Psychoanalytic theory: basic principles, stages of development

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

The human psyche and psychology are complex areas of study, special in their individualism. But scientists have deduced the main provisions regarding the development of the psyche in certain periods of life. Today's psychoanalysts, psychiatrists and psychotherapists operate with such knowledge as psychoanalytic theory, the main points of which are discussed below.

The origins of psychoanalysis

Man has long been interested in how, in what way, why people individually relate to the reality around them, trying to influence it and perceive it in accordance with their personality traits. Psychology as a science appeared in the practice of studying a person more than 1000 years ago. But in its development, this branch of medicine is only at the initial stage of its development. The basis of psychology is a philosophy united by hundreds of years of practical human research. As a science, psychology is closely intertwined with almost any other science that is subject to man. But such a connection has a dual character, because psychology itself is developing in two directions - as an applied science and as a field of study of mentalhuman activity as an individual and as a component of society. Since ancient times, psychology has been more of a philosophical direction, only by the 19th century acquiring the features of an applied science. Since that moment, psychoanalytic theories of child development, the formation of personality, and the characteristics of the behavioral facets of the individual have been studied, helping specialists - psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychoanalysts in their work.

The main stages in the formation of the science of the mental development of personality

Psychology today has an applied value as a field of medicine, philosophy, pedagogy, and other sciences. Psychoanalytic developmental theories are of particular importance in dealing with the individual. Each such theory has its own nuances of explaining the existing personality and was developed by one or another specialist. But the history of this work proceeded in several stages. The most famous person whose name is associated with the study of the mental characteristics of personality is Sigmund Freud. But studies of this facet of the human individual, related concepts of psychoanalysis proposed by Freud, developed before the 19th century. The future world-famous psychologist, neurologist and psychoanalyst himself trained at the Salpêtrière clinic in Paris with the neurologist and syphilologist Jean-Martin Charcot, who deeply studies the neuropsychiatric disorder paresis as a consequence of syphilis. In 1985, the work of Sigmund Freud and Josef Breuer "Studies in Hysteria" was published, which substantiates the origin of hysteria on repressed memories of any situations unpleasant for the patient, most often based on sexual associations. Suchthe view of one of the mental characteristics of the personality led to the fact that most of the scientific elite turned their backs on Freud, who exposed the novice psychoanalyst as an ordinary charlatan.

During the same period, the future psychoanalyst is trying to formulate, build in a logical chain the neurophysiological theory of unconscious mental mechanisms. This work remained unfinished, and the world learned about it only after the death of the scientist. Then Freud became interested in the symbolism of sleep, the result of these reflections was the hypothesis that the unconscious, on which the plot of dreams is based, is a “primary process”, since it has a concentrated and symbolic content. The "secondary process", in contrast, is based on logical, conscious content. This hypothesis became the basis of the monograph The Interpretation of Dreams, published by Freud in 1900. A feature of this work of the psychologist, which found its development in subsequent work, was chapter 7. An early "topographic model" is described here - due to social sexual inhibitions, unacceptable sexual desires are squeezed into the "unconscious" system, which becomes the basis of the individual's anxiety.

In our country, the widespread passion for psychoanalysis fell on the 20s of the 20th century. Then the State Psychoanalytic Institute was opened in Moscow. But gradually psychoanalysis ceases to be a direction of science, subject to persecution. It was only at the end of the century that this area of human research found life again in Russian psychology and psychiatry. Currently, the direction of psychoanalysis has become an integralpart of medical practice, and the theory itself is constantly supplemented by new theoretical developments. Psychologists unite around the world for high-quality scientific research into the human psyche. for example, the International Psychoanalytic Association, which has about 12,000 members, deals with the problems of psychoanalysis. Modern psychology operates with more than one school of psychoanalysis, because the students and followers of Freud organized their own schools and directions for studying this field of science, for example, Jung, Fromm, Adler.

