinson
& Gordon, 2011).
CONCEPTIONS OF PERSONALITY WITHIN THE
PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY
Model Conception of personality
Topographic Unconscious material is a primary determinant of personality
Psychosexual stages Fixation at a particular stage leads to an associated personality type
Structural Id, ego, superego determine personality traits and defence strategies.
THE PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

• Freud remained devoted to the topographic model, but by 1905 he had outlined the key elements of
his psychosexual stage model, which argued that early in life we progress through a sequence of
developmental stages, each with its own unique challenge and its own mode of sexual gratification.
Freud’s psychosexual stages—oral, anal, Oedipal, latency, and genital.
Stage Characteristics Parental control Fixated
Personality
outcome
Oral Centred on the Forceful feeding Smocking
mouth- sucking, Deprivation Dependency
swallowing Early weaning Agression
Anal Centred on the anus Toilet training – too Obsessive
– withholding or harsh or too lax cleanliness
expelling faeces Tidiness
Untidiness
Generosity
Phallic Penis or vagina – Abnormal family Self obsession
Children start setup leading to Inferiority complex
identifying more unusual relationship Sexual anxiety
with the same sex with parents. Inadequacy
parent Gender identity
crisis
Oedipus/Electra
complex
Latent Little or no sexual Difficulty
THE TOPOGRAPHIC MODEL

• Freud introduced his topographic model of the mind, which contended that the mind could be divided into
three regions: conscious, preconscious, and unconscious. The conscious part of the mind holds information
that you’re focusing on at this moment—what you’re thinking and feeling right now.

• The preconscious contains material that is capable of becoming conscious but is not conscious at the
moment because your attention is not being directed toward it.

• You can move material from the preconscious into consciousness simply by focusing your attention on it

• The Conscious – things that we are aware of, including feelings or emotions, such as anger, sadness, grief,
delight, surprise, and happiness.
THE SUBCONSCIOUS

• The Subconscious – these are things that are below our conscious awareness but fairly easily
accessible. They may include, for example, events that we have forgotten, but will easily remember
when asked an appropriate question.
THE UNCONSCIOUS

• The Unconscious – this is the area of the mind where memories have been suppressed and is usually very difficult to access.
Such memories may include extremely traumatic events that have been blocked off and require a highly skilled practitioner to
help recover.
• The unconscious—the most controversial part of the topographic model—contains anxiety-producing material (for example,
sexual impulses, aggressive urges) that are deliberately repressed (held outside of conscious awareness as a form of
self-protection because they make you uncomfortable).
• The terms conscious, preconscious, and unconscious continue to be used today in psychology, and research has provided
considerable support for Freud’s thinking regarding conscious and preconscious processing (Erdelyi, 1985, 2004).
• Dreams play an important role in psychodynamic theory, as they are often considered the central route through which the
unconscious expresses itself to the conscious mind.
• The existence of the unconscious remains controversial, with some researchers arguing that evidence for it is compelling and
others contending that “unconscious” processing can be accounted for without positing the existence of a Freudian repository of
repressed wishes and troubling urges and impulses (Eagle, 2011; Luborsky & Barrett, 2006).
THE STRUCTURAL MODEL

• The structural model which posits the existence of three interacting mental structures called the id, ego, and
superego.
• The id is the seat of drives and instincts, whereas the ego represents the logical, reality-oriented part of the
mind, and the superego is basically your conscience the moral guidelines, rules, and prohibitions that guide
your behaviour.
• According to the structural model, our personality reflects the interplay of these three psychic structures,
which differ across individuals in relative power and influence. When the id predominates and instincts rule,
the result is an impulsive personality style.
• When the superego is strongest, moral prohibitions reign supreme, and a restrained, overcontrolled
personality ensues. When the ego is dominant, a more balanced set of personality traits develop (Eagle,
2011; McWilliams, 2009).
THE EGO AND ITS DEFENCES

