The great minds of our planet have been studying the structure of the human personality for many decades. But there are many different questions that scientists cannot answer. Why do people have dreams and what information do they carry? Why can events of past years cause a certain emotional state and provoke rash actions? Why does a person try to save a hopeless marriage and not let go of his half? In order to answer questions related to the topic of psychic reality, the technique of psychoanalysis is used. Freud's psychoanalytic theory is the main topic of this article.
The founder of psychoanalysis is Sigmund Freud
Briefly about creating a method
The theory of psychoanalysis has made a real revolution in the field of psychology. This method was created and put into operation by the great scientist from Austria, doctor of psychiatry Sigmund Freud. Early in his career, Freud worked closely with many eminent scientists. Physiology professor Ernst Brücke, founder of the cathartic method of psychotherapy Joseph Breuer, founder of the theory of the psychogenic nature of hysteria Jean-Marais Charcot are just a small part of the historical figures with whom Sigmund Freud worked together. According to Freud himself, the peculiar basis of his method arose precisely at the moment of collaboration with the above-mentioned people.
While engaged in scientific activities, Freud came to the conclusion that some clinical manifestations of hysteria cannot be interpreted from a physiological point of view. How to explain the fact that one part of the human body completely loses sensitivity, while neighboring areas still feel the influence of various stimuli? How to explain the behavior of people in a state of hypnosis? According to the scientist himself, the above questions are a kind of proof of the fact that only a part of mental processes are a manifestation of central nervous system reactions.
Many people have heard that a person immersed in a hypnotic state can be given a psychological setting, which he will definitely fulfill. It is quite interesting that if you ask such a person about the motives for his actions, he can easily find arguments explaining his behavior. Based on this fact, we can say that human consciousness independently selects arguments for completed actions, even in cases where there is no particular need for explanations.
During the years of Sigmund Freud's life, the fact that human behavior can depend on external factors and motives secret to consciousness was a real shock. It should be noted that it was Freud who introduced such concepts as “unconsciousness” and “subconsciousness”. The observations of this outstanding scientist made it possible to create a theory about psychoanalysis. Briefly, Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis can be described as the analysis of the human psyche in terms of the forces that move it. The term “force” should be understood as the motives, consequences and influence of past life experiences on future destiny.
Freud was the first person who, using the method of psychoanalysis, was able to cure a patient with a half-paralyzed body What is the basis of psychoanalysis
According to Freud, human mental nature is continuous and consistent.. The appearance of any thought, desire and action taken have their own reasons, which are characterized by unconscious or conscious motives. Thus, all actions performed have a direct reflection in the future of the individual.
Even in situations where emotional experiences seem unreasonable, there is a hidden connection between various events in human life.
Based on the above facts, Freud came to the conclusion that the human psyche consists of three different areas:
- consciousness;
- unconscious sphere;
- section of the preconscious.
The unconscious sphere includes basic instincts that are an integral part of human nature. This area also includes ideas and emotions that are repressed from consciousness. The reason for their repression may be the perception of such thoughts as prohibited, dirty and not worthy of existence. The unconscious area has no time frame. In order to explain this fact, it should be said that childhood experiences that enter the consciousness of an adult are perceived just as intensely as the first time.
The area of preconsciousness includes part of the unconscious area, which in certain life situations becomes accessible to consciousness. The area of consciousness contains everything that a person is aware of throughout his life. According to Freud's idea, the human psyche is driven by instincts and incentives that force an individual to perform various actions. Among all the instincts, 2 stimuli should be highlighted that have a dominant role:
- Life energy– libido.
- Aggressive Energy- death instinct.
The classical psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud is aimed largely at the study of libido, the basis of which is sexual nature. Libido is a vital energy that is closely related to human behavior, experiences and emotions. In addition, the characteristics of this energy can be interpreted as the cause of the development of mental disorders.
Human personality contains three components:
- "Super-ego"– Superego;
- "I"– Ego;
- "It"- Id.
“It” is inherent in every person from birth. This structure includes basic instincts and heredity. It cannot be described using logic, since “It” is characterized as disorganized and chaotic. It is important to note that the “It” has unlimited influence on the ego and superego.
