Week 2

Question 1

libido

Answer 1

The instinctual drives of the id and the source of psychic energy; Freudian notion of the life instincts.

Question 2

life instincts

Answer 2

Instincts oriented toward growth, development, and creativity that serve the purpose of the survival of the individual and the human race.

Question 3

death instincts

Answer 3

A Freudian concept that refers to a tendency of individuals to harbor an unconscious wish to die or hurt themselves or others; accounts for the aggressive drive.

Question 4

Structure of Personality

Answer 4

Id - ruled by the pleasure principle
Superego - ruled by the judicial branch
Ego - ruled by the reality principle

Question 5

Anxiety Types

Answer 5

• Anxiety - feeling of dread that results from repressed feelings, memories, desires and experiences that emerge to the surface of awareness
• Reality Anxiety - the fear of danger from the external world and the level of such anxiety is proportionate to the degree of real threat
• Neurotic Anxiety - the fear that the instincts will get out of hand and cause the person to do something for which she or he will be punished
  Moral Anxiety - the fear of ones own conscience

Question 6

Ego-Defense Mechanisms

Answer 6

Repression, Denial, Reaction Formation, Projection, Displacement, Rationalization, Sublimation, Regression, Introjection, Identification, Compensation

Question 7

Psychosexual Stages

Answer 7

Oral
Anal
Phallic

Question 8

Psychsocial Stages

Answer 8

Crisis
Classical Psychoanalysis - id psychology
Comtemporary Psychoanalysis - ego psychology

Question 9

transference relationship

Answer 9

The transfer of feelings originally experienced in an early relationship to other important people in a person’s present environment.

Question 10

free association

Answer 10

.

Question 11

Psychodynamic therapy

Answer 11

Psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy involves a shortening and simplifying of the lengthy process of psychoanalysis.

Question 12

relational analysis

Answer 12

An analytic model based on the assumption that therapy is an interactive process between client and therapist. The interpersonal analyst assumes that countertransference is a source of information about the client’s character and dynamics.

Question 13

Transference

Answer 13

The client’s unconscious shifting to the therapist of feelings and fantasies, both positive and negative, that are displacements from reactions to significant others from the client’s past.

Question 14

countertransference

Answer 14

The therapist’s unconscious emotional responses to a client that are likely to interfere with objectivity; unresolved conflicts of the therapist that are projected onto the client.

Question 15

Interpretation

Answer 15

A technique used to explore the meanings of free association, dreams, resistances, and transference feelings.

Question 16

Dream analysis

Answer 16

A technique for uncovering unconscious material and giving clients insight into some of their unresolved problems. Therapists participate with clients in exploring dreams and in interpreting possible meanings.

Question 17

Latent content

Answer 17

Our hidden, symbolic, and unconscious motives, wishes, and fears.

Question 18

Manifest content

Answer 18

The dream as it appears to the dreamer.

Question 19

dream work

Answer 19

The process by which the latent content of a dream is transformed into the less threatening manifest content.

Question 20

Resistance

Answer 20

The client’s reluctance to bring to awareness threatening unconscious material that has been repressed.

Question 21

analytical psychology

Answer 21

An elaborate explanation of human nature that combines ideas from history, mythology, anthropology, and religion.

Question 22

Freud’s view of human nature

Answer 22

According to Freud, behaviour is determined by irrational forces, unconscious motivations, and biological and instinctual drives. Freud’s view was that the major challenge of human life was to manage these instincts, or drives, and that our personality develops through this struggle and is reflected in the way in which we satisfy a range of urges stemming from these basic impulses:

'Life instincts' are those essential to human survival, growth, development, and creativity, as well as sexual energy and all pleasurable acts (libido), that promote constructive behaviours
'Death instincts' are those related to aggressive tendencies and destructiveness.

Question 23

Structure of personality

Answer 23

The psychoanalytic model of personality assumes three separate but integrated aspects of personality. Each of these make their own contribution to thoughts, feelings, and behaviour, but operate as an integrated whole, rather than as three discrete segments. Conflicts between these systems are seen to be the cause behind many of the issues we may face, with each system striving for control over the limited psychic energy and resources available.