• In addition to being the logical, rational, reality-oriented part of the mind, the ego serves another important function:
It helps us manage anxiety through the use of ego defences.
• Ego defences are basically mental strategies that we use automatically and unconsciously when we feel threatened
(Cramer, 2000).
• They help us navigate upsetting events, but there’s a cost as well: All ego defences involve some distortion of reality.
For example, repression (the most basic ego defence, according to Freud) involves removing from consciousness
upsetting thoughts and feelings, and moving those thoughts and feelings to the unconscious. When you read about a
person who “blocked out” upsetting memories of child abuse, that’s an example of repression.
• Another ego defence is denial. In denial (unlike repression), we are aware that a particular event occurred, but we
don’t allow ourselves to see the implications of that event. When you hear a person with a substance abuse problem
say “I’m fine—even though people complain about my drinking I never miss a day of work,” that person is using
denial.
GOALS OF PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY

Psychodynamic therapy pushes for clients to:

• Acknowledge their emotions. Over time, clients can start to recognize patterns in their emotions and address them, which can
lead to making better choices.
• Identify patterns. Clients can begin to see patterns in more than just their emotions, but also their behaviors and relationships. Or,
if clients are aware of negative patterns in their life, therapy can help them understand why they make certain choices and give
them the power to change.
• Improve interpersonal relationships. Modern psychodynamic theory helps clients understand their relationships, as well as
patterns they exhibit with relationships.
• Recognize and address avoidance. Everyone has automatic ways of avoiding bad thoughts and feelings. Therapy can help clients
recognize when they’re acting in a way to avoid distress and how to move forward addressing their emotions with healthy coping
mechanisms.
APPLYING THE PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY TO
SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
• Social workers can benefit from applying the fundamental assumptions of psychodynamic theory to their clients. Every
client’s behaviour has a reason. It isn’t random or happening in a vacuum. Their behaviour also is likely partly or mostly in
response to unconscious processes. The client might not realize why they behave a certain way.
• Object relations theory and self-psychology moved psychodynamic theory from a one-person issue, focused on the
unconscious issues of an individual, to two-person psychology, focused on relationships. This fits well with social work.
Social workers often focus on a client’s interpersonal relationships, including the client-worker relationship, to learn about the
client’s behavior and promote change.
• Social workers often work with clients with multiple difficulties. Psychodynamic theory in social work provides a conceptual
framework for understanding seemingly unrelated symptoms or patterns of behaviour. The framework of theories offers social
workers a way to address all of the client’s issues.
• Social workers hope to promote change and improvement in a client’s life. By using psychodynamic therapy, they can help
clients get to the root of their thoughts, emotions and behaviours. This provides a chance for self-discovery. A client has the
opportunity to learn more about themselves, recognize harmful patterns of emotions or in relationships and alter their
behaviour.
TREATMENT MODELS OF PSYCHODYNAMIC
THEORY
• Transference: A person redirects their feelings and expectations of one person onto another—usually unconsciously.
Transference is common in therapy. The client applies emotions toward their clinician and acts toward them as if they were
the other person. Transference can happen in a variety of relationships, and it doesn’t necessarily demonstrate a mental health
issue. When a social worker identifies and understands the client’s transference, they can gain a better understanding of a part
of the client’s life and their condition.
• Free association: A clinician might encourage a client to write down or speak all the thoughts that come to their mind. It
might be an incoherent stream of words. It might be a random assortment of memories and emotions. The purpose of free
association is to make connections between topics that might go unnoticed. This was originally developed by Freud, though
it’s not a common therapy technique today.
• Dream analysis: Freud also developed the technique of analysing dreams as a way of learning more about a person’s
unconscious. Modern psychodynamic clinicians use dream analysis as part of person-centred therapy, cognitive behavioural
therapy, and Gestalt therapy (in Gestalt therapy, there’s the belief that dreams are messages a person sends themselves.)
ADVANTAGES WEAKNESSES
• Focused on the effects that childhood • It is unfalsifiable because the assumptions can
experiences have on the developing personality. not be scientifically measured or proved wrong
• Led to other psychologists including Piaget • It is deterministic-suggests that behaviour is
developing theories on childhood. (Development predetermined and people do not have free will
theory) (Freuds psychosexual stages)
• Takes both nature and nurture into account
(Nature: ID, Ego, Super Ego/ Nurture: Parents,
Childhood experiences)