The topical model of the mental apparatus consists of 2 components: conscious and unconscious “I” is one of the structures of the human personality that is in close contact with the people around us.“I” comes from “It” and appears at the moment when the child begins to perceive himself as an individual. “It” is a kind of feed for “I”, and “I” acts as a protective shell for basic instincts. In order to better understand the relationship between
“It” and “I”, we should consider the example of sexual needs. “It” is a basic instinct, that is, the need for sexual contact. “I” determines under what conditions and when this contact will be realized. This means that “I” has the ability to restrain and control “It,” which is the key to internal psycho-emotional balance.
The “super-ego” originates in the “I” and is a kind of base where moral laws and rules are stored that limit the personality and prohibit certain actions. According to Freud, the task of the superego includes the construction of ideals, self-observation and conscience.
All of the above structures have an important role in the development of human personality. They maintain a delicate balance between the danger associated with displeasure and the desire that leads to satisfaction.
The energy that originates in “It” is reflected in “It.” The task of the “Super-I” is to determine the boundaries of the action of this energy. It should be noted that the requirements of external reality may differ from the requirements of the “Super-I” and “It”. This contradiction is the cause of the development of internal conflicts. The following methods are used to resolve such conflicts:
- compensation;
- sublimation;
- defense mechanisms.
Based on the above, we can conclude that dreams are a recreation of human desires that cannot be realized in reality. Recurring dreams clearly indicate the presence of unrealized stimuli. Unrealized incentives interfere with self-expression and psychological growth.
Sublimation is a mechanism for redirecting sexual energy to those goals that are approved in society. Such goals include intellectual, social and creative activities. Sublimation is one of the protective mechanisms of the human psyche, and the energy created by it is the basis of civilization.
Anxiety caused by unsatisfied desires can be neutralized by directly addressing the internal conflict. Since internal energy is unable to find a way out, it is necessary to redirect it to overcome existing obstacles. In addition, it is necessary to reduce the consequences that these barriers can provide and compensate for unmet incentives. An example of such compensation is perfect hearing in people with visual impairments.
According to Freud, the human psyche is limitless.
Freud suggested that we are all driven by the pleasure principle A person who suffers from a lack of certain skills and wants to achieve success can achieve his goal through assertiveness and unmatched performance. But there are examples when the tension that arises can be distorted due to the operation of special protective mechanisms. Such mechanisms include:
- insulation;
- suppression;
- overcompensation;
- negation;
- projection;
- regression.
An example of how these defense mechanisms work should be considered in situations with unrequited love. The suppression of these feelings can be expressed by the phrase “I don’t remember this feeling,” the mechanism of rejection is expressed as “There is no love, and never was,” and isolation can be described as “I don’t need love.”
Summing up
Freud's theory of psychoanalysis was briefly and clearly presented in this article. To summarize, we can say that this method is one of the attempts to understand those features of the human psyche that were previously incomprehensible. In the modern world, the term “psychoanalysis” is used in the following areas:
- As the name of a scientific discipline.
- A collective name for a set of events dedicated to research into the functioning of the psyche.
- As a method of treating neurotic disorders.
Many modern scientists often criticize Sigmund Freud's theory. However, today, the concepts that were introduced by these scientists are a kind of basis for the science of psychology.
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Great minds have been studying the human psyche for decades, but many questions still have no answers. What is hidden in the depths of a human being? Why do events that happened once in childhood still affect people to this day? What makes us make the same mistakes and hold on to hateful relationships with a death grip? Where do dreams originate, and what information is contained in them? These and many other questions regarding the mental reality of man can be answered by the revolutionary psychoanalysis, which has corrected many fundamentals, created by the outstanding Austrian scientist, neurologist and psychiatrist Sigmund Freud.
How did psychoanalysis come about?
At the very beginning of his career, Sigmund Freud managed to work with outstanding scientists of his time - physiologist Ernst Brücke, doctor Joseph Breuer practicing hypnosis, neurologist Jean-Marais Charcot and others. Freud developed some of the thoughts and ideas that arose at this stage in his further scientific works.
More specifically, the then young Freud was attracted by the fact that some of the symptoms of hysteria that manifested themselves in patients with it could not be interpreted from a physiological point of view. For example, a person might not feel anything in one area of the body, despite the fact that sensitivity remained in neighboring areas. Another proof that not all mental processes can be explained by the reaction of the human nervous system or the act of his consciousness was observation of the behavior of people who were subjected to hypnosis.
Today everyone understands that if a person under hypnosis is given an order to do something, after waking up he will unconsciously strive to carry it out. And if you ask him why he wants to do this, he will be able to give quite adequate explanations for his behavior. Hence it turns out that the human psyche has the ability to independently create explanations for some actions, even if there is no need for them.