Id—The Demanding Child: Ruled by the pleasure principle, which seeks to reduce tension, avoid pain, gain pleasure, and satisfy instinctual urges. Centred in the unconscious, the id is the primary source of psychic tension and is demanding, insistent, illogical, amoral, and unable to tolerate tension.
Ego—The Traffic Cop: Ruled by the reality principle, which seeks to mediate conflicts arising between the id, superego, and the real world through its rational and intelligent thinking. Whilst some aspects of the ego remain unconscious (e.g., defences), the ego remains in contact with reality and distinguishes between mental images and the external world, whilst governing, controlling, and regulating personality.
Superego—The Judge: Ruled by the moral principle, which seeks to suppress the impulses of the id and operates on internalised rules of society passed from parent to child. These internalised values and ideals create the individual’s moral code and relate to psychological rewards (pride and self-love) and punishments (guilt and inferiority) through a focus on obtaining perfection rather than pleasure.

Personality in the psychoanalytic perspective can be understood like an iceberg.

The conscious level of personality is that which sits above the water and involves everything of which we are currently aware.
The preconscious level is that which sits at the waterline and involves memories and other material of which we are not currently aware but can be brought to the conscious mind with minimal effort.
The unconscious level is that which sits below the waterline and involves the mental processes that are inaccessible to conscious awareness—such as drives, past experiences and memories, and repressed material—but continue to influence thought, feeling, and behaviour and are viewed at the heart of neurotic symptoms and behaviours. All experiences, memories, needs and motivations, and repressed material are stored in the unconscious. The content of the unconscious is inferred from behaviour through dreams (representing unconscious needs); wishes or conflicts; slips of the tongue and forgetting (e.g., a familiar name); posthypnotic suggestions; free association and projective tests; and symbolic content of psychotic symptoms. The goal of therapy is then to not only uncover the unconscious meaning behind symptoms but also to address old patterns that the client may feel the need to cling onto.

Question 24

Anxiety

Answer 24

Anxiety viewed from the perspective of the psychoanalytic approach is a state of tension developing out of conflict between the id, ego, and superego, which creates a feeling of dread when repressed memories, feelings, and desires become conscious. The psychoanalytic perspective identifies three types of anxiety, namely Reality Anxiety (the fear of danger from the external world or environment), Neurotic Anxiety (the fear that the instincts will be uncontrollable and influence the person to do something that will get them into trouble), and Moral Anxiety (the fear of one’s own conscience).

Question 25

Ego-Defense Mechanisms

Answer 25

To cope with anxiety, individuals develop ego-defence mechanisms that both tend to distort or deny reality and operate outside of consciousness. These defences help to prevent the ego from becoming overwhelmed and can be adaptive processes if they do not become a style of life to avoid facing reality. Various forms of defence mechanisms exist, such as repression, denial, reaction formation, projection, displacement, rationalisation, sublimation, regression, introjection, identification, and compensation, and more detail on each can be found in Table 4.1 (section 4-2e of your eText).

Question 26

Development of personality

Answer 26

Development of personality in the psychoanalytic context occurs through a number of psychosexual stages characterised by specific developmental tasks from birth through to adulthood. It was Freud’s view that unresolved stages of development typically led people to seek treatment. In particular, the three early stages of development were believed to be the foundation upon which personality develops, and a child whose needs are not met during these stages may become fixated at that stage and develop psychologically immature behaviour patterns later in life. These stages are as follows:

Oral stage (1st year)—issues of trust in oneself and others; left unresolved can result in low self-esteem, and a fear of loving and forming close relationships
Anal stage (ages 1–3)—issues of recognising and expressing anger; left unresolved can result in the denial of power and sense of autonomy
Phallic stage (ages 3–6)—issues of sexuality and sexual feelings; left unresolved can result in difficulty accepting oneself as a man or woman
Latency stage (ages 6–12)—increased focus on socialisation and forming relationships with others
Genital stage (ages 12–60)—sexual energy transformed into socially acceptable activities, such as making friends, playing sport, being creative, etc.

