| Freudian Psychoanalysis Daniel Mark Burrello How does the client�s personality become maladjusted? The distinction that I have gathered in my study of Freudian psychoanalysis--and this is not necessarily a critique--is that it assumes that everyone, or nearly everyone, is maladjusted. According to this paradigm, due to the repression of memories, thoughts, fears and early psychosexual conflicts nearly everyone is among the walking wounded. The principal concern of this field is with the milder neuroses, so, rather than a clinical ideal, there exists within classical, orthodox psychoanalysis, a clinical �spiral staircase�, endless journey, or, as a critic might put it, �Black Hole� into one�s motivations, thoughts, and dreams. This is not to say that Freudian psychoanalysis is not effective in treatment of malformations of character, depressive states, or in sexual inhibitions or abnormalities, it has been shown to be so. However, in the treatment of dementia praecox or paranoia, its influence is doubtful. For Freud, the search for patient memory of causal factors of symptoms at hand did not stop at a �traumatic event� itself, but went back further. Reacting to later event according to earlier associations was termed �regression�. TWO: Goals of psychoanalytic therapy. Psychoanalysis can be divided into two major camps; the first, classical Freudian psychoanalysis, is pure Freud as it was, and as it shall be. It retains his methodology and technique. The second, psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy, is a more updated version of the Freudian theories with very different approaches than the orthodox. The final goals remain identical for both: to replace unconscious mental acts with conscious ones. This works only given the fact that the elements of this process have some significance in relation to the maladjustment or disorder at hand. This can be accomplished after many months or years of therapy, or a lifetime or delving, deeper and deeper into one�s motivations and causal events. In either case, a major commitment of time and financial resources is required. More modern therapists have tweaked this methodology to address this criticism by creating psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy that uses the same background and theory but is far different in practice. This shall be discussed in more detail later. In the paradigm of classical Freudian psychoanalysis, the clinical goal is the exploration of the unconscious motives usually connected with the client�s early psychosexual development. It is also to help the client to come to certain insights into the causal events and factors or his or her symptoms or disorder. This understanding and awareness of the repressed elements are paramount in Freudian psychoanalysis. THREE Interventions and Techniques Freudian Psychoanalysis is a complex and probably impossible matter to totally define here, but it will serve one well to understand the four main techniques utilized by the therapist: Free association, analysis of dreams, analysis of resistance, and analysis of transference. The first technique, free association, has a long history beginning with Freud�s hypnotheraputic work. Freud later embraced free association as a treatment rather than hypnosis. During a session of free association, the client, usually made comfortable on a couch or reclining chair, is encouraged to say anything that comes to mind despite its personal nature or what fears they may have in voicing a particular thought. The therapist usually sits in a position that will not distract the client from the free-flow of associations by his or her presence. This seemingly random stream of consciousness technique was seen by Freud, as connected to the unconscious by the preconscious. It is theorized that the preconscious, a part of the mind subject to conscious observation but mostly ignored, and the subconscious, are vast compared to the conscious mind, and that these associations help to give a better picture of what is going on under the conscious surface. An �interpretive� facet of this free association is the key, as the preconscious is also thought to contain repressed material from the unconscious. This interpretation can lead, according to the theory, to a discovering of these repressed unconscious matters. The therapist, in this instance, is using his or her interpretive skills to attempt to tie together the clients seemingly disconnected thoughts and feelings into an insightful explanation of the individual�s maladaptive behaviors and the motivating repressed events and fantasies behind them. The second technique, Dream Analysis, follows what has been called the �royal road to the unconscious�, the dream state. In dreams one may observe feelings and desires that are repressed during waking hours. In dream analysis, content takes two forms: Manifest content, that which is remembered and is commonly experienced as the dream in itself; and the latent content, the true motive, that seek expression but have been disguise by the individual because they are too painful or unacceptable by the client�s ethical structure. The therapist seeks to understand these disguised meanings by exploring with the client, during free association, the images found in his or her dreams. These insights can reveal repressed material and has the same goal as the above free association therapy. The third therapeutic technique utilized by psychoanalysis is the analysis of resistance. Resistance can be seen in several ways, the client may wish to change directions suddenly during discussion of childhood situations, and he or she may come late to the appointment or even be absent entirely. Certain thoughts, motives, and experiences are keys to unlocking deeper material and the recognition of the resistances is a powerful tool for the psychoanalyst. The analysis of transference is the fourth facet of Freudian psychoanalysis. When the client, due to a close and personal relationship with the therapist, unconsciously applies attitudes and feelings that they had in other relationships especially parental ones, this process is known as transference. This level of client/therapist interaction is both dangerous and full of potential for healing and understanding. During transference, if the analyst maintains the prescribed impersonal attentive detachment, he or she can help the client to understand and then acknowledge the relationship between the transference and his or her reactions to others. By refusing to participate in the client�s transference interaction, the therapist can introduce a corrective emotional experience. This can be a valuable healing process for the client. In other words, working through a similar emotional conflict with the therapist counteracts the negative effects of an earlier relationship. It also externalizes a neurosis, which the reliving of the past relationship brings to the surface. In so doing, one creates what is known as a transference neurosis. The resolution of this transference neurosis is believed to be the essential element in effecting the client�s psychoanalytic �cure�. The more modern method of psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy differs from the classic in several ways. Whereas the orthodox Freudian therapist schedules clients for as many as three sessions weekly, the psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapist will usually schedule only once weekly. The therapist is usually seated directly across a desk or table from the client. The therapist will interact during free association by correcting points of clarity and filling in gaps of logic. Client�s distortions are brought to the surface in light of his or her current troubles. Freudian Psychoanalysis has a long and influential history. Its various nuances and theories cannot be properly elucidated here. It has many critics in the psychological community, but recent research has shown that, although expensive and time-consuming, it is still a therapy with much merit. References Carson, R. C., Butcher, J. N., & Mineka, S. (1999) Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life. Needham Heights MA: Allyn and Bacon. Edelson, M. (1988). Psychoanalysis: A Theory in Crisis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Hanly, C., & Lazerowitz, M. (1970) Psychoanalysis and Philosophy. New York: International Universities Press, Inc. Jones, E. (1961). The Life and Work of Sigmund Freud. |