Basic Introduction to Freud in an Introduction to Counselling Level 4 course at NUC Newham College London

1. Kevin Standish
Introduction to Counselling

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj2JFI4BsRQ&(2 min)

3.  Historical context and schools of
psychodynamic thought
 Freudian concepts the idea of psychic
conflict;
 Models of the mind: topographical model;
structural model
 Developmental model of personality
 Psychopathology conceptualised and
defensive mechanisms
 Critical limitations

4. Psychoanalytic Approach was
developed by Sigmund Freud.
Psychoanalysis is both an
approach to therapy and a
theory of personality.
The basic assumption is that
everything is directed by the
unconscious.

5.  Sigmund Freud was born on 6
May 1856 to Galician Jewish
parents in Příbor Moravia,
Austrian Empire, now Czech
Republic.
 He studied medicine at the
University of Vienna, he
specialized in neurology.
 In October 1885 Freud went
to Paris on a travelling
fellowship to study with
Europe's most renowned
neurologist, Jean Martin
Charcot, who used hypnosis
to cure hysteria.
 In 1899 he published The
Interpretation of Dreams
 He died on September 23,
1939.

6. 1. Classical Freudian psychoanalysis:To make the
unconscious conscious through “Insight”
2. Analytic-psychotherapy: Jung:I ts aim is
wholeness through the integration of
unconscious forces and motivations underlying
human behavior using archetypal psychology,
employs the model of the unconscious mind as
the source of healing and development in an
individual.
3. Ego Psychology (Anna Freud) - enhancing and
maintaining ego function according to the
demands of reality.

7. 4. Object Relations: Klein: human beings
are always shaped in relation to
significant others
5. Selfpsychology – Kohut:the self as
perceived in relation to the
establishment of boundaries and the
differentiations of self from others.

8.  Based on his clinical observations,:
 Developed a theory of how the human
mind is organized and operates internally,
and how human behavior both conditions
and results from this particular theoretical
understanding.
 He favored certain clinical techniques for
attempting to help cure psychopathology.
 He theorized that personality is developed
by the person's childhood experiences.

9. 1. The topographic model (conscious,
preconscious, unconscious processes)
2. The structural model (id, ego,
superego)
3. Libido gives the energy to the
personality
4. Psychosexual developmental stages
5. Defense mechanisms (Anna Freud)

10. (conscious, preconscious,
unconscious processes)

11.  1. Conscious mind – like the top of the
iceberg, only a small portion of our mind
is accessible to us.
 2. Preconscious mind – material that is
unconscious, but can be easily brought
into awareness.
 3. Unconscious mind – is completely
outside of our awareness (could produce
anxiety if made conscious).

13. Top of the iceberg:
Conscious mind (smallest
part – say, 10%). We can
access this, we are aware
of this part of “us.” We
understand it logically.

14. Middle of iceberg: Preconscious
(medium size, about 10-15%).
Ordinary memory. You don’t keep a lot
of information in your conscious mind
all the time – why?
 If you need to know something (where
you parked your car, your sister’s
birthday, your 7th grade Stardust
Dance, etc.) you can bring it “up”) to
your Conscious mind.

15. Bottom of iceberg: Unconscious
(huge – dwarfs the other two,
75-80% of our mind).
“Underwater”
The unconscious: Plays a very
large role in how we function as
human beings. Most of the work
among the Id, Ego, and
Superego happens here.

16. Id
Ego
Superego

17. THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND:
 A “dumping ground” for all of our
desires, anxieties, urges, especially
those which are painful – why?
 Nothing in the unconscious goes away.
Even if we aren’t aware of it, what is in
the unconscious influences us every day
in every way.
 Can’t directly or easily access the
unconscious with conscious mind.
“Speaks” a different language (ex.
Dreams).

18. Freud’s theory of Identity is based on a
CONFLICT
MODEL
Important! Radical notion!
(Keep in mind that with Freud, identity becomes
confusing – hard to use pronouns to describe
ourselves. Who am “I”? Is “I” really “We”?)

19.  Conflict Model: The self is NOT UNIFIED; it
is not a coherent, singular entity. Not
entirely rational, not entirely in control of
yourself .
 There are competing elements within
ourselves.
 No way to resolve competing elements –
only way to stay healthy is to not let any
one of them “get the upper hand” or
sickness (i.e. neurosis or psychosis) can
occur.

