Psychodynamic Approach

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Psychodynamic Assumptions

Tripartite personality - Freud said that the made up of ID, EGO and SUPEREGO.

ID is present from birth and is the pleasure principle which is desire and need; this is the impulsive, unconscious part of the mind that demands immediate satisfaction. 
EGO is present from the age of 2 and understands demands of reality and is the rational part of the mind; EGO acts as the referee between the demands of ID and SUPEREGO. 
SUPEREGO is forms from around the age of 5 and represents our sense of what is right and wrong; it develops through the identification with the same sex parent. 

Example in psychology - Criminals are children who do not make the transition from being ID dominant to being EGO dominant. Some children fail to make this transition if they do not have a stable home environment. During the phallic stage of development, the Oedipus complex is resolved by identifying with the same sex parent and taking in their moral stage. If the child internalises the the values of a criminal parent, they will develop a weak superego who has low moral control. 

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Psychodynamic Assumptions

The Unconscious mind - Freud compared to human mind to an iceberg that is divided into 3 parts.

The conscious mind refers to the thoughts we are currently aware of however, it plays a tiny role in our behaviour.
Just below the surface is the pre-conscious mind which contains all of the information we are not currently thinking about however, we can access if we need to.
The unconscious mind contains all of our instincts, unacceptable urges and it drives our passions and fears. Long forgotten memories of personality forming experiences are held here. 

Example in psychology - Ego defence mechanisms are used to deal with the constant conflict within the unconscious mind between the ID and the SUPEREGO. For example, a boy may regress to an earlier development stage if he cannot cope with what he perceives as maternal rejection, after the arrival of a new baby brother. Another defence mechanism is denial; an individual may refusw to admit to an experience of emotion that triggers anxiety; an alcoholic may deny their dependency upon alcohol. 

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Psychodynamic Assumptions

Childhood experiences - it is thought that childhood experiences shape our adult personality and that psychological development in childhood takes place in a series of key stages called psychosexual stages. Each of these stages represents a fixation of libdo (a sexual drive of instinct) on areas of the body. FRUSTRATION or OVER-INDULGENCE during any psychosexual stage can lead to a FIXATION on that stage. 
Example in psychology 
The ORAL STAGE is developed at 1 years; pleasure is gained through the mouth through eating and suckling. FRUSTRATION at this stage will lead to an Orally Aggressive Character who is dominant, aggressive, pessimistic and suspicious. OVER-INDULGENCE in this stage will lead to an Orally Receptive Character who is optimistic, trusting and over-dependent on others. 
The ANAL STAGE is developed between 1-3 years; pleasure is gained from expelling or holding faeces. FRUSTRATION at this stage will lead to an Anal Retentive Character who is neat and orderly. OVER-INDULGENCE in this stage will lead to a Anal Expulsive Character who is messy and disorganised. 
The GENITAL STAGE is developed between 3-6 years; pleasure is gained from genitals. A rivarly develops between child and same sex parent for the affection of other parent: Oedipus complex. To resolve it, child must internalise morals of the same sex parent. If this is not resolved, it leads to a phallic character who is reckless and self assured. 

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Psychodynamic - Relationship Formation

Childhood experiences - Freud suggested that every child goes through psychosexual stages of development and that the experiences gained during these stages will affect their adult personality. If a child becomes fixated on a psychosexual stage, it may affect their ability to form effective romantic relationships with others later on life. For example, if a child experiences over-indulgence in the oral stage, and becomes fixated on this stage, they may develop an Orally Receptive Character. This type of persoanlity means they will be over-dependent on others and potentially too trusting. Thus, this can put strain on a romantic relationship and leave the individual vulnerable.
The phallic stage can be used to justify reaosns behind forming relationships. Freud suggested that little boys experience the Oedipus Complex where they have unconscious desires for their mothers and have a rivalry with their fathers. Freud suggested that if this conflict is resolved, the child will go on to form healthy relationships; if not, they may develop issues i.e homosexuality. 

Ego defence mechanisms - Individual's who have past bad experiences of being in romatic relationships may find that their new relationships cause anxiety and bring back these memories. As a result, individual's may use ego defence mechanisms to cope with this anxiety. For example, a person having an affair may use projection by claiming that their partner is the one having an affair. This defence mechanism protects them from accepting the truth and feeling guilty. Overall, defence mechanisms affect our overall personality and our relationships. 

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Psychodynamic - Apply the assumptions to a variety

Tripartite personality - 

The Unconscious mind

Childhood experiences

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How psychodynamic assumptions apply to Dream Analy

Tripartite personality - Freud suggested that when we are asleep, our ego defences of lowered and ID's wishes and desires are able to emerge within our dreams, disguised in a symbolic form, Dreams are infleunced by libdo desires which tend to sexual or aggressive. Freud said that dreams represent wish fulfilment (unacceptabe desires). Dream analysis aims to decode this and may the unconscious, conscious so that people can gain insight and be cured of their disorder.
The unconscious mind - This assumption suggests that the way we behave is due to emotional drives. Freud said that dreams were the 'royal road to the unconscious' meaning that dreams provide a way of making the unconscious, conscious. The purpose of dream analysis is to decode what the unconscious mind is experessing in the storyline of the dream. Dream analysis aims to make the unconscious, conscious so that people can gain insight into and be cured of of their disorder. 
Childhood experiences - Traumatic experiences that are held in the unconscious mind may be related to current experiences or childhood experiences that are still troubling. These troubles may be presented in dreams as a way of working through traumatic past experiences. During dream analysis, clients are encouraged to see how dreams can help explain their present behaviour and show how their behaviour may be related to childhood experiences, especially those that involve conflict or emotional pain; itallows people to bring repressed memories to light.