Those who went further

The psychoanalytic theory of Z. Freud is the basis of one of the trends in psychology and psychiatry. But the psychoanalyst himself modulated his theory, and his followers put their own vision of the problem into the scientific concept. The most famous are the works of Freud's students - Carl Gustav Jung, Alfred Adler, as well as neo-Freudians - Harry Stack Sullivan, Erich Zeligman Fromm, Karen Horney. On the basis of the work of Freud himself and his followers in the formation of the principles of psychoanalysis, several directions of this doctrine were created. They are:

• Classical drive theory (Z. Freud).
• Interpersonal psychoanalysis (G. S. Sullivan, K. Thompson).
• Intersubjective approach (R. Stolorow).
• Self psychology (H. Kohut).
• Structural psychoanalysis (J. Lacan).
• Object relation theories.
• M. Klein School.
• Ego psychology.

Each of the above schools has its own nuances in justifying developmentthe psyche of the individual. The main psychoanalytic theories - from classics to neo-developments - speak about their vision of the problem of psychoanalysis. The features of the directions either complement the origins or contradict each other. In addition to classical psychoanalysis developed by Sigmund Freud, Jung's psychoanalytic theory is popular both in practice and in theoretical study. It complements Freud's work with the presence of the collective unconscious as a complement and continuation of the individual unconscious.

Algorithm of psychoanalysis according to Freud

Classical psychoanalytic theory, authored by the world famous psychoanalyst Z. Freud, involves working according to a certain algorithm. the technique was developed on the basis of a long, many years of work by a psychoanalyst and his students. Psychoanalysis builds on the following stages of work with the patient:

• Material accumulation.
• Interpretation.
• Analysis of "resistance" and "transfer".
• Working out as a final step.

The result of the psychoanalyst's work should be the restructuring of the patient's psyche. This technique was developed and put into practice by Freud himself and his followers. As the founder of the doctrine said, in his practice there were more than 4 dozen clinical cases of psychoanalysis. 5 of them are widely known, each of which is associated with one or another manifestation of a mental personality disorder. The psychoanalytic theory of personality development is used as a basis in modern practice, but has many additions andnuances developed by both followers of Freud and his opponents in matters of psychoanalysis as such. For many, the theory put forward by a neurologist-psychoanalyst is absolutely unacceptable, someone perceives it unconditionally, for others it has become a source for continuing the process of personal development.

Theory of personality structure

The psychoanalytic theory of Z. Freud in 1923 acquired a fairly clear structure. According to the psychoanalyst, psychiatrist and neurologist, the personality of each individual consists of three components:

• Id ("It") - the core of personality, based on primitive drives to life, death. It is this base that is unconscious and subject to the pleasure principle.
• Ego ("I") - this part of the personality is responsible for conscious thinking, human behavior, activates the protective mechanisms of the psyche if necessary.
• Superego ("Super-I") is a component of the Ego, the functionality of which is self-observation and moral assessment. Freud argued that this component of the personality is formed as a result of the introjection of images of the father and mother, as well as the parental value system.

The creation of a structural model of psychoanalytic theory was a huge advance in this area of psychology and psychotherapy, allowing to expand the range of mental disorders and tools for their therapy. The nuance of this sphere of studying the psyche of the individual was a rather free interpretation of its aspects even by Freud himself, not to mention his students, followers and opponents. The author of the psychoanalytic theory of development did not have time to finish work on its complete structure on all topics. His followers introduced their innovations to the existing developments.

Basic provisions of the analysis of the psychological state of the individual

The psychoanalytic theory used in the practice of psychiatry and psychology basically contains the following provisions:

• internal, so-called irrational inclinations of a person largely determine his behavior, which affects the experience gained and knowledge of the world around;
• these drives are not realized by a person, that is, they are unconscious;
• psychological resistance to unconscious hobbies leads to the activation of protective mechanisms;
• Events of early childhood play a role in the individual development of a personality;
• Psycho-emotional disorders are based on the opposition of conscious perception of reality and unconscious, repressed material from the memory.

The author of the psychoanalytic theory of development Z. Freud believed that the essence of the help of a specialist is to realize the unconscious - as a release from the influence of unconscious material.

Self Defense

Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality describes the defense mechanisms by which the human psyche copes with various potential problems.

