 DIRECTIVE APPROACH OF

COUNSELING
 Psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud (1856—
1939)

 Oldest of eight children

 Physician - Neurologist
 Based theory on
personal experiences
 Died of cancer of jaw &
mouth lifelong cigar
chain-smoker
 Fundamental Assumptions of
Psychoanalytic Approach
 Unconscious factors motivate our
behavior
 Experiences or events of first 5yrs of life
are determinants of later development of
personality (attention is given to those
experiences )
 Unconscious motives and conflicts are
central
 Later personality problems will have its
roots on early repressed childhood
conflicts
 BASIC CONCEPTS
I. Human Nature
II. Instincts
III. Theory of Personality
 Functional or Dynamic
 Structural or Topographical

IV. Anxiety
V. Ego Defence Mechanisms
VI. Psycho Sexual Stages
I. View of Human Nature
 Freud’s view of human nature is dynamic
with the transformation and exchange of
energy within the personality.
 People have a Conscious mind ( attuned to
an awareness of the outside world), a
Preconscious Mind(that contains hidden
memories or forgotten experiences that can
be remembered),and an Unconscious mind
(containing the Instinctual, repressed and
powerful forces.
 View of Human Nature
 Structural or
Topographical

 Conscious

 Preconscious

 Unconscious

 Functional
Id
orEgo
Dynamic

Superego
Acc to Freud personality consists
of three parts
:
 The id comprised of amoral basic
instincts ,which operates according to the
pleasure principle.

 The ego is the conscious decision making

“executive of the mind "which operates
according to the reality principle.
 The superego is the conscience of the mind
and contains the values of Parental figures
and that operates according to the moral
principle.
Functional or Dynamic
Theory
 According to Freud, the ego dwells in the
conscious mind and the id and superego
are in the area of our unconscious.
 Freud argued that our personality should
be in a state of dynamic equilibrium
(balance) and if there is too much id,
superego or a weak ego then an
individual will become unbalanced and
possibly suffer from psychological
difficulties. This is the basis of the
psychoanalytic explanation of mental
illness.
Psychosexual Developmental Stages
 Oral Stage : where the mouth is the
pleasure zone and basic gratification
is from sucking and biting.
 Oral – Incorporative behavior
---- Pleasurable stimulation of
the mouth – absence –
excessive eating, chewing,
talking, smoking, drinking
(Oral fixation )
 Oral – Aggressive behavior ---
Infant teethes, biting need – if
not adequately met – result in
feelings of greediness.
Psychosexual Developmental
Stages
 The anal stage where delight is in either
withholding or eliminating feces.
 Toilet training starts
 One learns independence, accepts personal
power, knows to express negative feelings of rage
and aggression
 Learns first lessons of discipline
 Strict toilet training “ Anal Aggressive
Personality – Cruelty, inappropriate displays of
anger, extreme disorderliness etc..
 Too much importance to the anal activity
“Anal retentive personality – extreme orderliness,
hoarding, stubbornness and stinginess etc..
The Phallic stage
 Where the chief zone of pleasure is the sex organs, and
members of both sexes must work through their sexual
desires.
 Child experiences unconscious incestuous desires for
the parent of the opposite sex which is repressed
because of its threatening nature – Conflict at this
period
 Oedipus complex – boy desiring mother as love object
 Electra Complex - girl desiring father and his love and
approval
 Attitudes of the parents at this stage towards the
emerging sexuality of the child are going to affect the
sexual attitudes and feelings of the child
 Threatening or punishing --- adverse effect in adult
sexual life
Latency
 Where energy is focused on peer activities and personal
mastery of cognitive learning and physical skills.

Formal sexual interests are replaced by interests in

playmates in a wide variety of activities in school likes
games and sports.
Genital Stage

 Where if all has goes well previously, each gender takes more
interest in the other and normal heterosexual patterns of interaction
appear.
Continued….

