Psychodynamic Theories and The Moral Component

11 Key excerpts on "Psychodynamic Theories and The Moral Component"

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  Psychodynamic Therapy

  Conceptual and Empirical Foundations

  • Steven K. Huprich(Author)
  • 2010(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Section I Theoretical Underpinnings

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  2Basic Principles of Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Theory

  Although psychoanalytic theory and its implication for treatment have evolved substantially over time (Frank, 2000; Kernberg, 1993; Marcus, 1999; Pine, 1998; Rangell, 1981; Wallerstein, 1989, 2002), certain principles remain as guiding elements as part of any discussion of psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychotherapy. As noted in Chapter 1 , these are summarized by Westen (1998, pp. 334–335):

  1. Much of mental life—including thoughts, feelings, and motives— is unconscious, which means that people can behave in ways or develop symptoms that are inexplicable to themselves.

  2. Mental processes, including affective and motivational processes, operate in parallel so that, toward the same person or situation, individuals can have conflicting feelings that motivate them in opposing ways and oft en lead to compromise solutions.

  3. Stable personality patterns begin to form in childhood, and childhood experiences play an important role in personality development, particularly in shaping the ways people form later social relationships.

  4. Mental representations of the self, others, and relationships guide people’s interactions with others and influence the ways they become psychologically symptomatic. 5. Personality development involves not only learning to regulate sexual and aggressive feelings but also moving from an immature, socially dependent state to a mature, interdependent state.

  It is perhaps these five principles that best distinguish psychodynamic and psychoanalytic psychotherapy from other forms of treatment that are commonly practiced today, which focus mainly on conscious cognitions, behavior change, and symptom reduction. Psychotherapy process also is part of psychoanalytic and psychodynamic theory, unlike many of the common therapies espoused to be empirically superior. Issues of how the patient responds to the therapist, how the therapist responds to the patient, how and when a person resists a particular topic of investigation, and how all these processes change in the course of the session are part of understanding and conducting sound psychodynamic and psychoanalytic treatment.

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  Social Work

  From Theory to Practice

  • Louise Harms, Marie Connolly(Authors)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Cambridge University Press

    (Publisher)

  This inner world includes our dreams, our fan- tasies, beliefs and unconscious experiences. These can be seen as ‘building block’ theories, in that one step builds upon another: ‘All of the psychodynamic theories emphasize the importance of stages of psychosocial (or psychosexual) develop- ment and unconscious mental processes on human behaviour’ (Walsh 2006: 28). Karen Healy (2014: 66) describes the ways in which social workers have been engaged in a ‘retreat from psychodynamic theory’ as society moved through the 1960s and 1970s to focus more on social concerns. Interestingly, we might be in the midst of a contemporary transformation in using neurobiological theories to understand human experience. In many ways, this new knowledge confirms, or provides evidence for, what psychodynamic theories have been proposing for more 74 SOCIAL WORK: FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE than a century. In this discussion, we focus on four key areas where psychodynamic theory has continued to make a major contribution: the place of the past in the pre- sent; inner drives and motivations; the organisation of the inner self; and aspects of relationship dynamics. The place of the past in the present Psychodynamic theories focus on the past in forming a person’s inner world. But how do we conceptualise the past and its role in present functioning? This inherent problem has been the basis for long-standing tensions between different schools of thought. Two key problems emerge in relation to the role of the past in here-and-now living. One is how deterministic we see these past experiences as being. One risk of focusing on the past as the core influence in the formation of who we are today is that we can become reductionist and deterministic. For example, if we see early childhood abuse as causing irreparable damage, how do we account for the many people who experience horrific abuse yet go on to lead fulfilling, happy lives? The second problem is that the past in the present is memory.

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  Psychology

  Modules for Active Learning

  • Dennis Coon, John Mitterer, Tanya Martini, , Dennis Coon, John Mitterer, Tanya Martini, (Authors)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  452 MODULE 52 seemed to be more emotional than physical. From about 1890 until his death in 1939, Freud developed a theory of personality that deeply influenced modern thought (Schultz & Schultz, 2017; Tauber, 2010). Let’s consider some of its main features. Personality Psychodynamic and Humanistic Theories Meghan is self-conscious around strangers. You could almost say she is shy. This has been a life-long personality trait. But why , she often wonders. So, too, do psychodynamic theorists, who are not content with studying traits. Instead, they try to probe under the surface of personality—to learn what drives, conflicts, and energies animate us. A psychodynamic theorist would explain Meghan’s shyness in terms of hidden, or unconscious , thoughts, needs, and emotions. While humanistic theorists also seek to explain personality, they tend to focus on conscious thoughts, needs, and emotions. For exam-ple, humanists consider self-image a central determinant of behavior and personal adjustment. Humanistic theories also pay special atten-tion to the fuller use of human potentials, and they help bring bal-ance to our overall views of personality. A humanist might ask what it is about the attitudes Meghan holds regarding herself that makes her feel self-conscious. So, which is it, Meghan? Let’s look into it. Learning Outcome 52.1 Describe how psychodynamic theories explain personality As we discussed in Module 3, psychoanalytic theory , the first, and best-known, psychodynamic approach, grew out of the work of Sigmund Freud, a Viennese physician. As a doctor, Freud was fascinated by patients whose problems Psychoanalytic Theory—Id Came to Me in a Dream After reading this module you should be able to: 52.1 Describe how psychodynamic theories explain personality 52.2 Describe how humanistic theories explain personality ~LEARNING OUTCOMES~ The Why of Personality Shai Halud/Shutterstock.com Copyright 2022 Cengage Learning.

