Theory of PSYCHOANALYSIS of Sigmund FREUD

In this lesson from a TEACHER we offer you a brief summary of Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis, neurologist of Austrian origin and one of the greatest thinkers of the last century. At first he was interested in the treatment of hypnosis to cure hysteria, and next to Breuer develops the cathartic method. But he little by little he abandons these methods for the dream interpretation and the free association of ideas, giving rise to the psychoanalytic model.

Freud was a brilliant scientist and thanks to his work it was possible to have a greater knowledge of the human psyche. But for many, more than science he was doing philosophy, by rethinking the nature of the human being and ending certain taboos. If you want to know more about the Freud's psychoanalysis, keep reading this article from a TEACHER.

The psychoanalysis is a therapeutic model and a research technique developed by Freud, which aims to treat mental problems, taking into account the childhood patient, their dreams, lapses, as well as the free association of ideas.

In order to Freud, what was relevant when treating mental illnesses was the observation of the patient's behavior, rather than experimentation, and he considered that sexual impulses determine a good part of people's behavior. These tendencies, Freud says, are unconscious, and generally contrary to the social norms.

This model of therapy takes as a starting point the dream interpretation, words, performances, hallucinations... of the patient, which are interpreted based on the free association of ideas. A) Yes, Freud, will use the psychoanalysis to explain the mental processes of human beings and for the treatment of hysteria and phobias, among other pathologies.

The basis of this technique is the free association of ideas. The professional asks the patient to talk about everything that goes through his head, both things coherent as those that are not so, but without any type of criticism, since that would only give way to the endurance.

For his part, the psychoanalyst must follow a pattern seriess for therapy to work:

• Hear attentively everything that the patient says, without paying more attention to some things than to others, letting his unconscious flow, and in such a way that his personal motivations do not influence him. “ANDThe analyst must listen and ignore whether he notices anythingor”.
• Have an attitude neutral against the hot flashes and manifestations of the patient. You should not enter into lawsuits or give advice to the sick person. In Freud's words “not granting a priori preferential importance, by virtue of theoretical prejudices, to a certain fragment or to a certain type of signification”.
• Should not do concessions to the patient: the professional "does not meet the demands of the patient or play the roles that the patient tends to impose on them”.

Traditionally, two Freudian topics are discussed: the first is the one that distinguishes between the unconscious, preconscious and conscious, and the second difference between the it, the me, the superego.

First topic: conscious, preconscious and unconscious

• The aware it is the place of thoughts, emotions and acts related to internal and external perception, through the senses and in the present moment.
• The unconscious refers to all non-conscious contents, generally repressed, that want to emerge into consciousness.
• The preconscious It includes those contents that are unconscious but that can become conscious, for example, with hypnosis techniques.

Second topic: the id, the ego and the superego

• The It It is the most primal part of the human personality and the one that sustains the ego and the superego. It has to do with people's own nature, what they have inherited, and represents the original impulses, or drives. These are the basis of thought and behavior, responding to the pleasure principle (as opposed to the reality principle).
• The Superego it is the room that is opposed to it and is a product of culture, representing culturally inherited ethical and moral values. This, in turn, divides between the "moral conscience" or the capacity for criticism, and the "ideal of the self" or idealized self-image and composed of approved and, therefore, rewarded behaviors.
• The Me it constitutes the action of the id transformed by the principle of reality and is formed to be able to satisfy its own desires, but without this clashing with the demands of the superego.

Other contributions of psychoanalysis are defense mechanisms, the theory of drives as the basis of the human behavior and its importance within libidinal development or the theory of sexual development of the boy.