In the time of Sigmund Freud, the very understanding that people's actions can be controlled by reasons hidden from their consciousness became a shocking revelation. Before Freud's research, there were no such terms as “subconscious” or “unconscious” at all. And his observations became the starting point in the development of psychoanalysis - the analysis of the human psyche from the perspective of the forces driving it, as well as the causes, consequences and impact on a person’s subsequent life and the state of his neuropsychic health of the experiences he received in the past.
Basic ideas of psychoanalysis
The theory of psychoanalysis is based on Freud’s statement that there cannot be inconsistency or interruptions in the mental (if more conveniently, spiritual) nature of a person. Any thought, any desire and any action always has its own reason, determined by conscious or unconscious intention. Events that took place in the past influence future ones. And even if a person is convinced that any of his mental experiences have no basis, there are always hidden connections between some events and others.
Based on this, Freud divided the human psyche into three separate areas: the area of consciousness, the area of preconscious and the area of the unconscious.
- To the area unconscious These include unconscious instincts that are never accessible to consciousness. This also includes thoughts, feelings and experiences repressed from consciousness, which are perceived by the human consciousness as having no right to exist, dirty or prohibited. The area of the unconscious is not subject to time frames. For example, some memories from childhood, suddenly entering consciousness again, will be as intense as at the moment of their appearance.
- To the area preconscious refers to a part of the unconscious area that can become accessible to consciousness at any moment.
- Region consciousness includes everything that a person is aware of at every moment of his life.
The main active forces of the human psyche, according to Freud's ideas, are instincts - tensions that direct a person towards a goal. And these instincts include two dominant ones:
- Libido, which is the energy of life
- Aggressive energy which is the death instinct
Psychoanalysis examines, for the most part, libido, which is based on sexual nature. It represents living energy, the characteristics of which (appearance, quantity, movement, distribution) can interpret any mental disorders and characteristics of an individual’s behavior, thoughts and experiences.
Human personality, according to psychoanalytic theory, is represented by three structures:
- It (Id)
- I (Ego)
- Super-I (Super-Ego)
It (Id) is everything initially inherent in a person - heredity, instincts. The id is not influenced in any way by the laws of logic. Its characteristics are chaotic and disorganized. But the Id influences the Ego and the Super-Ego. Moreover, its impact is limitless.
I (Ego) is that part of a person’s personality that is in close contact with the people around him. The ego originates from the id from the very moment when the child begins to recognize himself as a person. The id feeds the ego, and the ego protects it like a shell. How the Ego and the Id are interconnected can be easily illustrated by the need for sex: The Id could satisfy this need through direct sexual contact, but the Ego decides when, where and under what conditions this contact can be realized. The ego is capable of redirecting or restraining the Id, thereby being a guarantor of a person’s physical and mental health, as well as his safety.
Super-I (Super-Ego) grows from the Ego, being a repository of moral principles and laws, restrictions and prohibitions that are imposed on the individual. Freud argued that the superego performs three functions, which are:
- Function of conscience
- Self-monitoring function
- Function that shapes ideals
The id, the ego and the superego are necessary to jointly achieve one goal - maintaining a balance between the desire that leads to increased pleasure and the danger arising from displeasure.
The energy that arises in the Id is reflected in the I, and the Super-Ego determines the boundaries of the I. Considering that the demands of the Id, the Super-Ego and the external reality to which a person must adapt are often contradictory, this inevitably leads to intrapersonal conflicts. Conflicts within the individual are resolved through several methods:
- Dreams
- Sublimation
- Compensation
- Blocking by security mechanisms
Dreams may be a reflection of desires that are not realized in real life. Dreams that recur may be pointers to a certain need that has not been fulfilled, and which may serve as an obstacle to a person's free self-expression and psychological growth.
Sublimation is the redirection of libidinal energy to goals approved by society. Often these goals are creative, social or intellectual activities. Sublimation is a form of successful protection, and sublimated energy creates what we are all accustomed to calling the word “civilization.”
The state of anxiety that arises from an unsatisfied desire can be neutralized by directly addressing the problem. Thus, energy that cannot find a way out will be directed to overcoming obstacles, to reducing the consequences of these obstacles, and to compensation what is missing. An example is perfect hearing, which develops in blind or visually impaired people. The human psyche is capable of doing the same: for example, a person suffering from a lack of ability, but having a strong desire to achieve success, can develop unsurpassed performance or unparalleled assertiveness.