20.  1. Id – unconscious impulses that
want to be gratified, without regard
to potential punishment. Is source of
psychic energy (libido).
 2. Ego (primarily conscious) – tries
to satisfy id impulses while
minimizing punishment, guilt.
 3. Superego – the moral center of
our personality (somewhat
conscious).

22. Freud’s conflict model is based on the idea
of the Id, the Ego, and the Superego.
These are the components of the self.
First:
 THE ID: The oldest part of our mind –
most primal, most fundamental, most
primitive.
 The Id precedes culture! And is universal.

23. Home of instinctual Drives
“I want it and I want it NOW”
Completely unconscious
Present at birth
Operates on the Pleasure
Principle and
Primary Process Thinking

24.  Pleasure Principle: constant drive to
reduce tension thru expression of
instinctual urges.
 The source for libido (psychic energy,
not just sexual in meaning like today’s
connotation)
 Psychic energy fuels our thoughts,
memories, sexual desires, perceptions,
etc.
 Primary Process Thinking: Not cause-effect;
illogical; fantasy; only concern
is immediate gratification (drive

25. “Id” does NOT stand for
“Identity.”
Rather, it means “It”
It is irrational, emotional,
demanding…and
STRONG

26. Created by the ID to help it
interface with external reality
Mediates between the ID,
Superego, and reality
Partly conscious
Uses Secondary Process Thinking:
◦ Logical, rational

27.  The Ego employs “ego defense
mechanisms”
 They serve to protect an individual
from unpleasant thoughts or
emotions
◦ Keep unconscious conflicts
unconscious
 Defense Mechanisms are primarily
unconscious

28. Result from interactions between
the ID, Ego, and Superego
Thus, they’re compromises:
◦Attempts to express an impulse (to
satisfy the ID) in a socially
acceptable or disguised way (so
that the Superego can deal with it)

29.  Less mature defenses protect the
person from anxiety and negative
feelings, but at price
 Some defense mechanisms explain
aspects of psychopathology:
◦ Ex. Identification with aggressor:
can explain tendency of some
abused kids to grow into abusers

30. Conflict arises when the ID’s drives
threaten to overwhelm the controls
of the Ego and Superego
Ego pushes ID impulses deeper into
the unconscious via repression
Material pushed into unconscious
does not sit quietly- causes
symptoms

31. Internalized morals/values-sense
of right and wrong
Suppresses instinctual drives of
ID (thru guilt and shame) and
serves as the moral conscience

32.  Largely unconscious, but has
conscious component
 Develops with socialization, and
thru identification with same-sex
parent (via introjection) at the
resolution of the Oedipal Conflict
 Introjection: absorbing rules for
behavior from role models

33. Conscience: Dictates what is
proscribed (should not be done/
prohibited); results in guilt
Ego-Ideal: Dictates what is
prescribed (should be done);
results in shame

34.  If, as an adult, your Id is too
dominant?
 (very self-absorbed, don’t care about
others, only out for yourself)
 If, as an adult, your Ego is too
dominant?
 (distant, rational, efficient,
unemotional, cold)
 If, as an adult, your Superego is too
dominant?

35.  Stage1: Oral
 Stage 2: Anal
 Stage 3: Phallic
 Stage 4 : Latent
 Stage 5: Genital

36.  The first five years are the most
important.
 Personality development is result of
conflicts we resolve in childhood. We
learn to satisfy id impulses while handling
social pressures.
 Freud defined 5 psychosexual stages,
each associated with a particular
erogenous zone fixation.

38.  If a conflict is not resolved during a
psychosexual stage, the fixation
persists.
 This fixation can be manifested either in
overexpressing or under-expressing
specific activities.
 This is often regarded as neurosis by
psychodynamic theorists and clinicians.

39. Mouth is associated with sexual
pleasure
Weaning a child can lead to
fixation if not handled correctly.
Fixation can lead to oral
activities in adulthood.

40.  Anus is associated with
pleasure
 Toilet training can lead to
fixation if not handled
correctly. Fixation can lead to
anal retentive or expulsive
behaviors in adulthood.

