Psychodynamic approach the basics free essay sample

They are many theories in psychology that can be used to â€Å"understand† behaviour, two theories I am going to look at are; Psychodynamic approach and the humanistic approach. I will discuss these 2 psychological theories of development and explain how it accounts for the psychological development, health and behaviour of the individual. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was considered the founding father of the psychodynamic approach. Psychodynamic theory is a view that explains personality in terms of conscious and unconscious forces, such as unconscious desires and beliefs, Sigmund Freud proposed a psychodynamic theory according to which personality consists of the id, the superego and the ego (Chegg. (2003). Definition of Psychodynamic Theory. Available: http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/definitions/psychodynamic-theory-13. Last accessed 13th Nov 2013.) Psychodynamic psychologists see behaviour as the result of a compromise between three parts of the psyche (personality). Each person has biological drives (eating, drinking, sex, aggression) from their id. These need to be satisfied but this is prevented by the superego, the moral part of the psyche, which uses anxiety and guilt to prevent us from acting on the id’s impulses. We will write a custom essay sample on Psychodynamic approach: the basics or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Between the two is the ego, which tries to find ways of satisfying the id in a way that the superego will accept and that is in line with reality. This often involves the use of defence mechanisms which convert unconscious impulses into more acceptable forms. For example, with displacement an impulse may be redirected away from its original target onto a more acceptable one (e.g. being angry with your mother but taking it out on your friend) and with sublimation an unacceptable urge (e.g. to masturbate publicly) might be converted into a more acceptable behaviour (e.g. playing guitar in a rock band). (Aidan Sammons . (2007). Psychodynamic approach: the basics. Available: http://www.psychlotron.org.uk/newResources/approaches/AS_AQB_approaches_PsychodynamicBasics.pdf. Last accessed 13th Nov 2013.). Freud believed that when you suppressed an emotion or impulse that it manifested in your unconscious, this would be how Freud explained why people became depressed. The  psychodynamic approach argues that depression will manifest from the unconscious and one particular type of depression would transpire called Anaclitic depression. Anaclitic depression involves a person who feels dependent upon relationships with others and who essentially grieves over the threatened or actual loss of those relationships. Anaclitic depression is caused by the disruption of a caregiving relationship with a primary object and is characterised by feelings of helplessness and weakness. A person with anaclitic depression experiences intense fears of abandonment and desperately struggles to maintain direct physical contact with the need-gratifying object. (Rashmi Nemade. (2007). Psychology of Depression- Psychodynamic Theories. Available: http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=docid=13003cn=5. Last accessed 13th Nov 2013.) Freud believed this was the case because of his work on extensive case studies. One case study in particular was â€Å"little Hans†, â€Å"Hans† developed an unnatural fear towards horses. Freud said that the horse symbolised Hans dad who was trying to take Hans away from his mother, thus relating to anaclitic depression. A care worker with this knowledge would be able to identify the early signs of depression and produce a plan to tackle the issue. The psychodynamic approach would look at the childhood of the patient to try and access the unconscious to identify the problems that are manifesting into depression. Unlike Freud and the psychodynamic approach that concentrated on the unconscious mind, the concern of the humanistic psychologists was to do justice to people’s conscious experience and their role in direction their own lives. The humanistic approach in psychology developed as a rebellion against what some psychologists saw as limitations of the behaviourist and psychodynamic psychology. The humanistic approach is thus often called the â€Å"third force† in psychology after psychoanalysis and behaviourism (Maslow, 1968).( Saul McLeod. (2007). Humanism. Available: http://www.simplypsychology.org/humanistic.html. Last accessed 13th Nov 2013.) Humanism rejected the assumption of the behaviourist perspective which is characterised as deterministic, focused on reinforcement of stimulus-response behaviour and heavily dependent on animal research. Humanistic psychology also rejected the psychodynamic approach because italso is deterministic, with unconscious irrational and ins tinctive forces determining human thought and behaviour. Both behaviourism and psychoanalysis are regarded as dehumanizing by humanistic psychologists. (Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 370-96.) The two most prominent figures in the field of humanistic psychology are Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. Their focus in humanistic psychology was to emphasize that which helps individuals reach self-actualisation (i.e. how to reach ones potential) instead of pathology. Carl Rogers often used questionnaires to assess his clients sense of self. One questionnaire asked clients to indicate what they viewed as their ideal self and as their current (actual) self. Rogers would then determine the amount of discrepancy one had between ones ideal and actual self. While some psychologists described Maslows humanistic work as disagreeing with Freuds psychoanalytic theories, Maslow himself viewed them as a complement to Freudian psychology. His theories focused on wellness while Freuds focused on disease. Maslow was also more well-known than carl rogers, one factor which lead to this was â€Å"Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs†. â€Å"Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs† was a theory in psychology, proposed by Abraham Maslow that uses the terms physiological, safety, belongingness and love, esteem, and self-actualization needs to describe the pattern that human motivations generally move through. (Jackson Irvine. (2013). Introduction to the Humanistic Perspective. Available: https://www.boundless.com/psychology/personality/humanistic-perspective/introduction-to-the-humanistic-perspective/. Last accessed 13th Nov 2013.) Another term associated with the humanistic approach is Positive regard or unconditional positive regard. Unconditional positive regard requires that a counsellor suspends any form of personal judgment, and accepts the client, regardless of the content of any disclosure they may have made. A judgment is made in a very short amount of time, and overcoming this instant reaction can be difficult for many people. A counsellor however, has undergone specific counselling skills training and is able to provide this unconditional form of therapeutic support.( Anna Martin. (2013). Unconditional Positive Regard. Available: http://www.thecounsellorsguide.co.uk/unconditional-positive-regard.html. Last accessed 13th Nov 2013.) The humanistic approach helps to improve a