Human Development
Psychoanalysis
Description:
The analysis of the separate components of the psyche into the [id] (a non-discriminating reservoir of energy and instinctive desires), the [conscious ego] (as an impression of external reality on the id), and the [superego] (the source of moral attitudes based on education, etc, and manifesting as conscience). Guided by the demands of reality, the ego represses the irrational impulses of the id, these [repressions] acting as a defence against excessive tension if the unconscious desires were given expression.Psychoanalysis as a psychotherapeutic method has the object of bringing to light the unconscious meaning of words, actions and mental images. Individuals are encouraged to talk freely about the nature and sources of their problems and thus (in some instances) overcome emotional disturbances. The interpretation of dreams and unconscious verbal slips has been developed as an important aid to the free association process used as an extension of this form of analysis.
Psychoanalysis is based on the fundamental hypothesis that all psychic events have causes which usually derive from the unconscious. When the psychic life is disturbed by conflicts between drives and defence mechanisms, or because a drive has become too strong, a direct link is established between the unconscious and reality. The sources of such disturbances are considered to be primarily of a sexual nature. The defence mechanisms include: repression, projection, rationalization, introjection, regression, turning against self, thought dissociation, isolation, reaction formation, and denial of reality.
When the individual is able to respond, and show by his dreams, his remarks and his behaviour that he is already on the point of understanding the meaning of what is being brought into the light of consciousness, then the analyst can make interpretations to guide the development of his understanding and acceptance of what has previously been suppressed. By this means the individual progressively uncovers the unconscious motivation of his behaviour, mitigates the intensity of any conflict, and enriches his personality by recovering access to energies whose existence has been hitherto denied.