Counseling and Psychotherapy Theory

. Psychodynamic Approach I: Freud’s Drive

Theory
Contents
1 Major Concepts and Propositions
1 Drive 3 Anxiety and Defense Mechanisms
2 Consciousness Levels
4 Personality Development
and Personality Structure
2 Change Mechanisms & Intervention Methods
1 Moving from the Problem State to the Changed State
2 Strategies and Techniques

3 Theory’s Current State and Prospect

1 Current State and Prospect

2 Implications
 Ⅰ . Major Concepts and Propositions

1 Drive
1 Overview
2 Drive
 Overview
Started from Freud

Conditions of the
Psychodynamic Approach

Unconsciousn Determinis
ess m

Freud
Overview

Conditions of the Psychodynamic Approach

Unconsciousness

• Unconscious contents
- Secret contents that are embarrassing to reveal
• Unconscious process
- Process of getting anxious when something is about to
get revealed
- Process of doing various things to avoid anxiety-provoking
situations
Overview

Conditions of the Psychodynamic

Approach
Determinism
• Experiences during early developmental stages
determine the characteristics of adulthood
- What makes one become particularly anxious
- What one does to avoid anxiety
Overview

Caus
e

effect
variable
Drive

Meaning
= Drive, Instinct
Biological, psychological energy that moves towards a goal

Evolutionary perspective
Every living organism has the energy to move toward
‘preserving its gene’
Drive

Meaning
2 types of drive
(Freud)
• Breathing, eating, drinking, excreting
Self-preservation
Preservation of species • Having sex

Libido
Psychological energy that stem from sexual drive
Drive

Summary
• Humans have the ‘energy’ to pursue something
- Moving toward food : energy to pursue survival
- Desire to ‘attack’ when someone tries to harm me : energy to survive
- Flaring up when someone ignores me : energy to pursue respect
- Feeling hurt when losing a good relationship : energy to maintain relationship
• Freud considered ‘sexual drive’ to be the most important

Points to learn
• When w e understand human drive and desires, w e can understand
the meaning behind specific human behaviors.
• Understanding the hidden meaning behind opposite behaviors =>
Enables an integrated understanding
 Ⅰ . Major Concepts and Propositions

2 Consciousness Levels and Personality Structure

1 Levels of Consciousness
2 Personality Structure
Levels of Consciousness

“The mind is like an iceberg,

it floats with one-seventh
of its bulk above water.”
- Sigmund Freud
-
 Levels of Consciousness

Levels Meaning Example

–Recognizable vision,
conscious –What w e are aware of at a certain point in time tactile sensation,
thought

–Conversation with
–Memories about an event or experience
preconscious friends
–Can be drawn out with some effort
–Food for lunch

–A ‘container’ that holds memories, emotions,

desires, motives that are pushed away from the –Automatic behavior
conscious domain –Way of forming
unconscious –Unconscious motives are difficult to become
relationships
aware of –Various mistakes
–But are revealed through thoughts and
behaviors
Levels of Consciousness

Summary
• Human's inner world is divided into the conscious,
preconscious, and unconscious

Points to learn
• There are more contents and processes that are
being processed in the unconscious domain.
Personality Structure

Superego
• The voice of social conscience
• Appears as moral standards, and values.
• Reflects parental and societal standards
• Spread out in all areas of unconscious, preconscious,
and conscious
• At times, interferes with experiencing natural desires
• At times, interferes with realistic efforts toward goals
Personality Structure

Ego
• Intervenes between id and superego.
• Enables realistic, rational thinking
through reality check, future planning,
logical thinking
• Spread out in all areas of unconscious,
preconscious, and conscious
• Delays gratification and pleasure
principle → secondary process
Personality Structure

I
d
• Uncensored biological energy.
• Looks for pleasure only and seeks to
reduce pain → primary process
• No conscious awareness
• Comprise of unconscious
response/information processing only
• Basically an unconscious domain
Personality Structure

Summary
• Personality structure can be classified into id, ego, and
superego
• At times, conflicts arise among them
• Especially between id and superego

Points to learn
• The conflict (awareness of sexual desire) triggers
anxiety
 Ⅰ . Major Concepts and Propositions

