Psychoanalytic model

This perspective of psychoanalysis was dominant in America for approximately a year span until the s.

More recent forms of psychoanalysis seek, among other things, to help patients gain self-esteem through greater trust of the self, overcome the fear of death and its effects on current behavior, and maintain several relationships that appear to be incompatible. Psychoanalytic model Psychoanalysis was first devised in Vienna in the s by Sigmund Freud, a neurologist interested in finding an effective treatment for patients with neurotic or hysterical symptoms.

As a result of talking with these patients, Freud came to believe that their problems stemmed from culturally unacceptable, thus repressed and unconscious, desires and fantasies of a sexual nature, and as his theory developed, he included desires Psychoanalytic model fantasies of an aggressive nature, as well.

The Death Instinct represented an instinctive drive to return to a state of calm, or non-existence. Theories Psychoanalysis is theoretically diverse.

Most analysts use some selection of the following psychoanalytic models of the mind. The topographical model The topographical model of the mind was intended to help analysts understand how patients repress wishes, fantasies, and thoughts. In the topographical model, the mind is divided into conscious, preconscious, and unconscious systems.

The conscious system includes all that we are subjectively aware of in our minds. The preconscious includes material that we are capable of becoming aware of, but do not happen to be aware of currently. The unconscious system includes material that we have defensively removed from our awareness by means of repression and other defense mechanisms.

The structural model Perhaps the most famous psychoanalytic model of the mind, the structural model divides the mind into the id, ego, and superego. The id is the source of our motivation, and includes sexual and aggressive drives. The superego includes our moral code and ideals. The ego is made up of a group of mechanisms reality-testing, judgment, impulse control, etc.

Analysts who use the structural model commonly focus on helping patients handle conflicts that occur between these three mental agencies. Many also use the structural model for clinical diagnosis. For example, psychoanalysts usually diagnose a patient as psychotic if his or her ego suffers a severe impairment in reality-testing.

The economic model The economic model of the mind is rarely used today, but is of historical importance. In the economic model, the mind is pictured as an energy system.

Mental energy or "libido" may be distributed in a variety of ways thoughout the system, "cathecting" various activities or processes with energy.

The vast majority of analysts have abandoned the economic model because it is somewhat vague and relies heavily on nineteenth century ideas about hydraulics. Still, a small number of philosophically minded analysts retain the economic model because they believe that its vagueness is helpful in alluding to features of mental life that may lie beyond scientific understanding.

The conflict model The conflict model of the mind is designed to help analysts understand specific mental conflicts. This model of the mind divides the mind into basic units called compromise-formations. A compromise formation consists of a wish, a feeling of discomfort about the wish, and a defense used to eliminate that feeling of discomfort.

For example, a patient might have an aggressive wish to attack authority figures, fear that if he or she were to do so punishment might result, and defensively intellectualize about general problems with authority rather than physically assaulting his or her superiors.

The product of the wish, discomfort, and defense takes shape as a compromise between the three. Some influential analysts have argued that the conflict model is the most important psychoanalytic model, distinguishing psychoanalysis from other psychological theories such as humanistic psychology that minimize mental conflict.

The object-relational model The object-relational model of the mind describes the mind as structured by internalized relationships with others.

Psychoanalysis Assumptions

This model has it that we all internalize our childhood experiences with other people, and our patterns of thinking, wishing, and feeling are organized by these experiences. Psychoanalysts often refer to the internalized other as an "internal object.

The object-relational model is perhaps the most widely used theory among analysts today. The intersubjective model The most recently developed model listed here, intersubjective model is closely related to the object-relational model. Intersubjectivity theory tries to capture the complex ways in which the subjective points of view of different people interact.

According to intersubjectivity theory, all of our experiences are heavily influenced by the interface between our own subjectivities and those of others. Among other things, the intersubjective model has led many analysts to revise their understanding of the origins of repression and other defense mechanisms.

Intersubjectivity theory proposes that between people, intersubjective fields are established in which some experiences can be conscious and some must be kept out of awareness. Defense mechanisms, from an intersubjective perspective, take shape in formative intersubjective interactions in which particular experiences are treated as unspeakable.

Techniques The basic method of psychoanalysis is the transference and resistance analysis of free association. The patient, in a relaxed posture, is directed to say whatever comes to mind.Psychoanalysis and classic psychodynamic concepts have helped us understand some aspects of addiction, but their practical application in treatment is limited.

The Psychodynamic Model of Abnormal Behavior - Chapter Summary and Learning Objectives. Psychology is a fairly new science, and ideas introduced in the psychodynamic model have paved the way for. The Psychoanalytic Model of the Mind is a fascinating exploration of this complex model of mental functioning, and both clinicians and students of the mind will find it comprehensive and riveting.

Contents. History of American Psychoanalytic Theory. Psychoanalysis became established in America between World War I and World War II, when Americans traveled to Europe to take advantage of psychoanalytic training opportunities there.

Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality. According to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, personality develops through a series of stages, each characterized by a certain internal psychological conflict. According to Freud’s structural model, the personality is divided into the id, ego, and superego.

On this diagram, the smaller. Psychoanalysis was founded by Sigmund Freud (). Freud believed that people could be cured by making conscious their unconscious thoughts and motivations, thus gaining insight. The aim of psychoanalysis therapy is to release repressed emotions and experiences, i.e., Author: Saul Mcleod.

The Psychoanalytic Model of the Mind is a fascinating exploration of this complex model of mental functioning, and both clinicians and students of the mind will find it Reviews: 9. The Psychoanalytic Model of the Mind is a fascinating exploration of this complex model of mental functioning, and both clinicians and students of the mind will find it comprehensive and riveting. Contents. Freud's Psychoanalytic Model of Personality This paper offers a discussion of Freud's psychoanalytic model of the human personality. According to Freud, the personality comprises three key forces—the id, the ego and the superego.