Question 27

Psychoanalytic Techniques

Answer 27

Free association - Clients are encouraged to say the first thing that comes to mind regardless of its essence to uncover unconscious wishes, conflicts, motivations, or fantasies. The counsellor then uses this process to help uncover any repressed material locked away in the unconscious.

Interpretation - The counsellor seeks to assist the client in uncovering unconscious material by teaching them about the hidden meaning of behaviour revealed through dreams, free associations, resistance and the therapeutic relationship. The client’s ego is thus encouraged to assimilate new material, allowing further identification of repressed material, and the client’s readiness for such interpretation is gauged through their reactions within the therapeutic relationship.

Dream Analysis - Freud believed that dreams were a window into the unconscious mind, as our defences are lowered and repressed feelings more readily come to the surface. By analysing the latent content (hidden, symbolic, and unconscious motives, wishes, and fears) and manifest content (the sexual or aggressive impulses underlying latent content transformed into acceptable content—in other words, the actual content of the dream), counsellors can uncover the disguised meanings expressed, allowing clients to obtain greater insight into their unresolved problems.

Transference and countertransference - Through adopting a psychoanalytic approach to therapy, the counsellor assumes a neutral stance and seeks to foster transference. This process is designed to elucidate unconscious reactions reflecting deep patterns of old experiences through the relationship with the counsellor. By identifying the various negative and positive reactions and feelings to the counsellor, the client is better equipped to understand and resolve past issues and their effect on current relationships or situations.

The act of transference may also provoke conscious conflicts within the counsellor, referred to as countertransference. This relationship may trigger the counsellor’s own conflicts or emotional responses to a client, leading them to respond in an irrational manner. As such, to maintain their objectivity, counsellors must be aware of their countertransference reactions and take appropriate steps to manage these reactions.

Resistance and transference - A key concept to the practice of psychoanalytic therapy is that of resistance, which relates to anything that works against the progress of therapy and hinders change and reflects the client’s reluctance to make conscious previously unconscious material. Acting as a defence mechanism, resistance is utilised to avoid the pain and anxiety they may experience in becoming aware of their repressed feelings and impulses, which can then be identified to assist clients in confronting their conflicts in a realistic manner. This can be extremely valuable in the therapeutic relationship by lessening the possibility that clients will reject the interpretations of the counsellor. However, care must always be taken to ensure that resistance is handled both appropriately and respectfully.

Question 28

Limitations of psychodynamic therapy

Answer 28

Now that you have explored this week’s approach and applied it to two case studies, it is time to consider the limitations of psychodynamic therapy. Remember that for Assignment 2: Essay you will be asked to critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of the two approaches you have chosen in the treatment of a client.

As with any approach, psychoanalysis has a number of limitations despite the contribution to counselling. Traditional approaches are expensive and seen to reflect middle- and upper-class values. In addition, treatment is often quite lengthy, making it less accessible for low-income clients or for people in crisis situations looking for quick and efficient solutions, and may not always be practical. Cultural issues can also present a problem, as these approaches can be considered quite vague, which may not be desirable for those who prefer a more structured, directive, and problem-oriented approach. The influence of the environment also tends to be minimised through psychoanalytic approaches, and may fail to adequately address social, cultural, and political factors contributing to a client’s concerns, instead focusing on personality reconstruction over short-term problems of living. Finally, the subjective nature of theory and techniques used in psychoanalysis requires individual interpretation on the part of the counsellor, leading to the potential for bias through the countertransference process.

Question 29

Ego psychology theorists view therapy in terms of assisting clients in gaining awareness of their defenses and helping them develop better ways of coping with these defenses.

Answer 29

True

Question 30

The analyst listens in a respectful, open-minded way and pays attention to both what is spoken and to what is unspoken.