• Replacement - energy and emotions are redirected to a less dangerous object.
• Jet formation is an experience thatin the opinion of the individual is unworthy of him, is suppressed, and then replaced by the exact opposite feeling.
• Compensation - an unconscious attempt to cope with real or imagined shortcomings, can be both social and anti-social in nature.
• Repression is the forced transfer to the sphere of the unconscious of those subconscious drives and experiences that pose a threat to self-consciousness.
• Denial - unwillingness to put up with existing reality.
• Projection - the transfer to other people of one's own experiences and qualities that are unacceptable both by society and by the person himself.
• Sublimation - changing unacceptable behaviors and goals into socially acceptable ones.
• Rationalization is otherwise self-justification. The actions committed under the influence of the unconscious person tries to rationally explain.
• Regression - a return to early forms of behavior, as they sometimes say a person falls into childhood. This method of protection is mainly used by immature, infantile people, but in some situations it can also be used by quite normal adults.

But not only Freud's psychoanalytic theory of development contains a description of the defense mechanisms of the psyche. Other psychoanalysts, developing Freud's theory or developing their own projects, expanded the list of self-defense of the individual's psyche, which currently includes about 30 positions.

Stages of psychosexual development

A special place in psychoanalytic theorydevoted to psychosexual development. It was explained on the basis of changes in the biological functioning of the individual that occur with his growing up. Each stage of development has a clear time frame, and the experience gained at each time stage affects the character, values and personality traits. The author of the psychoanalytic theory of child development, Sigmund Freud, identified five stages in the psychosexual development of a child, called phases:

• From the moment of birth to a year and a half, a person lives the so-called oral phase. It is characterized only by desire - Id, since the main instinct is the satisfaction of a natural physiological need, which is expressed in sucking. biting and swallowing.
• At the age of one and a half to three and a half years, the anal phase occurs, during which the Ego (I) is formed - the main requirement is to cope with the physiological need to empty the intestines and bladder in the place designated for this - a pot, a toilet bowl, due to which forms the ability to fulfill the prohibitions of society.
• The period from three and a half to 6 years is characterized by the knowledge of one's body and the understanding of one's gender, which is why it is called the phallic phase. It is during this period that the child may develop the Oedipus complex or the Electra complex.
• A child aged 6-12 develops physically, intellectually, his sexual development is in a lull, so the phase is called latent.
• From the age of 12, the genital phase begins, a characteristic feature of which is puberty, the first experience of sexual activity.

Edges of character

Freud's psychoanalytic theory of development, defining the stages of psychosexual development, stops the attention of psychologists on the character of each person, linking it with one or another phase of personality maturation. The followers of Freud's psychoanalysis developed the concept of character types, linking personality traits with certain stages of psychosexual development. Otto Fenichel - a psychoanalyst known for his concept of the development of neuroses, identified several types of character:

• oral;
• anal;
• urethral;
• phallic;
• genital.

Features of one type or another are positioned by Freud, Fenichel and other psychoanalysts as a connection with the characteristics of the development and upbringing of the child. All psychoanalytic theories of development are based to varying degrees on the work of Freud, taking into account the phases of the psychosexual development of the child from birth to puberty, which have the most direct impact on his character.

Childhood as the basis of growing up

"We all come from childhood" - this famous phrase of the great French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery correctly reveals a person's memories and his attitude to the surrounding reality from the moment of growing up to death. Psychoanalysis says the same thing in a less romantic way, separating the phases of childhood according to the main points of development at each age stage. The author of the psychoanalytic theory of child developmentis a German neurologist, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. It was in his works that the psyche was structured and it was proved that the main influence on the development of a person is exerted by another person, directly related to the upbringing and training of a growing personality. Freud's work in this direction was continued by his daughter Anna. A feature of her work was the decision that the result of the conflict between the internal instinctive drives of the child and the restrictive requirements of the external social environment for him are the facets of the individual's character. The child's psyche develops as a result of the gradual socialization of the child, and at each period the concept is learned that the desired pleasure does not always coincide with the real requirements of society. The task of parents and educators, as well as teachers, is to contribute to a smoother perception of reality, qualitatively conveying certain requirements to the child and instilling skills for living in society in such a way that the child’s psyche does not suffer from a discrepancy between “I want” and “I can”.

Psychoanalytic theory of human development is a long-term work of psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychoanalysts that continues to this day. The scientific beginning was given by Sigmund Freud, continued by his students and followers. Today, some aspects of this teaching cause a lot of controversy, but in many methods of work on the identification and treatment of mental disorders and diseases, the theory of psychoanalysis is successfully used.