Psychoanalytic Model

Known as the father of psychotherapy, Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) developed the psychoanalytic model. Being such an empirical piece of work it has been spoken about and practiced since 1900 with several different views and adaptations. However, within the adaptations specific principles and techniques are a common theme throughout. This essay will be examining techniques of this theory including free association, dreams and interpretation. Following on from these three principles will also be examined: the idea that difficulties have childhood origins, the importance of the unconscious and the concept of transference. The psychoanalytic model is used by numerous therapists both psychoanalytic therapists and psychodynamic therapists are inspired by Freud’s movement. Knowing the goals of therapy is a crucial part of understand and practicing the theory. Goals of therapy include: making the unconscious conscious, interpreting repressed and instinctual wishes and fantasies, turning hysterical misery in to common unhappiness, living within limitations and strengthening the ego to meet the demands of the Id and superego.

Unable to continue his career at the University of Vienna, Freud was forced to conduct private practice, leading him to spend a year in Paris with Charcot who taught him hypnosis. Upon returning to Vienna, Freud saw several hysteria patients whom of which couldn’t be ‘cured’ through hypnosis and therefore he developed free association. Joseph Breuer told Freud of how he had worked with Anna O and they had discovered catharsis (Milton, 2004) which is the term used for the relief or cure felt through speaking to the therapist. Anna would feel relief and temporary stability from talking her mind and allowing herself to share all her issues with another person. She labelled this ‘the talking cure’ or ‘chimney-sweeping’.

As previously stated, there are several significant techniques that create this model and remain similar throughout different interpretations. The most important technique is free association, a process in which the client just speaks their mind without and filter, censoring or judgment. The idea behind this is that eventually the unconscious will reveal itself, this could be through Freudian slips. Freudian slips are common mistakes and slips of the lounge where the individual replaces one word with another. Freud studied these in order to explore whether they are meaningful of what is going on in the unconscious. Linking to this, another technique which has become somewhat iconic of psychoanalysis is the couch in which client sit or lay on while taking part in therapy sessions. Dreams and fantasies are another way in which the unconscious reveals itself, for this reason, psychoanalysts encourage clients to talk about their dreams and fantasies. Freud referred to dream interpretation as the ‘royal path to the unconscious’ and it was seen as a key technique. The systemic relationship between the therapist and client is a key technique in psychoanalysis (McLeod, 2013). Often transference and projection occurs during therapy, therefore it is essential that the therapists remain a neutral and blank canvas for the client to project on to.

A fundamental principal to the psychoanalytic model the idea that emotional problems tend to have childhood origins. This idea came about when Freud noted that a majority of his patients would report childhood sexual traumas during free association (McLeod, 2013). Freud did not believe that these clients had all experienced sexual traumas in reality and his concept of ‘sexual’ as written in German is quite different to the English translation. A more accurate translation of Freud’s concept would be ‘life force’ or ‘emotional energy’, the English misinterpretation sexualised his theory much more than intended (McLeod, 2013). Having spoken to numerous clients, Freud proposed the psychosexual stages of development, the idea that the libido and energy in a child is focused on a certain body part at specific ages. How the parent or carer of the child responds to this focus in libido can have an impact on the child’s development and personality in the future. Firstly, the oral stage is ages ranged 0-1 year and the libido is focused around the mouth, hence why babies tend to put everything in their mouths in order to get pleasure or discover them. A major development for this stage is the weaning off of breast or bottle feeding and moving on to solid foods. Smoking, overeating and chewing nails are all signs that there could have been an issue overcoming this stage successfully. Following on from this is the anal stage for ages 1-3 years, where the child develops pleasure from defecating.  Toilet training could be the first conflict with the parent’s trying to restrict the child going to the toilet. Premature toilet training could results in an anal-retentive personality who hates mess, is obsessively tidy, punctual and respectful of authority. On the other hand, receiving a liberal toilet training routine could lead to an anal-expulsive personality who is messy, disorganized and rebellious. Ages 3-6 is the phallic stage in which the focus in on the genitals and revolves around the Oedipus/Electra complex. The latency stage is ages 6-12 and there isn’t any more sexual development until the Genital stage age 12+ in which the child is sexually mature and starts to experiment with their sexuality. These stages in mind, it has been noted by writers and psychoanalysts such as John Bowlby and Erik Erikson that the biggest emotional impact for a young child is the relationship with their parents, for this reason psychodynamic counsellors have embraced the psychosocial stages more than the sexual ones. However, a basic viewpoint shared by psychoanalysts and psychodynamic counsellors is that there is an importance in understanding the client’s personality through childhood.

Another crucial principle is the importance of the unconscious. The topographical model was Freud’s first concept (Freud, 1900) of the structure of the mind and resembled an iceberg (Milton, et al., 2004). The tip of the iceberg resembles the current mental content the individual is immediately aware of. At the bottom or the iceberg, ‘under the water’ is the unconscious which are instinctual wishes and repressed memories and emotions. The conscious and unconscious are mediated by the preconscious which are recallable thoughts and memories and censored wishes. In 1923 Freud developed the structural model which is more complex and introduces the Id, ego and superego (Milton et al., 2004). The Id is the first

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