Psychoanalysis

Theory of MindAriam Gatpo PGI-VMMCPsychoanalysisone of the fundamental disciplines within psychiatry

role of meaning was also central to Freud's vision of psychoanalysis

symptoms, thoughts, feelings, and behavior could all be viewed as the final common pathways of meaningful psychological processes, many of which were unconscious.

PsychoanalysisEven when biological factors influence the pathogenesis of a disorder, the symptoms nevertheless have psychological meaning to the person

Example: auditory hallucinations, biological mechanisms may produce the symptom, but the content of that symptom and its meaning to the patient relate to specific psychological characteristics unique to that patient.Structural TheoryId

Superego

Ego

Topographical Model of the MindConscious (cs)-the part of the mind that interacts with the external world, and which can reflect on itself.

Pre-conscious (pcs)-the part of the mind in which thoughts, feelings and ideas are being prepared for outward expression. Can be brought to attention.---------------------------------------------------------------Unconscious (ucs)-governed by the pleasure principle. The cauldron of wishes, desires and fears that make up the bulk of our mind.The conscious system in Freud's topographical model is the part of the mind in which perceptions coming from the outside world or from within the body or mind are brought into awareness. Consciousness is a subjective phenomenon whose content can be communicated only by means of language or behavior. Freud assumed that consciousness used a form of neutralized psychic energy that he referred to as attention cathexis, whereby persons were aware of a particular idea or feeling as a result of investing a discrete amount of psychic energy in the idea or feeling

The preconscious system is composed of those mental events, processes, and contents that can be brought into conscious awareness by the act of focusing attention. Although most persons are not consciously aware of the appearance of their first-grade teacher, they ordinarily can bring this image to mind by deliberately focusing attention on the memory. Conceptually, the preconscious interfaces with both unconscious and conscious regions of the mind. To reach conscious awareness, contents of the unconscious must become linked with words and thus become preconscious. The preconscious system also serves to maintain the repressive barrier and to censor unacceptable wishes and desires.

The UnconsciousThe unconscious system is dynamic. Its mental contents and processes are kept from conscious awareness through the force of censorship or repression and it is closely related to instinctual drives. At this point in Freud's theory of development, instincts were thought to consist of sexual and self-preservative drives, and the unconscious was thought to contain primarily the mental representations and derivatives of the sexual instinct.The content of the unconscious is limited to wishes seeking fulfillment. These wishes provide the motivation for dream and neurotic symptom formation. This view is now considered reductionist.

The unconscious system is characterized by primary process thinking, which is principally aimed at facilitating wish fulfillment and instinctual discharge. It is governed by the pleasure principle and, therefore, disregards logical connections; it has no concept of time, represents wishes as fulfillments, permits contradictions to exist simultaneously, and denies the existence of negatives. The primary process is also characterized by extreme mobility of drive cathexis; the investment of psychic energy can shift from object to object without opposition. Memories in the unconscious have been divorced from their connection with verbal symbols. Hence, when words are reapplied to forgotten memory traits, as in psychoanalytic treatment, the verbal recathexis allows the memories to reach consciousness again.The contents of the unconscious can become conscious only by passing through the preconscious. When censors are overpowered, the elements can enter consciousness.

The conscious system in Freud's topographical model is the part of the mind in which perceptions coming from the outside world or from within the body or mind are brought into awareness. Consciousness is a subjective phenomenon whose content can be communicated only by means of language or behavior. Freud assumed that consciousness used a form of neutralized psychic energy that he referred to as attention cathexis, whereby persons were aware of a particular idea or feeling as a result of investing a discrete amount of psychic energy in the idea or feeling

The preconscious system is composed of those mental events, processes, and contents that can be brought into conscious awareness by the act of focusing attention. Although most persons are not consciously aware of the appearance of their first-grade teacher, they ordinarily can bring this image to mind by deliberately focusing attention on the memory. Conceptually, the preconscious interfaces with both unconscious and conscious regions of the mind. To reach conscious awareness, contents of the unconscious must become linked with words and thus become preconscious. The preconscious system also serves to maintain the repressive barrier and to censor unacceptable wishes and desires.

The UnconsciousThe unconscious system is dynamic. Its mental contents and processes are kept from conscious awareness through the force of censorship or repression and it is closely related to instinctual drives. At this point in Freud's theory of development, instincts were thought to consist of sexual and self-preservative drives, and the unconscious was thought to contain primarily the mental representations and derivatives of the sexual instinct.The content of the unconscious is limited to wishes seeking fulfillment. These wishes provide the motivation for dream and neurotic symptom formation. This view is now considered reductionist.

The unconscious system is characterized by primary process thinking, which is principally aimed at facilitating wish fulfillment and instinctual discharge. It is governed by the pleasure principle and, therefore, disregards logical connections; it has no concept of time, represents wishes as fulfillments, permits contradictions to exist simultaneously, and denies the existence of negatives. The primary process is also characterized by extreme mobility of drive cathexis; the investment of psychic energy can shift from object to object without opposition. Memories in the unconscious have been divorced from their connection with verbal symbols. Hence, when words are reapplied to forgotten memory traits, as in psychoanalytic treatment, the verbal recathexis allows the memories to reach consciousness again.The contents of the unconscious can become conscious only by passing through the preconscious. When censors are overpowered, the elements can enter consciousness.

