Basic
Psychoanalytic &
Psychodynamic
Techniques
Mentoring
CPD & Supervision
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)
Main Theoretical
Assumptions
• Personality Development
– The mind is made up of three
parts the ID, EGO and SUPEREGO.
– 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.
– Adult’s 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.
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).
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.
• .
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).
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
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).
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.
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.
Structure of
the Mind
• Id - a selfish, primitive,
childish, pleasureoriented 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."
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.
Level 1 Defences
• These are termed the
‘psychotic’ defence
mechanisms
– Denial.
– Distortion
– Delusional Projection
– Psychosis - a severe
psychological disorder such
as schizophrenia)
Level 2 Defences
• These mechanisms lessen
distress and anxiety
provoked by threatening
people or by uncomfortable
reality
–
–
–
–
–
Fantasy
Projection
Hypochondriasis
Passive aggression
Idealisation
Level 3 Defences
• These are ‘neurotic’ defences
–
–
–
–
–
–
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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.
Level 4 Defences
• Found amongst emotionally
healthy adults
–
–
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–
–
–
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Altruism
Anticipation
Humour
Identification
Introjection
Sublimation
Suppression
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.
Tools & Techniques
• Unconditional Acceptance
• The symbolic content of
psychotic symptoms
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– 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
Psychodynamics &
Mentoring
• What’s 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
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