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Psychodynamic - Main Components of Dream Analysis

Dreams as wish fulfilment - Freud described dreams as disguised messages that often express repressed wishes and desires the the conscious person would find unacceptable; this was also described as representing 'wish fulfiment.' It was told that these desires are unacceptable to the adult conscious mind and therefore, when we are awake, they are repressed to the unconscious mind. The aim of dream analysis is to decode what the unconscious mind is expressing in the storyline of the dream by making the unconscious conscious in order for clients to gain insight and be cured of their disorder. 

The Nature of Symbolic Dreams - Dreams can carry important messages for the individual. The manifest of the dream is what we remember whereas latent content is the true meaning. The reason that our dreams express desires or anxieites that we may have, in symbolic form, is because the unacceptable desires that is expressed in the dreams would otherwise wake us up. In dream analysis, the client undergoes the help of the analyst to interpret the manifest content and explain the true meaning. The client's encouraged to see how the dream helps to explain present-day behaviour and also how this behaviour may be related to childhood experiences, especially those einvolving conlifct or emotional pain. 

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Psychodynamic - Main Components of Dream Analysis

Dream work - Dream work is the process in which the latent content  (hidden wish) is turned into the manifest content (storyline). 

1. Displacement occurs when the emotional significance of a dream object is separated from its real object or one person is changed into another.
2. Condensation refers to when the detailed contents in a dream contain combined features of two or more people/objects into one.
3. Symbolisation refers to a symbol replaces an action or idea in a dream.
4. Secondary elaboration involves the unconscious mind collecting all the different images to form a logical storyline - this furhter disguises the latent content of the dreams. The material of the dream may be repalced with recent events in the person's life. 

Role of the therapist - The therapist's role is to reverse the dream work process. It is important that when the analyst is helping the client to interpret their dream, they should nto force the interpretation on the client but lead the client to close interpretations. The therapist helps the client to gain insight into how the conflicts in their unconscious are related to their present-day behaviours. This insight should help the client to understand the nature and cause of the conflicts so it can be resolved and them be cured. 

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Effectiveness of Dream Analysis

Methodological issues - Many of the studies for dream analysis are done under controlled conditions and so the nature of the research may be altered. Also, as these studies are conducted in laboratories, in which the patient is wired up; this can affect the authenticity of the scans (e.g. PET scans) being used to analayse the patient = low ecological validity.

Subjective issues - When the therapist interprets the manifest content and analyses the latent content, the interpretation given is heavily reliant upon the therapist's own interpretation. Another subjective issues is that the information given by the dreams is subjective and may not be reliable information. Ultimately, dream analysis is a highly subjective process which goes against the objective, scientific aims of psychology = low internal validity. 

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Ethical issues of Dream Analysis

False-memory syndrome - FMS is a condition in which a person's identity and relationships are affected by strongly believed but false memories of traumatic experiences. As a result, these false memories may come to light during dream analysis, when the therapist claims to have uncovered past traumatic events. Also, the clients may succumb to the belief of the therapist because of their authority figure.
Toon et al suggests that therapists may induce these false memories so that the therapy sessions last longer and the therapist will experience a financial gain. 

Therapist-client relationship - In therapy sessions, the therapist is the one who gives the client advice once the client has given an insight of their dream to the therapist. In this, there is a known power imbalance. Also, patients with depression have a tendency to rely on others more meaning that when the therapist gives the client an interpretation, they may take this more literally and on board more than others. 

Emotional harm - During dream analysis, a therapist may guide their client towards an insight or interpretation that provokes emotionally distressings memories. Although this insight may be neccessary for recovery, the distress caused may be greater than the distress the client is already experiencing as a result of their current issues. Thhis is why it is important for the psychotherapist to warn their clients about this emotional danger, prior to the therapy sessions. 

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Strengths of psychodynamic approach

Strength 1 - "It takes into account the influence of nature and nurture" - For example, Freud claimed that adult personality is the product of innate drives (nature) and childhood experiences (nuture). Innate drives include the psychosexual stages that every child must pass through; frustration or over-indulgence in these stages may lead to a fixation on that stage which can predict adult personalities.
This is a strength as Freud's theory is an interactionist approach which considers the influence of nature and nurture. 

Strength 2 - "It has successful therapeutic applications." Freud's research has had a major impact in understanding the link between childhood development and adult behaviour - For example, psychoanalysis has been widely used to treat mental disorders. Freud was the first to recognise that psycholoical factors such as childhood trauma and unconscious conflicts could be used to explain psychological disorders such as depression and anxiety. 
This is a strength because it highlights childhood as a critical period in development and how it influences who we are and who we will become. 

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Weaknesses of the psychodynamic approach

Weakness 1 - "Freud's theory is determinist" - For example, this is is a determinist viewpoint as it views our personality as determined by forces that we cannot change or have a choice about. This claims that as humans, we have no free will whe it comes to personality and behaviour. 
This is a weakness as we are able to change the way we behave, if we want to. This determinist viewpoint may give people an excuse for their behaviour (I cannot help the way I am) or an excse for their criminal behaviour (It is not my fault). This implies that people are not responsible for their own behaviour. 

Weakness 2 - "It is non-scientific and therefore subjective." Freud's theories cannot be studied scientifically because the unconscious is into observable - For example, Freud's method of interpretation has been criticised because it is subjective.
This is a weakness because the leaves open the possibility of serious misinterpretation or bias. Two therapists may interpret the same evidence in completely different ways. 

For example, Freud's theory that all men have repressed homosexual tendencies, cannot be disproved. If some men were found to have none, Freud would argue that these men are in denial.
This is a weakness because a good theory can be tested to see if it is wrong. 

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