Basic Psychoanalytic

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Basic Psychoanalytic Psychodynamic Techniques

• Mentoring
• CPD Supervision

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The Theory Bit

• Psychodynamics
• Developed by Freud during his work from 1890 to
  1930
• Continued in the work of Jung (1964) Adler
  (1927) Erikson (1950) Kline
• The psychodynamic perspective includes all the
  theories in psychology that see human functioning
  as based on the interaction of drives and forces
  (these are often believed to be unconscious)

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Main Theoretical Assumptions

• Personality Development
• The mind is made up of three parts the ID, EGO
  and SUPER-EGO.
• Personality is shaped as drives are modified by
  different conflicts at different times in
  childhood (often psychosexual development).
• Motivation
• Behaviour and feelings are powerfully affected by
  unconscious motives.
• Adults behaviour and feelings are rooted in
  childhood experiences.
• All behaviour has a cause (usually unconscious),
  even slips of the tongue. Therefore, all
  behaviour is determined. This is called Psychic
  Determinism.

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Continued

• Behaviour is motivated by two instinctual drives
  
• Eros (the sex drive life instinct) and
• Thanatos (the aggressive drive death instinct).
  
• Both these drives come from the id.
• Parts of the unconscious mind (the id and
  superego) are in constant conflict with the
  conscious part of the mind (the ego).

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Structure of the Psyche

• Conscious Mind - consists of all the mental
  processes of which we are aware.
• The unconscious mind contains biologically based
  instincts for the primitive urges (ie sex,
  aggression). We have no idea of what information
  is stored in the unconscious mind.
• .

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Continue

• The preconscious or subconscious contains
  thoughts and feelings that a person is not
  currently aware of, but which can easily be
  brought to consciousness. It exists just below
  the level of consciousness before the unconscious
  mind. (ie you are presently not thinking about
  your mobile telephone number, but now it is
  mentioned you can recall it with ease).

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Personality Psychosexual Stages

• Five stages of human development.
• During each stage there is a crisis, that if not
  successfully managed will cause fixation.
• Fixation in adulthood is demonstrated through a
  child like approach to gratifying the associated
  id impulses

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The Stages Conflicts

• Oral Stage
• Birth 2 years.
• Energy is focused orally as the world is explored
  through the mouth
• Conflict - successful weaning
• Fixation manifests in smoking, overeating etc
• Anal Stage
• 18 months to 3 years
• Energy is focused in the anus as the world is
  explored through toilet training
• Conflict Successfully negotiating toilet
  training
• Fixation manifests in Anal Retentive Personality
  (excessively tidy), parsimoniousness and
  obstinacy or an Anal Expulsive Personality
  (excessively messy).

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Continued

• Phallic Stage
• From 3 years onward
• Energy focus is in the genital area as interest
  grows in gaining pleasure from the genitals
• Conflict Oedipal complex (boys) Electra
  Complex (Girls)
• Fixation - phallic character, who is reckless,
  resolute, self-assured and narcissistic
  (excessively vain and proud.) Or cause fear or
  the incapacity of close love.

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Continued

• Latency
• period in which the sexual drive lies dormant.
• Freud saw latency as a period of unparalleled
  repression of sexual desires and erogenous
  impulses.
• During the latency period, repressed libidal
  energy is poured into asexual pursuits such as
  school, athletics, and same-sex friendships
• Genital
• From Puberty
• energy focuses on his genitals and interest turns
  to heterosexual relationships.
• Conflict Unresolved psychosexual development.
  The less energy left to invest in unresolved
  psychosexual developments, the greater the
  capacity to develop normal relationships with the
  opposite sex.
• Fixation - particularly on the phallic stage,
  leads to struggles with further repression and
  defences.

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Structure of the Mind

• Id - a selfish, primitive, childish,
  pleasure-oriented part of the personality with no
  ability to delay gratification.
• Superego - internalized societal and parental
  standards of "good" and "bad", "right" and
  "wrong" behaviour.
• Ego - the moderator between the id and superego
  which seeks compromises to pacify both. It can be
  viewed as our "Sense of Self."

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Conflicts

• When the id is in conflicts with the superego,
  the ego utilises Ego Defence Mechanisms.
• These also occurring when the id impulses are in
  conflict with each other, and when an external
  threat is posed to the ego.
• Ego-defence mechanisms are natural and normal.
  However, when they get out of proportion, they
  have a negative affect on our wellbeing.

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Level 1 Defences

• These are termed the psychotic defence
  mechanisms
• Denial.
• Distortion
• Delusional Projection
• Psychosis - a severe psychological disorder such
  as schizophrenia)

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Level 2 Defences

• These mechanisms lessen distress and anxiety
  provoked by threatening people or by
  uncomfortable reality
• Fantasy
• Projection
• Hypochondriasis
• Passive aggression
• Idealisation

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Level 3 Defences

• These are neurotic defences
• Displacement
• Dissociation
• Isolation
• Intellectualization
• Reaction Formation
• Repression
• Regression
• Neurosis - A mild psychological disorder.
  Psychological trauma can sometimes produce
  physical complaints loss of sleep, selective
  paralysis, overeating.

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Level 4 Defences

• Found amongst emotionally healthy adults
• Altruism
• Anticipation
• Humour
• Identification
• Introjection
• Sublimation
• Suppression

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How Psychodynamics Work

• A therapeutic alliance is formed
• Therapist maintains a therapeutic neutrality
• This encourages the client to make transference
  and counter transference to the therapist.
• Transference early patterns of fantasy and
  behaviour are unconsciously re-enacted with the
  therapist
• This reveals unresolved conflicts patients have
  with figures from childhoods.
• Counter transference the psychotherapist's own
  repressed feelings in reaction to the emotions,
  experiences, or problems of a person undergoing
  treatment.

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Tools Techniques

• Unconditional Acceptance
• The symbolic content of psychotic symptoms
• Analysis of Transference
• Identification of ego conflicts through analysing
  defences
• Identification of unresolved conflicts during
  psychosexual stages of development
• Analysis of resistance
• Empathetic reflection
• Challenge
• Free association
• Dream analysis
• Slips of the tongue
• Forgetting
• Posthypnotic suggestions
• Rorschach Inkblot Test

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Psychodynamics Mentoring

• Whats important to mentoring
• An understanding of transference
• An understanding of counter transference
• An understanding of ego defence mechanisms
• Understanding resistance
• Helps us understand ourselves better
• Helps us understand others

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Exercise One

• Working in peer groups for 60 minutes, use
  questioning and challenging skills to identify
• 1 time when you have experienced transference
• 1 time when you have experienced counter
  transference
• 3 times when you have experienced ego defence
  mechanisms (what ego defence mechanisms were
  they? What were the circumstances in which they
  occurred?)
• 1 time you have experienced resistance