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  Psychology

  • Ronald Comer, Elizabeth Gould, Adrian Furnham(Authors)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  In fact, there has been something of a renaissance in what is called differential psychology because of four things. First, growing agreement about the description and understand- ing of the basic dimensions of personality. Second, a greater understanding of the heritability of personality and the role of the social environment in shaping it. Third, an understand- ing of the biological processes that cause these differences and, fourth, the extent to which personality predicts all sorts of outcomes like educational and work success, relationship building and maintenance as well as long-term mental and physical health. One question people ask is how to select among different personality theories: which is best? There are various criteria one could apply. Does it describe or explain all important aspects of human behaviour simply? Is the theory clear and free of jargon? Can it be tested with precision, and what is the evidence from those who have tested it? In short, is it empiri- cally valid? And has it stimulated others to work in the area and apply it to other aspects of life? The Psychodynamic Perspective LEARNING OBJECTIVE 1 Summarize the main ideas of the psychodynamic view of per- sonality development. The psychodynamic model emphasizes the unconscious, often dark desires (mainly about sex and aggression) that have to be held in check. The model was formulated by the Viennese neurologist Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) at the beginning of the 20th century. In Freud’s view, the personality forms as a result of struggles between primal needs and social or moral restraints. Many other theorists who follow Freud’s key prin- ciples differ from him in certain ways. The basic assumptions of the theory are essentially these: all social behaviour is the result of fights and compromises between powerful and unconscious drives, motives and needs.

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  Counseling and Psychotherapy

  Theories and Interventions

  • David Capuzzi, Mark D. Stauffer(Authors)
  • 2022(Publication Date)
  • American Counseling Association

    (Publisher)

  The aim of this chapter is to help counselors gain a brief understanding of clas-sical psychoanalytic theory and its influence on current practices and applications in contemporary mental health treatment. The goals of this chapter are to help counselors meet the following objectives: (a) gain a basic understanding of the foundation, history, and development of psychoanalytic theory; (b) gain a basic understanding of the implications of psychoanalytic theory across populations Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy 54 and contexts; and (c) gain a basic understanding of how to apply psychoanalytic and psychodynamic techniques in counseling practice for the most effective thera-peutic outcomes. BACKGROUND Understanding the Language: Psychoanalytic, Psychoanalysis, and Psychodynamic The terms psychoanalytic, psychoanalysis, and psychodynamic are often used interchangeably, often without differentiation. Psychoanalytic refers to the larger theoretical framework that was initially popularized by Sigmund Freud and later enhanced and evolved by other theorists like Carl Jung and Alfred Adler (Corey, 2021). Psychoanalysis may be viewed by many as a theory or an intensive psycho-therapy involving long-term treatment, often for years (American Psychological Association [APA], 2017). Psychoanalysis is often the technique most closely as-sociated with Freud that involves clients sitting on a couch talking through their problems (Corey, 2021). Psychodynamic theory continues to conceptualize how a person’s mind works from a psychoanalytic perspective. However, psychodynam-ic theory differentiates itself from psychoanalysis by being brief, once a week, face-to-face, and on average about 15 sessions (APA, 2017). Modern psychodynamic theory encompasses some of the main proponents of traditional psychoanalytic practices while attempting to apply them to current-day issues and contemporary constructs.

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  Theoretical Approaches in Psychology

  • Matt Jarvis(Author)
  • 2005(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  events to the unconscious mind, and by unconscious motives. Although consciously, Alex thought she was taking her sister to sea for a birthday treat, the event seems to have quite a different meaning to her unconscious mind. We might even wonder whether Alex was motivated on an unconscious level to take her sister to sea again in order to kill her.
• In contrast to other branches of psychology which place a strong emphasis on systematic, scientific research,
psychodynamic psychology looks for information in dreams, symptoms, irrational behaviour and what patients say in therapy.
(Adapted from Rycroft, 1968; Tavris and Wade, 1997; Jarvis, 2000)
If you know very little about psychology, and you have heard of just one psychologist, the chances are that this is Sigmund Freud, the founder of the psychodynamic approach to psychology, or psychoanalysis. If Freud (or at least Freud as he is popularly portrayed) represents your layperson’s idea of psychology then you probably have an image of a patient lying on a couch talking about their deepest and darkest secrets. In deliberate contrast to behavioural psychology, examined in Chapter 2 , psychodynamic psychology ignores the trappings of science and instead focuses on trying to get ‘inside the head’ of individuals in order to make sense of their relationships, experiences and how they see the world.
In this chapter we can look at the work of Freud and that of one other influential psychoanalyst, Donald Winnicott. We can then look at how psychodynamic principles have been applied in the field of mental health, and use them to try to understand the popularity of monsters, a seemingly irrational phenomenon common throughout history and common to many cultures.

Freud’s theories

Sigmund Freud (writing between the 1890s and the 1930s) developed a collection of theories which have formed the basis of the psychodynamic approach to psychology. His theories are clinically derived—i.e. based on what his patients told him during therapy. Freud theorised on a wide variety of topics and developed his ideas throughout the period of his writing. It is not possible to overview all or most of Freud’s ideas in this chapter, but we can look briefly at a few of Freud’s more important contributions.