 Excessive frustration and over

indulgence in the first three stages are
the main difficulties that can arise going
through theses stages; in which case the
person could became more fixated at the
level of development and or overly
dependent on the use of immature
defense mechanisms.
Defense Mechanisms

Ways of coping with Anxiety on an

unconscious level by denying or distorting
reality– Ego defense mechanisms
 Psychoanalytic Defense Mechanisms

Projection — In this mechanism, an individual puts the blame of his

own failure upon others and some unfavourable factors of his
environment. Blaming others for his mistake .

Repression --- The most basic of the defence mechanisms,

repression is the unconscious exclusion of distressing or painful
thoughts and memories. All other defence mechanisms make some use
of repression.

Rationalization ---- This defence mechanism involves giving an

“intellectual reason” to justify certain action. The reason and the action
are connected only in the person’s mind after the behaviour has been
completed.
Defense Mechanisms

 Displacement — This Défense is the redirection of an emotional

response onto a “safe target”. This substitute person or object receives
the feeling instead of person directly connected with it. e.g. If a wife gets
angry with Husband and cannot say anything to him, she beats her child.
 Denial ----- In this process refuses to see or accept any problem or
troublesome aspect of the life. Denial operates at the preconscious or
conscious level.
 Regression ----- When individuals are under stress they often return to
less mature way of behaving.
 Reaction Formation: When an individual behaves in a manner that is just
the opposite of how he or she feels, it is known as a reaction
formation. This type of behavior is usually quite exaggerated, such as
acting especially nice to someone whom one dislikes intensely.
Role of The Counselor
 Professional who practice classical Psychoanalysis function
as experts.
 They encourage their clients to talk about whatever comes
to mind, especially childhood experiences.
 To create an atmosphere in which the client feels free to
express difficult thoughts, psychoanalyst, after a few face to
face sessions, often have the client to lie down on a couch
while the analyst remain out of view(usually seated behind
the client’s head).
 The analyst role is to let clients gain insight by reliving and
working through unresolved past experiences that come into
focus during sessions.
Continued..

 The development of transference is

encouraged to help clients deal realistically
with conscious material.
 Unlike some other approaches,
psychoanalysis encourages the counselor to
interpret for the client.
Goals
 The goals of Psychoanalysis vary according to the
client, but the focus mainly on personal adjustment,
usually including a reorganization of internal forces
within person.
 In most case, a primary goal is to help the client
became more aware of the unconscious aspects of
his or her personality and to work through current
reactions that may be dysfuncyioncal.
Goals
 A Second major goal, often tied to the first , is to help a
client work through developmental stage not previously
resolved.
 If accomplished, clients become unstuck and are able to live
more productively.
 Working through unresolved developmental stages may
require a major reconstruction of the personality.
 A final goal of Psychoanalysis is helping client cope with
demands of the society in which they live. Unhappy people,
according to this theory are not in tune with themselves or
society.
Continued…..

 Psychoanalysis stresses environmental

adjustment, especially in the area of
work and intimacy.
 The focus is on strengthening the Ego so
that perceptions and plans became more
realistic.
Techniques

 Free Association
 Interpretation
 Dream Analysis
 Analysis and Interpretation
of resistance
 Analysis and Interpretation
of Transference
 1. Free Association
 In free association ,the client abandons the normal way of
censoring the thoughts by consciously repressing them and
instead says whatever comes to mind, even if the thought
are seem silly, irrational, suggestive, or painful. In this way
the id is requested to speak, and the ego remains silent.
Unconscious material enters the conscious mind ,and there
the counselor interprets it.
 2. Interpretation
 Interpretation should be considered part of
the techniques we have already examined
and complementary to them.
 When interpreting, the counselor helps the
client understand the meaning of past and
present personal events. Interpretation
encompasses explanations and analysis of
a client’s thoughts, feelings, and actions.
 Counselor must carefully time the use of
interpretation. If it comes too soon in the
relationship, it can drive the client away.
Interpretation
 However, if it is not employed at all or
used infrequently, the client may fail to
develop insight.
3. Dream Analysis