* The preconscious has been deleted for the sake of simplicity

The conscious system in Freud's topographical model is the part of the mind in which perceptions coming from the outside world or from within the body or mind are brought into awareness. Consciousness is a subjective phenomenon whose content can be communicated only by means of language or behavior. Freud assumed that consciousness used a form of neutralized psychic energy that he referred to as attention cathexis, whereby persons were aware of a particular idea or feeling as a result of investing a discrete amount of psychic energy in the idea or feeling

The preconscious system is composed of those mental events, processes, and contents that can be brought into conscious awareness by the act of focusing attention. Although most persons are not consciously aware of the appearance of their first-grade teacher, they ordinarily can bring this image to mind by deliberately focusing attention on the memory. Conceptually, the preconscious interfaces with both unconscious and conscious regions of the mind. To reach conscious awareness, contents of the unconscious must become linked with words and thus become preconscious. The preconscious system also serves to maintain the repressive barrier and to censor unacceptable wishes and desires.

The UnconsciousThe unconscious system is dynamic. Its mental contents and processes are kept from conscious awareness through the force of censorship or repression and it is closely related to instinctual drives. At this point in Freud's theory of development, instincts were thought to consist of sexual and self-preservative drives, and the unconscious was thought to contain primarily the mental representations and derivatives of the sexual instinct.The content of the unconscious is limited to wishes seeking fulfillment. These wishes provide the motivation for dream and neurotic symptom formation. This view is now considered reductionist.

The unconscious system is characterized by primary process thinking, which is principally aimed at facilitating wish fulfillment and instinctual discharge. It is governed by the pleasure principle and, therefore, disregards logical connections; it has no concept of time, represents wishes as fulfillments, permits contradictions to exist simultaneously, and denies the existence of negatives. The primary process is also characterized by extreme mobility of drive cathexis; the investment of psychic energy can shift from object to object without opposition. Memories in the unconscious have been divorced from their connection with verbal symbols. Hence, when words are reapplied to forgotten memory traits, as in psychoanalytic treatment, the verbal recathexis allows the memories to reach consciousness again.The contents of the unconscious can become conscious only by passing through the preconscious. When censors are overpowered, the elements can enter consciousness.

7The IdReservoir of unorganized instinctual drives

The home of our sexual and aggressive urges.

Lacks capacity to delay/modify instinctual drives

Fully unconscious, although the unconscious is not fully id.

the dark inaccessible part of our personality...We approach the id with analogies: we call it chaos, a cauldron full of seething excitation.

The SuperegoBoth conscience and punisher.

Moral conscience based on complex system of ideals and values internalized from parents

Agency that provides ongoing scrutiny of a persons behavior, thoughts and feelings; comparison w/ expected standard of behavior

Largely unconscious

The seat of moral expectations and regulation of self-esteem associated with meeting those expectations.

Identification & moral development

The SuperegoEgo ideal is a component of superego prescribes what a person should do according to intenalized standards and values

The superego is an agency that dictates what a person should not do.

The seat of moral expectations and regulation of self-esteem associated with meeting those expectations.

Identification & moral development

The EgoSpans conscious, preconscious and unconscious

Logical thinking, abstract thinking, and verbal expressions assoc. w/ conscious and preconscious

Executive organ of the psyche

Controls motility, perception, contact with reality, defense mechanisms to delay/ modulate expression of drive

has an integrative function & provides psychological cohesion

mediates between the Id and the Superego

The (non-unitary) Executive.

The EgoResult of the impact of the external world on the drives

Substitutes the reality principle for the pleasure principle

has an integrative function & provides psychological cohesion

mediates between the Id and the Superego

The (non-unitary) Executive.

Post-Freudian Ego PsychologyAnna Freud elaborated the mechanisms that the ego uses to maintain homeostatis, and mediate the impingements from inside (the id, the ucs ego, the superego) and outside (unacceptable reality).

Heinz Hartmann developed a theory of the mechanisms of the ego that are independent of psychodynamics, and inherent in the mental structure from birth.How does the ego develop?Ego development occurs as result of:meeting basic needsidentification with otherslearningmastery of developmental taskseffective problem-solvingsuccessful copingThe ego develops capacities to function in the world, known as ego functions Enable people to function in coherent, organized mannerEgo DefensesThe defensive methods so far discovered by analysis all serve a single purposethat of assisting the ego in its struggle with its instinctual life. They are motivated by the three principle types of anxiety to which the ego is exposedinstinctual anxiety, objective anxiety and anxiety of conscience. In addition, the mere struggle of conflicting impulses suffices to set the defence-mechanisms in motion.--Anna Freud, The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defence