However, there are also situations in which the tension that appears can be distorted or rejected by special defense mechanisms such as overcompensation, regression, projection, isolation, rationalization, denial, suppression and others. For example, unrequited or lost love can be suppressed (“I don’t remember any love”), rejected (“There was no love”), rationalized (“That relationship was a mistake”), isolated (“I don’t need love”), projected, attributing your feelings to others (“People don’t know how to truly love”), overcompensating (“I prefer open relationships”), etc.
Brief summary
Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud is the greatest attempt to come to an understanding and description of those components of human mental life that were incomprehensible before Freud. The very term “psychoanalysis” is currently used to describe:
- Scientific discipline
- A set of measures to study mental processes
- Methods for treating neurotic disorders
Freud's work and his psychoanalysis are often criticized even today, but the concepts that he introduced (Id, Ego, Super-Ego, defense mechanisms, sublimation, libido) are understood and applied in our time by both scientists and simply educated people. Psychoanalysis is reflected in many sciences (sociology, pedagogy, ethnography, anthropology and others), as well as in art, literature and even cinema.
Based on two key premises. The first premise - genetic - is that the experiences that a child experiences in childhood have a huge impact on him in adulthood. The essence of the second premise is that a person initially has a certain amount of sexual energy - libido. It is libido that during human development passes through several stages, representing a close relationship between instincts, psychology and sexual activity.
The hypothesis of four is called “Freud's Theory of Personality” and is of great scientific and practical interest for psychologists and doctors. According to Freud, development takes place over 4 stages, each of which is discussed below.
Stage 1. Oral phase.
An infant is in the oral phase from birth to one year. During this period, the child is completely dependent on the mother, and feeding is the main source of pleasure. Freud emphasizes that in this phase the child has only one desire - the absorption of food, and therefore the main erogenous zone is the mouth, because it is a means of feeding and initial examination of surrounding objects.
Stage 2. Anal phase.
The next stage of personality development is anal, which in duration includes the child’s age from 12-18 months to the third year of life. Freud's theory of personality states that during this period the child begins to learn to control the physiological functions of his body. At this time, libido is concentrated near the anus, which is now the object of the child's attention.
Childhood sexuality now finds its satisfaction in having control over the functions of its body (primarily over defecation and excretion). It is important to note that according to Freud, it is during this period that the child encounters the first prohibitions. The outside world is now a high barrier for him. Development at this stage takes on the character of a conflict.
Stage 3. Phallic phase.
The new one appears in a child between the ages of three and six years. Now libido is concentrated in the genital area. At this stage, children begin to understand and appreciate sexual differences. The child notices either the presence of a penis or the absence of one.
According to Freud, at this stage the child already feels pleasure from stimulation of the genitals, but such excitement is associated with the close presence of the parents.
Stage 4. Latent period.
This period is characterized by the concession of sexual manifestations to curiosity, which is associated with the diversity of the world around the child. The latent period coincides with the age of 5-12 years. Sexual activity during this period is reduced, libido is unstable, the child tries to identify his own “I”.
Freud's theory of personality indicates that sexual impulses during this period are suppressed by the ideals of aesthetics, as well as morality, shame and disgust. At this age, personality development occurs in a combination of biological processes, as well as under the influence of culture and education.
Stage 5. Genital phase.
The transition to the last phase of personality development is accompanied by a transition in the concentration of excitement and satisfaction to the genital area. Genital masturbation at this period acquires key importance in satisfying sexual needs.
In conclusion, we note that Freud’s personality theory served as the basis for formulating the principles of the genesis of the children’s psyche: child development corresponds in stages to the movement of libido zones.
Psychoanalysis is a way of identifying a person’s experiences and actions that are 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 are accustomed to assigning the main role to consciousness and believing that the play of passions occurs mainly in the subconscious, but Freud claims that even difficult intellectual work can occur subconsciously and not reach consciousness. For example, in a state of sleep, a complex problem is solved, over which a 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 of this, 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, that is, from a human point of view, the 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, decay 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.
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 sensitivity. 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 the 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 the essence of Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis can be briefly explained.
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 libido power. 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 would not see him, but only hear him. This is because the psychoanalyst’s facial expression should not give the patient food for thought, much less 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 possible to reveal to the patient all the information received and explain the meaning of his thoughts and condition no earlier than the moment when the transference 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 received the Nobel Prize, spoke in the same vein. 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.