What Does Psychoanalysis Add to the World of Psychology?
Chandra Johnson
Victory University
WHAT DOES PSYCHOANALYSIS ADD 2 Psychoanalysis was founded by Sigmund Freud (1916-1917). Freud focuses on the unconscious mind on behavior. Freud theories changed how people think about the human mind and behavior which left a huge mark on psychology. Psychoanalysis therapy purpose is to overcome repressed emotions and past experiences. Depression and anxiety disorders are commonly treated by psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis is a school of psychology that deals with the unconscious. Other psychologist like Wundt did not agree with Freud theory because it was unable to apply the method of introspection to the unconscious. “Most people now admit that the Freudian scheme is a brilliant addition to our knowledge of the causes forgetting and of mistakes.”(American Psychological Assoc.) Freud believed that the human mind was composed of three elements: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is the personality component made of unconscious physic energy that works to satisfy basic urges, needs, and desires. “For example, people who are hungry must act to find food if they expect to discharge the tension induced by hunger. Therefore, some functional like between the id’s demands and reality must be established.” (Schultz and Schultz pg 310) The ego is the part of personality that mediates the demands of the id, the superego, and reality. According to Schultz and Schultz, “the ego is aware of reality, manipulates it, and regulates the id accordingly.” (pg 310) The three element of Freud would be the superego. The superego is “the moral aspect of personality derived from internalizing parental and societal values and standards.” (Schultz and Schultz pg 310) Psychoanalysis subject matter is psychopathology, or abnormal behavior, relatively neglected by other schools of thought. So many of the schools of psychology deals with WHAT PSYCHOANALYSIS ADD 3 controlled laboratory experimentation where psychoanalysis primary deals with clinical observation. There are three major sources of influence on psychoanalysis that are key points in psychoanalysis. One would be philosophical speculations about unconscious psychological phenomena. The second source would be the early ideas about psychopathology, and the last source is evolutionary. The beginning of psychoanalysis came from The Studies on Hysteria which was published by Freud and Brewer. Even though this book was a reflection of psychoanalysis Freud did not use the word psychoanalysis until years later. Psychoanalysis opened a new view on mental illness, which suggests a person could help relieve symptoms of psychological distress by talking with a professional. This is one assumption I find to be true since it helped me to cope with my hidden secret of being molested as a child by my grandfather and other family members. I was not able to discuss the incident without getting upset or experiencing a major headache until I seek professional help. The more I talked about my childhood experiences the better I felt and the clearly my understanding became to why I felt and acted the way I did as a young adult. Not only did it help me to move forward in my life it also answered questions I would able to before. Psychoanalysis deals with the unconscious of the mind, which is the stage where in when dreaming. Now that I have began to talk about my childhood problems I can understand some of the dreams I use to have of an old man changing me. Once a person analyze his or her dreams it become conscious and that person can then began to understand the unconscious thought. For me once I began to talk about being molested I began to repressed conflicts to consciousness and it was then I began to overcome by depression about what I was feeling.
WHAT PSYCHOANALYSIS ADD 4
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