41.  Focus of pleasure shifts to the genitals.
Oedipus or Electra complex can occur.
Fixation can lead to excessive
masculinity in males and the need for
attention or domination in females. Sex
roles are internalized through
identification to the parent of the same
sex.

42.  Sexuality is repressed
 Children participate in hobbies,
school and same-sex
friendships. Achievement and
knowledge are in focus.

43.  Sexual feelings re-emerge and are
oriented toward others.
 Healthy adults find pleasure in love
and work, fixated adults have their
energy tied up in earlier stages.

44. Life Instinct
Biological urges that
perpetuate:
-the individual
-the species
Death Instinct
Destructive energy that
is reflected in:
-aggression
-recklessness
-life threatening or
self-defeating
behaviors
The fight between the two
instincts determines activities
and mental health.

45.  Id, Ego, & Superego continually in
conflict
 Conflict generates anxiety
 Psychopathology results from conflicts
among these unconscious forces.
Fixation
 – Too little or too much gratification
leads to
 fixation at that stage
 – When stressed, individual regresses
to earlier stage

47.  Defined: Unconscious mental processes
employed by the ego to reduce anxiety.
1.Repression - keeping anxiety producing
thoughts out of the conscious mind.
2.Reaction formation - replacing an
unacceptable wish with its opposite.
3.Displacement - when a drive directed to one
activity by the id is redirected to a more
acceptable activity by the ego.

48. 4.Sublimation - displacement to
activities that are valued by society
5.Projection - reducing anxiety by
attributing unacceptable impulses to
someone else
6.Rationalization - reasoning away
anxiety-producing thoughts
7.Regression - retreating to a mode of
behavior characteristic of an earlier
stage of development

49.  “Talking cure”
 Free associations
 Interpretation of dreams
 Patients attend five x fifty minute sessions
weekly,
 usually for several years,
 working with their psychoanalyst to examine
and to explore unconscious conflicts of feeling,
emotion and phantasy that are at the root of
their symptoms and the problems that are
troubling them.

50.  Freud had no scientific data to support
his theories.
 Freud’s theories (unconscious, libido,
etc.) cannot be observed.
 Theory explains behavior after the fact.
Observations are not representative of
population.

51.  He argued that childhood experiences
are important in personality
development.
 Information outside of awareness
does influence us.
 Defense mechanisms provide good
descriptions of some of our behaviors.

52.  Not particularly “psychological”
 Interesting and popular
 Not much evidence of their efficacy
 Not listed among empirically
supported treatments
 Exception is Interpersonal
Psychotherapy

53.  Traditional psychoanalysis – economically not
feasible
 Lack of emphasis upon behavior change –
frustrating to many consumers
 Brief forms of psychodynamic therapy are the
future
 Increasing pressure to empirically test
psychodynamic therapies
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrOpqg8ipQA&list=a discussion video on psychodynamic therapy
session

54.  Karen Horney’s focus on security 
Object relations theories (Melanie
Klein, D. W. Winnicott)
 Alfred Adler’s individual psychology
 Erik Erikson’s psychosocial
development
 Carl G. Jung’s analytical psychology
 Selfpsychology - Hartmann, Kohut
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrOpqg8ipQA&list=TLQH2ew8ggi9MUmUaqH8EPgVzkkEeYoKMT
a discussion video on psychodynamic therapy session

55.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNYdtV29eIw
 5 min

56.  1.McLeod J. (2009) An Introduction to Counselling. Chap 4
 2.Corey, G. (2009) Theory and Practice of Counselling and
Psychotherapy. Chap 4 & 5
 3. Colledge, R (2002) Mastering Counselling Theory. Chap 1
& 2
 4.Dryden, W ( 2007) Dryden’s Handbook of Individual
therapy (5th ed). Chap 2
 5.Cave, S (1999) Therapeutic Approaches in Psychology,
Chap 3
 Advanced reading
 1. Andrews & Brewin (2000)What did Freud get right
 2. Weinberger & Westen (2001) Science and
Psychodynamics From Arguments About Freud to Data
 3. Fonagy (1999) Relation of theory and practice in
psychodynamic therapy
 4. Dryden (2007) chap 2, 3; 4