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Psychodynamic therapies

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1) Psychodynamic therapies focus on accessing the unconscious mind through techniques like free association, word association, and dream interpretation. 2) The psychodynamic approach believes that psychological disorders stem from unconscious conflicts, often related to unresolved issues from childhood. Treatments therefore aim to reveal the unconscious and lift defense mechanisms. 3) Key psychodynamic treatments include psychoanalysis, which uses free association, word association, and dream analysis to gain insight into unconscious material from childhood. Psychoanalysis can be an effective long-term therapy but also carries risks of planting false memories.

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Psychodynamic Therapies/Treatments •Free Association •Word Association •Dream Interpretation
Quick recap of the psychodynamic approach – what can you remember? Unconscious processes Intra-psychic conflict – EGO fails to balance the demands of the ID and the SUPEREGO Overuse of defence mechanisms – Failure to deal with an event can cause anxiety Fixation at a psychosexual stage – Stuck due to over/under indulgence at a stage
If the psychodynamic approach believes that all abnormalities are the result of unconscious processes– what treatments do you think the approach would use to treat disorders? (Or, what would the treatments focus on ?) Accessing the unconscious!!!
Psychoanalysis – how it works Used for OCD, phobias, general anxieties • Revealing the unconscious • Lifting defence mechanisms • Focus on childhood experiences • NOT cure to ASSIST coping with unconscious conflicts •It is a long-term therapy – some patients will meet with their analysand 4/5 times a week for years – it is not quick or cheap!
3 main psychodynamic treatments 1. Free Association Express anything 2. Word Association Response to stimulus word 3. Dream Analysis Investigating the symbolism in dreams
Free association Client is encouraged to express anything that comes to their mind Therapist is to identify thoughts extending back into the client’s (Analysand’s) childhood Client mustn’t hold back Aim is to lower ego defence mechanisms to gain access to unconscious material
Word association Client is read a list of words – one at a time Client is asked to reply with whatever comes instantly to mind The therapist pays attention to unusual responses, hesitation and mind blanks The above indicate that repression has taken place in the past
Dream Analysis Dreams are the royal road to the unconscious Manifest content – actual dream content Latent content – meaning of dream Dreams are symbolic- e.g. Snake, train, sword = penis Tunnel, cupboard = vagina Symbols might highlight information regarding psychosexual development
Psychoanalysis – is it any good as a treatment? Yes and no… + Bergin (1971) psychoanalysis can be effective + Case study evidencing patient recovery after psychoanalysis - Can plant ‘false memories’
Psychoanalysis is effective For example, Bergin (1971) found that 80% of clients benefitted from psychoanalysis compared to 65% with other therapies This is positive because it suggest, compared to other therapies, psychoanalysis can be useful
Case study evidence For example, Anna O suffered from hysterical paralysis and once Freud made her unconscious thoughts conscious she was cured but later spent time in insitutions. This is weakness as whilst psychoanalysis is a very powerful treatment it doesn’t appear to have long-term effects
False Memories For example, research by Loftus (1975) shows that retrospective memory is prone to bias/inaccuracy A weakness because instead of helping patients to recover ‘repressed’ memories, therapists might be planting ‘false’ memories, meaning the therapy is unlikely to work.

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Psychodynamic therapies

  • 1. Psychodynamic Therapies/Treatments •Free Association •Word Association •Dream Interpretation
  • 2. Quick recap of the psychodynamic approach – what can you remember? Unconscious processes Intra-psychic conflict – EGO fails to balance the demands of the ID and the SUPEREGO Overuse of defence mechanisms – Failure to deal with an event can cause anxiety Fixation at a psychosexual stage – Stuck due to over/under indulgence at a stage
  • 3. If the psychodynamic approach believes that all abnormalities are the result of unconscious processes– what treatments do you think the approach would use to treat disorders? (Or, what would the treatments focus on ?) Accessing the unconscious!!!
  • 4. Psychoanalysis – how it works Used for OCD, phobias, general anxieties • Revealing the unconscious • Lifting defence mechanisms • Focus on childhood experiences • NOT cure to ASSIST coping with unconscious conflicts •It is a long-term therapy – some patients will meet with their analysand 4/5 times a week for years – it is not quick or cheap!
  • 5. 3 main psychodynamic treatments 1. Free Association Express anything 2. Word Association Response to stimulus word 3. Dream Analysis Investigating the symbolism in dreams
  • 6. Free association Client is encouraged to express anything that comes to their mind Therapist is to identify thoughts extending back into the client’s (Analysand’s) childhood Client mustn’t hold back Aim is to lower ego defence mechanisms to gain access to unconscious material
  • 7. Word association Client is read a list of words – one at a time Client is asked to reply with whatever comes instantly to mind The therapist pays attention to unusual responses, hesitation and mind blanks The above indicate that repression has taken place in the past
  • 8. Dream Analysis Dreams are the royal road to the unconscious Manifest content – actual dream content Latent content – meaning of dream Dreams are symbolic- e.g. Snake, train, sword = penis Tunnel, cupboard = vagina Symbols might highlight information regarding psychosexual development
  • 9. Psychoanalysis – is it any good as a treatment? Yes and no… + Bergin (1971) psychoanalysis can be effective + Case study evidencing patient recovery after psychoanalysis - Can plant ‘false memories’
  • 10. Psychoanalysis is effective For example, Bergin (1971) found that 80% of clients benefitted from psychoanalysis compared to 65% with other therapies This is positive because it suggest, compared to other therapies, psychoanalysis can be useful
  • 11. Case study evidence For example, Anna O suffered from hysterical paralysis and once Freud made her unconscious thoughts conscious she was cured but later spent time in insitutions. This is weakness as whilst psychoanalysis is a very powerful treatment it doesn’t appear to have long-term effects
  • 12. False Memories For example, research by Loftus (1975) shows that retrospective memory is prone to bias/inaccuracy A weakness because instead of helping patients to recover ‘repressed’ memories, therapists might be planting ‘false’ memories, meaning the therapy is unlikely to work.