3 Anxiety and Defense

Mechanisms
1 Anxiety

2 Defense Mechanisms
Anxiety

Meaning
• a warning signal that tells us that there is a danger and that
w e need to do something about that danger

Realistic

Anxiety Neurotic

Moral
 Anxiety

Types of Anxiety
Types Meaning Example
Realistic • Source = external world • When a stranger follows
Anxiety • Appropriate in the given situation you at night

• Source = internal world • When doing something

Moral
• Occurs when worrying about violating your parents told you not
Anxiety
parents’ or society’s moral standards to do

• Source = internal world

• Occurs when worrying about getting • When sexual desire that
Neurotic punished by a parent or an authority was in the unconscious is
Anxiety figure for not controlling one’s emotions about to be revealed
or drive (id)
Anxiety

Note
Unconscious nature of anxiety

– Unconsciously/automatically stimulates reflex behavior,

rigid thinking, tense muscles, etc.
Anxiety

Summary
• Freud emphasized ‘anxiety’ (as the stimulant that
triggers problematic symptoms)
• Classified into realistic, moral, and neurotic anxiety
• Client problems are usually related to neurotic
anxiety
Defense Mechanisms

Meaning
Various mechanisms e g o uses in order to deal with anxiety
Defense Mechanisms

Functions
Unconsciously denies or distorts reality
Helps us not to confront the ‘anxiety’ that is triggered in a specific
situation
When used frequently, constantly, regardless of the reality, it
develops a pattern of avoiding the reality => beginning of
client problems (pathological)
Defense Mechanisms(Types)
Pushing away painful or unacceptable
Memory loss about a traumatic
Repression experience, impulse, thought, memory,
Type or emotion from the consciousness event; Dissociation of pain

s When a family member dies

Similar to repression. Distorting and not
from an accident, one denies
Denial being aware of a thought, feeling, or
the occurrence of the accident
even sight
or the death of the member

Reaction Behaving in the extreme opposite Being overly nice to someone

way from one’s actual desire you hate
Formatio
n
A father who feels sexually
Attributing unacceptable emotions attracted to his daughter but
Projection
or thoughts onto another person claims that the daughter
seduced him
 Defense Mechanisms
You feel threatened by your boss, but
Pouring your emotions onto a
you go take out that anger upon your
Type
Displacement
relatively safer person
child at home.
s The reversion to an earlier stage A child who is going to school for the
Regression of development in an anxiety- first time becomes overly clingy and
provoking situation. exhibit baby-like behaviors.

Making excuses to reduce the A student who screwed up on his test

Rationalization anxiety felt in embarrassing claims that the test was too hard or
situations. unfair.

When a family member dies, you fall

Dealing with emotional issues
into deep thoughts about the
Intellectualization indirectly through abstract
meaning of life and death instead of
thinking.
feeling the pain of loss.
 Defense Mechanisms

Type
s
Sublimation

Defense
Mechanisms
Identificatio
n
Introjectio
n
〮
〮
Human attempts to deny/distort the reality, or block or control painful internal
experiences such anxiety or fear, instead of confronting the reality or anxiety.
Defense Mechanisms

Summary/Points to learn

• Anxiety triggers defense mechanisms

• When reviewing defense mechanisms, there are anxieties other than those
caused by sexual desires.
• There are many different types of defense mechanisms.
• Defense mechanisms form patterns or symptoms of problematic behaviors.
• All of them are ways to deal with anxiety.
• They are all formed unconsciously inside of individual's inner world.
• We don't face the reality or anxiety; instead, w e deal with anxiety through
denying the reality or distorting or blocking our inner experiences.
 Ⅰ . Major Concepts and Propositions

4 Personality Development

1 Personality Development Models

• Personality Development Models

At each stage, there are clearly revealed needs or tasks, and they
must be resolved at each time point…

Adequately met or Unrealistically overly

Not met
adequately frustrated met
 Personality Development Models:- Assumption
At each stage, there are clearly revealed needs or tasks, and they
must be resolved at each time point…

Adequately met or Unrealistically overly

Not met
adequately frustrated met

Maladaptive defense
Flexible, realistic ways to
mechanisms that were
deal with inner anxiety
used to deal with Ways to deal with
are acquired, without
inner anxiety due to anxiety are not acquired
rigid defense
unmet needs become
mechanisms
permanent

Each case develops into different personality type.