 Freud believed that dreams were a main avenue to understanding

the unconscious, even calling them the “Royal road to
unconscious". He thoughts dreams were an attempt to fulfill a
childhood wish or express unacknowledged sexual desires.
 In dream analysis clients are encouraged to dream and
remember dreams.
 The counselor is especially sensitive to two aspects of dreams :
 The manifest content ( obvious meaning) and the latent content
(hidden but true meaning). The analyst helps interprets both the
aspects to the client.
Dream Interpretations

 Knife, umbrella, snake = Penis

 Room, table with food = Women
 Water = Birth, mother
 Children playing = masturbation
 Fire = bedwetting
 Falling = anxiety
 4. Analysis of Resistance

 Sometimes clients initially make progress while undergoing

psychoanalysis and then slow down or stop. Their resistance
to the therapeutic process may take many forms, such as
missing appointments, being late for appointments ,not paying
fees, persisting in transference, blocking thoughts during free
association , or refusing to recall dreams or early memories. A
counselor’s analysis of resistance can help clients gain insight
into it as well as other behaviors. If resistance is not dealt with ,
the therapeutic process will probably come to a halt.
5. Analysis of Transference
 Transference is the client’s
response to a counselor as if
the counselor were some
significant figure in the client
past ,usually a parent figure.
 The analyst encourages this
transference and interprets the
positive and negative feelings
expressed.
Continued..
 The release of the feelings is therapeutic, an
emotional catharsis.
 But the real value of this experiences lies in client's
self knowledge which comes through the counselor
analysis of the transference.
 Those who experience transference and understand
what is happening are then freed to move on to
another developmental stage.
Strengths & Contributions
 The approach emphasizes the importance of sexuality and the
unconscious in human behavior. Before this theory came into
being, sexuality ( especially childhood sexuality) was denied,
and little attention was paid to unconscious forces.
 The approach lends itself to empirical studies; it is Heuristic.
Freud’s proposals have generated a tremendous amount of
research.
 The approach provides a theoretical base of support for several
diagnostic instruments. Some psychological tests, such as
Thematic Apperception Test or the Rorschach Ink Blots, are
rooted in psychoanalytic theory.
Strengths & Contributions
 Psychoanalysis continues to evolve and most
recently has emphasized adaptative processes and
social relations.
 The approach appears to be effective for those who
suffers from a wide variety of disorders, including
hysteria, narcissism, obsessive-compulsive
reactions, character disorders, anxiety, phobias, and
sexual difficulties .
 The approach stresses the importance of
developmental growth stages.
Limitations
 This approach is time consuming and expensive. A person
who undergoes psychoanalysis is usually seen three to five
times a week over a period of years.
 The approach does not seem to lend itself to working with
older clients or even a large variety of clients.’Patients
benefiting most from analysis” are mainly “middle aged men
and women oppressed by a sense of futility and searching for
meaning in life.
 The approach has been claimed almost exclusively by
psychiatry , despite Freud’s .Counsellors and psychologist
without medical degrees have had a difficult time getting
extensive training in psychoanalysis.
Limitations

 This approach is based on many concepts that are

not easily communicated or understood –the id, ego,
and superego , for instance. Psychoanalytical
terminology seems overly complicated.
 This approach is deterministic. For Instance, Freud
attributed certain limitations in women to be a result
of gender that is of being female.
 The approach does not lend itself to the needs of
most individuals who seek professional counseling.
This Psychoanalytic model has become associated
with people who have major adjustment difficulties or
want or need to explore the unconscious.
 [Link]

psychoanalytic-therapy-free-association-
dream-analysis-and-transference-
[Link]
 [Link]

assessing-the-psychodynamic-model-
[Link]
 [Link]

freuds-psychoanalytic-theory-on-
instincts-motivation-personality-
[Link]
Thank you