The concept of psychoanalysis is quite comprehensive: firstly, this includes personality theory and psychopathology, and secondly, the method of working with personality disorders, which is based on the analysis of unconscious thoughts and feelings of the subject. Expanding the subject of unconscious human life, Freud in the main provisions of psychoanalysis proposed new concepts and methods of work previously unknown in psychology and psychiatry. Each of his students and followers later brought something of their own to a new direction, so today we have many theories of personality, each of which shows the influence of the founder of psychoanalysis.
Birth and childhood
Today, there is no doubt that any problem with which a person turns to a psychologist or psychiatrist has its roots in early childhood. However, it was Freud who studied this period in detail and revealed the significance of each of his cycles.
In the main provisions of psychoanalysis, special attention is paid to childhood memories: it is there that the individuality that determines the further development of the personality begins to form.
Often negative childhood memories are forced out into the unconscious and firmly forgotten. However, in certain situations, repressed feelings manifest themselves in the form of behavioral patterns for which there is no rational explanation. The contradictions that arise between reality and bursts of the unconscious lead to mental disorders manifested in the form of depression, inexplicable fear, attacks of aggression, etc. Sooner or later, the diagnosis of "neurosis" sounds, and the subject becomes a patient of a psychiatrist ...
At the reception
In accordance with the basic principles of psychoanalysis, our behavior, available positive and negative experience, accumulated knowledge is a direct consequence of subconscious drives. An attempt to control them in the form of withdrawal into the field of consciousness leads to the activation of psychological defense mechanisms, or resistance. The latter can manifest itself in the form of aggression, withdrawal, a change in the topic of conversation and other tricks. However, in order to work out the problem, it is necessary to recognize and identify it.
A competent psychotherapist knows how to work with resistance, so that over time, deeply hidden memories will be realized by the client. Meeting with the past is often an emotional test for the individual, in which case time is needed for adaptation. Sometimes for several meetings a person just needs to cry.
Further, after the problem is named and responded, work begins on its transformation into a task.
Associative row
In the main points of Freud's psychoanalysis, the method of free association occupies one of the key places in working with the patient.
The purpose of the method: the identification in the subconscious of irrational ideas, thought forms, impulses, insights during the voice of the personality of the whole series of images that sweep before her mental gaze.
Freud considered this series of images to be not completely free, but moving in a certain direction and partially conscious. Consciousness allows images to exit, because a person is at this moment in a state of physical and mental relaxation, at which the brain works at a frequency that allows it to touch the deep layers of the unconscious.
Working conditions: the client is on the couch so that the psychoanalyst is not visible to him, and, relaxing, voices everything that sweeps in his head. The psychiatrist carefully captures the entire associative series, having analyzed which, he concludes about the hidden causes underlying the subject's problems.
The three cornerstones of psychoanalysis
We came close to the basic principles of Freud's psychoanalysis, according to which the psyche consists of three components: "I", "Super-I", "It." Otherwise, these formations are called "Ego", "Super-Ego", "Eid".
The first psychic formation, or “I,” is that by which a person identifies himself, establishes connections with the outside world, which he perceives through the prism of his personality; attracting memory functions, it distributes events of the past, captures the present and plans the future. The "I" carries out subconscious protection, being a buffer between the "Super-I" and "It."
The “I” is characterized by a certain strength, and the larger it is, the more pronounced is the person’s ability to plan his life, limit impulses, resistance to outside influence, as well as to independently choose the best option that matches individual characteristics.
For the subject with a weak "I" are directly opposite qualities.
Morality and conscience
In the system of basic provisions of psychoanalysis "Super-I" the role of a moral judge is assigned, which we perceive as conscience, and in case of violations of certain moral principles - as shame.
Each age period is marked by a confrontation of "I" and "Super-I". The “Super-I” component is a drive accumulating attitudes received from parents and then from society.
It should be noted that the principles formed by parents and embedded in our subconscious mind may conflict with attitudes cultivated in society. And this is the cause of intrapersonal conflicts.
Basic instincts
In the basic tenets of psychoanalysis, or Freudianism, instinctual impulses are considered the basic part of the iceberg of the unconscious. It is this hidden part of the psyche that is the driving force of personality behavior.
However, access to consciousness is closed due to the existing protection, which is controlled by the "Super-I". Therefore, the entire cauldron of passions and instinctive impulses, acting through the unconscious, makes the person spend a lot of energy on self-control. And these efforts, being sometimes too excessive, entail mental disorders.
The method of free associations is called upon to identify the cause of mental illness.
Guards
In 1894, Z. Freud published his work “Protective neuropsychoses,” which first mentioned the concept of protective mechanisms, which are given the status of “order guards” in the basic theoretical provisions of psychoanalysis. Having received a certain and not always positive life experience, the subject in the form of the consequences of the experience is overtaken by a depressive state, fear, obsessive experiences, etc. To get rid of these conditions is often not just difficult, but impossible.
And here the very protective mechanisms come into play, the responsibility of which is to protect the psyche from undesirable consequences. In practice, it looks like a person simply “forgets” about an unpleasant event, forcing him into the realm of the unconscious.
However, we know that what is stored in the subconscious has a hidden effect on the behavior and emotional state of the individual. The solution to the problem may be a free association method or a hypnotic effect. Both methods allow you to extract repressed memories from the unconscious.
Compensation mechanism
The next point in the main points of classical psychoanalysis, which Freud considered important, is compensation. The mechanism of its action is as follows: it is common for a person to experience conflicting feelings, but more clearly he is aware of only one side, the one that corresponds to the style of behavior approved by society. An unacceptable style of expression, while continuing to be realized, is nevertheless blocked by a protrusion of the desired behavior for the environment. Outwardly, this may look unnatural: for example, when an older child, noting the attention of parents to a newborn baby, shows too much care for the youngest child, thus wanting to win the approval of significant persons.
