Psychodynamic Approache

The psychodynamic approach :

The role of the unconscious: 

The uncocnscious is the part of the mind that we are unaware of but continues to direct much of our behaviour. Bubbling under the surface of the conscious is the preconscious; thoughts & ideas which we may become aware of through dreams and slips of the tongues [parapraxes].

The conscious mind is where we are directly aware of our thoughts and experiences. The preconscious, involves our thoughts, feelings and experiences that we are not directly aware of but can still be accessed. The unconscious mind is where Freud states this is where significant psychic events take place. 

The structure of the personality:

•  ID, primitive part of our personality, focuses on the pleasure principle- gets what it wants. Throughout life, the ID is selfish & demands instant gratitude. 
• EGO, works on the reality principle & is the mediator between the ID & the SUPEREGO. It is developed around the age of 2, its role is to reduce the conflict between demands of the other two. It does this by employing defence mechanisms. 
• SUPEREGO, formed at the end of the phallic stage around the age of 5. It is the internal sense of right & wrong. Based on the morality principle it represents the moral standards of child's same sex parent & punishes the ego for wrong doing. 

Defence Mechanisms: 

• Repression: forcing a distressing memory out of the conscious mind. 
• Denial: refusing to acknowledge some aspects of reality. 
• Displacement: transferring feelings from true source of distressing emotion onto substitue target. 

Pyschosexual…