Personality Development Models

Comparison of Freud and Erikson

Freud Erikson

explained development explained development in terms

around the fulfillment of of the fulfillment of a person's
a person's sexual needs social needs
 Personality Development Models
Comparison of Freud and Erikson

Period Freud Erikson

• Oral stage : eating, sucking;
• Basic trust vs. mistrust
primary source of fulfillment is
through the mouth • Focused on sufficiently meeting
physical, emotional needs
• Needs unmet : careless,
Birth to inconsistent feeding • Needs met → basic trust
=> adulthood anxiety toward the world/others
1 Year
• Needs overly met : allowing • Needs unmet → deep
overdependence mistrust toward the
world/others
=> adulthood
overdependence
 Personality Development Models

Comparison of Freud and Erikson

Period Freud Erikson
• Autonomy vs. shame (self doubt)
• Anal stage: anus is the • Focused on testing limits,
primary source of pleasure adventure, experiment, exploration,
observing others’ reactions to
• Pleasure of withholding mistake
1~3 feces => interested in
Years cleanliness and • Regardless of mistake, relationship
orderliness needs are met=> autonomy
• Pleasure of passing feces => • Not accepting mistake and
disorganized and excessive anxiety => shame (self
destructive doubt)
Personality Development Models

Comparison of Freud and Erikson

Period Freud Erikson

• Phallic stage: primary • Initiative vs. guilt

source of fulfillment is • Allow selection of meaningful
through the genitals
activities => autonomy
• Sexual love toward (develop positive interest
3~5 mother; hostility toward about self and others)
Years father
• Not allow selection of
• Castration anxiety and meaningful activities => guilt
Oedipus Complex (suppress active attitude; wish
• Excessive identification, others would select for me
guilt, sexual identity instead)
Personality Development Models

Personality development models of Freud &

Erickson
Ages Freud Erikson
6~12 Latent period Industry vs. inferiority

12~18 Identity vs. role confusion

18~35 Genital stage Intimacy vs. isolation

35~60 Generativity vs. stagnation

Over 60 Integrity vs. despair

Personality Development Models

Summary
Significant experiences at each developmental stage affects
the formation of personality.
Experiences up to age 6 are very important.
In case of Freud, experiences at each stage is about dealing
with
sexual desires.
The way a person takes care of his/her libido affects his/her
personality .
Ⅰ I . Change Mechanisms & Intervention Methods

1 Moving from the Problem State to the Changed

State
1 Problem State vs. Changed
State
2
Change Facilitating Factor
Problem State vs. Changed State

Problem State
Unique according to
From the Conflict between the
the situation/
unconscious internal drive and superego
developmental stage
domain

(neurotic) anxiety
occurs

activated
(to deal with anxiety) Previous way (inadequate
defense
defense mechanism is in current situation)
mechanism
activated is maintained, even
becomes rigid
automatically/ though
(formation of
unconsciously the situation has changed
problematic
personality)
Problem State vs. Changed State

Changed State
Having insight and awareness about the
unconscious contents and process
Knowing that the current situation is not the same
as
the past situation
After becoming aware of these things, changes
occur in problem behavior, symptoms, and
personality structures.
Change Facilitating Factor

“awareness about the unconscious contents and process” => insight

• Becoming conscious or aware of unconscious conflict

or anxiety
• Becoming aware of unconscious contents
• Becoming aware of unconscious process
• Knowing that the current situation is not the same as
a past situation
• Despite that, knowing that defense mechanism,
problem behavior, or symptom is occurring over and
over
• Internalizing the new insight and behavior
Change Facilitating Factor

The goal of every strategy and technique

To make the unconscious contents conscious

Interpreting/making conscious the thoughts, imaginations, fantasies

To make the unconscious processes conscious

Recognize one’s response/relationship style with others

Recognize one’s response/relationship style with the
counselor
Ⅰ I . Change Mechanisms & Intervention Methods

2 Strategies and Techniques

1 Free Association and Dream

Analysis
2 Analysis of Transference/resistance and

Utilization of countertransference