A man uses the same mechanism, wanting to compensate for the qualities he lacks, reinforcing his weaknesses.
Let us briefly list the main provisions of psychoanalysis regarding the defense mechanism of the unconscious:
- One common way to compensate is denial. In this case, information is not allowed into consciousness, so there is simply nothing to squeeze out into the region of the unconscious.
- The projection method, or transfer. It is observed in cases when certain personality traits are projected onto another subject or another object. Psychologists often encounter this defense mechanism when a client ascribes their emotions and feelings to others.
- Rationalization is a way to wishful thinking by logically correct conclusions. This method of protection is in demand in situations where it is necessary to find rational justifications for your behavior or the actions of another person, as well as provide worthy explanations of your miscalculations to maintain status.
- Regression, or care in children's behavior patterns. In the event of a conflict, the person, not being able to withstand it, tries to adapt to the situation. For this, the models used by children are selected: helpless behavior, moodiness, resentment, weakness. The opposite side, not seeing decent resistance, loses interest in the conflict.
Replacement mechanism
Continuing the enumeration of the basic principles of psychoanalysis, we briefly list the mechanisms of substitution. Let's start with the definition: the substitution mechanism is the replacement of an unacceptable and potentially unapproved mode of behavior with a style of behavior accepted by society that is considered safe for both physical and mental health.
The most famous among these methods is the mechanism of sublimation, directly related to the redistribution of libido in areas considered acceptable in society. Among these areas can be called creativity in all its manifestations.
About sex and childhood
Let's talk about basic instincts in the context of the basic theoretical provisions of classical psychoanalysis. Freud built a system in which unconscious instincts consisted of needs (physical side) and desires (mental side). He, in turn, divided them into four parts: a source implying a physical side; a goal related to the reduction of attraction until the complete cessation of desire; an object, i.e., activity satisfying the drive; impulse, or energy potential necessary to satisfy attraction.
Let us briefly outline the main provisions of Freud's psychoanalysis regarding the energy of sexual desire in childhood. According to the psychoanalyst, in childhood, sexual energy is identical to the instinct of self-preservation and is represented by four stages of development:
- The first stage, called the stage of "primary narcissism", as well as oral. It is characterized by pleasure during eating, sucking milk or a nipple, biting toys and other items. In this case, pleasure relates to the mouth. Concentration is on oneself.
- The second stage, called anal, during the transition to which the baby is trying to control the bowel movement. At the same time, his conscious control is being formed, which is based on observing the reactions of significant adults to his actions. Signs of the appearance of the "Super-I". Attention - to people around.
- The third stage, it is also phallic, at which sexuality reaches a high point. The formation of the Oedipus complex, its transformation and resolution through symbiosis with the parent of his gender. Education "Spherkh-I". The direction is towards socialization.
- The fourth stage, or genital, here we are dealing with conflicts of the childhood period of development. An important stage for the formation of an adult personality. Libido is aimed at another person. Mental health of a person depends on the harmonious passage of the genital phase.
Thus, Z. Freud presented in the basic principles of psychoanalysis the consciousness and the unconscious as a single system that is formed in childhood.
Goals and means
The main task of the psychoanalyst Freud considered increasing the strength of the Ego, thereby depriving the Super Ego of power over it. Then, in accordance with the basic principles of the theory of psychoanalysis, increase the radius of influence of the Ego, bringing its structure to perfection, and prepare the space for the adoption of the Ego of the next portion of It.
Freud considered dreams to be one of the best methods of working with the unconscious, translating messages “on the other hand” into symbolic language using methods of condensation, displacement of random sleep components, as well as secondary processing, which consists in bringing it to a state of a holistic structure.
About followers
Among the followers of Z. Freud, one of the most famous is considered to be the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. The main provisions of Jung's psychoanalysis are:
- introduction of the concept of collective unconscious;
- disclosure of the meaning of archetypes, such as: Persona, the archetype of Mother, Anima and Animus, etc .;
- development of the topic of introversion and extraversion.
Through his research, Jung made a serious contribution to the development of psychological science, and, along with this, in the field of anthropology, philosophical concepts, as well as in the esoteric sphere.
In Russia, the situation with the development of psychology as a science had its own peculiarities associated with the choice of the historical path, first by the Russian Empire, and then by the USSR.
Nevertheless, in the middle of the 19th century, there were two directions in the development of psychology: the natural-scientific one, developed by I.M.Sechenov, and the philosophical direction of K. D. Kavelin. In view of the great interest of Russian society in the natural sciences, the choice of the concept of I.M.Sechenov was obvious.
After revolutionary transformations in the country of victorious socialism, the only officially supported direction of Russian psychology was Marxist-Leninist philosophy, according to which all psychological processes were explained exclusively in the context of physiology.
All other directions were not welcome. Accordingly, if there was an interest in psychoanalysis, then it manifested itself in a narrow circle of people without any hope of official science supporting this direction.
A similar situation persisted until the middle of the 20th century. Given the circumstances, one can only be surprised at the results of L. S. Vygotsky’s research and the development of his cultural-historical concept, as well as the appearance of S. L. Rubinstein’s works on the mutual influence of external circumstances and internal premises and their role in the development of the psyche.
In domestic psychology, the basic principles of psychoanalysis were developed in the works of B. M. Teplov in his psychology of individual differences, V. D. Nebylitsin and V. S. Merlin, who worked in the same direction.
It should also be noted the domestic psychotherapist V.N. Myasishchev, who developed the direction of the psychology of relations in the context of social interaction between the individual and society. It was Myasishchev who first applied the term "core of personality."