Answer 30

True

Question 31

Ruled by the pleasure principle—which is aimed at reducing tension, avoiding pain, and gaining pleasure—the ego is illogical, amoral, and driven to satisfy instinctual needs.

Answer 31

False

Question 32

Jung’s analytical psychology is an elaborate explanation of human nature that combines ideas from history, mythology, anthropology, and religion.

Answer 32

True

Question 33

Transference is central to understanding psychodynamic therapy, whereas counter-transference is not.

Answer 33

False

Question 34

Psychoanalytically-oriented therapy can be made appropriate for culturally diverse populations if techniques are modified to fit the settings in which a therapist practices.

Answer 34

True

Question 35

Countertransference is rarely associated with a range of emotionally charged responses such as withdrawal, anger, love, annoyance, powerlessness, avoidance, overidentification, control, and sadness.

Answer 35

False

Question 36

Ego psychology is not part of classical psychoanalysis with the emphasis placed on the vocabulary of id, ego, and superego.

Answer 36

False

Question 37

In classical psychoanalysis, analysts typically avoid engaging in self-disclosure and assume a non-judgmental stance.

Answer 37

True

Question 38

The therapist’s countertransference reactions are abnormal because all therapists should have resolved all conflicts and personal vulnerabilities that could be activated through their professional work while in school.

Answer 38

False

Question 39

A primary aim of psychodynamic approaches is:

Answer 39

fostering of clients’ capacities to solve their own problems.

Question 40

The ‘working through’ process allows clients to complete all of the following except:

Answer 40

repeat and explore conscious events of the past that are pleasant.

Question 41

A key outcome of our own therapy is:

Answer 41

humility.

Question 42

Analytic therapy focuses on __________ that are happening in the moment in the therapy sessions.

Answer 42

feelings, perceptions, and action

Question 43

Current findings of interpersonal neurobiology lend strong support for the psychoanalytic relationship as having a lasting treatment effect with clients who have suffered with histories of:

Answer 43

interpersonal trauma and neglect.

Question 44

Personal therapy and clinical supervision for therapists can be most helpful in better understanding how their internal reactions influence the therapy process and:

Answer 44

how to use these countertransference reactions to benefit the work of therapy.

Question 45

Psychodynamic therapists know the importance of:

Answer 45

when and how to make interpretations; tact and timing are essential for effective interpretations.

Question 46

__________ is an important procedure for uncovering unconscious material and giving the client insight into some areas of unresolved problems.

Answer 46

Dream Analysis

Question 47

__________ is the dream as it appears to the dreamer.

Answer 47

Manifest Content

Question 48

__________ is anything that works against the progress of therapy and prevents the client from producing previously unconscious material.

Answer 48

Resistance

Question 49

Psychodynamic therapists remain alert to all of the following except:

Answer 49

Explore the clients past only.

Question 50

The process by which the latent content of a dream is transformed into the less threatening manifest content is called:

Answer 50

Dream Work

Question 51

The therapeutic relationship is central to all of the following except:

Answer 51

exploration on the part of the therapist.

Question 52

__________ consists of hidden, symbolic, and unconscious motives, wishes, and fears.

Answer 52

Latent conent

Question 53

__________ consists of hidden, symbolic, and unconscious motives, wishes, and fears.

Answer 53

Latent conent

Question 54

The ability of therapists to gain self-understanding and to establish appropriate boundaries with clients is critical in managing and effectively using their:

Answer 54

countertransference reactions.

Question 55

DB - How would Stan’s childhood be relevant to the psychoanalytic perspective?

Answer 55

I’m thinking that Stan’s guarded responses are more akin to neurotic anxiety, in that he is afraid to let his Id direct his behaviour for fear of being punished for an inappropriate response. This aligns better with the responses he experienced from his father. From memory, Moral anxiety is related to our values: when we’re caused to act against those values anxiety wells up because of potential self-punishment. Think of working in an organisation where you are expected to consistently overcharge clients - you’ll need to battle a sense of failing your boss, or failing your values.