Concepts of psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis: Basic concepts and ideas of psychoanalysis Mysteries of modern psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis in psychology is associated primarily with the name of Sigmund Freud. Carl Gustav Jung continued his teaching, delving deeply into it and adding a lot of new things, including the concept of the “collective unconscious.”

Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud

The laws of psychology are deep and multifaceted. It is psychoanalysis that acts as one of the most effective methods in the field of psychic studies. When Freud founded this direction, the world of psychology literally turned upside down, as he received a completely new understanding of the human psyche.

The scientist identified three main components in the psyche:

Conscious part;
- preconscious;
- unconscious.

In his opinion, the preconscious is a repository of many desires and fantasies. Its parts can be redirected to the conscious area if you pay attention to one of the desires. Those moments of life that an individual cannot realize, since it clearly contradicts moral principles and guidelines, or appears as too painful, are located in the unconscious.

The unconscious part is separated from the other two parts of consciousness by censorship. In psychology, psychoanalysis studies the relationship between the conscious and unconscious.

Subsequently, the following means of psychoanalysis were identified in psychological science:

Analysis of random actions related to the symptomatic type that occur in everyday life;
- analysis using free associations;
- analysis using dream interpretation.

Psychoanalysis and practical psychology

With help various teachings psychological science, people can find answers to multiple questions born in the depths of their souls. Psychoanalysis aims to prompt a search for an answer, which is most often narrow and partial. Psychologists all over the world mostly work with the client’s motivations, emotions, relationship with reality, the world of feelings and images. But analysts are focused on the human unconscious.

Regardless of the obvious differences, in practical psychology and there is common features. For example, in Raigorodsky’s book “Psychology and Psychoanalysis of Character” there is a description of social and individual characters. He does not forget about the typology of psychoanalysis, since the inner world of any individual begins in the area of ​​the unconscious.

Psychoanalysis and social psychology

In this direction, psychoanalysis acquired a name as “analytical”. It is aimed at studying personal actions, taking into account the role of the social environment, as well as motives.

The great minds of our planet have been studying the device for many decades human personality. But there are many various issues, to which scientists are unable to answer. Why do people have dreams and what information do they carry? Why can events of past years cause a certain emotional state and provoke rash actions? Why does a person try to save a hopeless marriage and not let go of his half? In order to answer questions related to the topic of psychic reality, the technique of psychoanalysis is used. Freud's psychoanalytic theory is the main topic of this article.

The founder of psychoanalysis is Sigmund Freud

The theory of psychoanalysis has made a real revolution in the field of psychology. This method was created and put into operation by the great scientist from Austria, doctor of psychiatry Sigmund Freud. Early in his career, Freud worked closely with many eminent scientists. Physiology professor Ernst Brücke, founder of the cathartic method of psychotherapy Joseph Breuer, founder of the theory of the psychogenic nature of hysteria Jean-Marais Charcot are just a small part of the historical figures with whom Sigmund Freud worked together. According to Freud himself, the peculiar basis of his method arose precisely at the moment of collaboration with the above-mentioned people.

While engaged in scientific activities, Freud came to the conclusion that some clinical manifestations of hysteria cannot be interpreted from a physiological point of view. How to explain the fact that one part of the human body completely loses sensitivity, while neighboring areas still feel the influence of various stimuli? How to explain the behavior of people in a state of hypnosis? According to the scientist himself, the above questions are a kind of proof of the fact that only a part of mental processes are a manifestation of central nervous system reactions.

Many people have heard that a person immersed in a hypnotic state can be given a psychological setting, which he will definitely fulfill. It is quite interesting that if you ask such a person about the motives for his actions, he can easily find arguments explaining his behavior. Based on this fact, we can say that human consciousness independently selects arguments for completed actions, even in cases where there is no particular need for explanations.

During the life of Sigmund Freud, the fact that human behavior can be influenced by external factors and motives secret to consciousness, was a real shock. It should be noted that it was Freud who introduced such concepts as “unconsciousness” and “subconsciousness”. The observations of this outstanding scientist made it possible to create a theory about psychoanalysis. Briefly, Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis can be described as the analysis of the human psyche in terms of the forces that move it. The term “force” should be understood as the motives, consequences and influence of past life experiences on future destiny.


Freud was the first person who, using the method of psychoanalysis, was able to cure a patient with a half-paralyzed body

What is the basis of psychoanalysis

According to Freud, human mental nature is continuous and consistent.. The appearance of any thoughts, desires and actions taken have their own reasons, which are characterized by unconscious or conscious motives. Thus, all actions performed have a direct reflection in the future of the individual.

Even in situations where emotional experiences seem unreasonable, there is a hidden connection between various events in human life.

Based on the above facts, Freud came to the conclusion that the human psyche consists of three different areas:

  • consciousness;
  • unconscious sphere;
  • section of the preconscious.

The unconscious sphere includes basic instincts that are an integral part of human nature. This area also includes ideas and emotions that are repressed from consciousness. The reason for their repression may be the perception of such thoughts as prohibited, dirty and not worthy of existence. The unconscious area has no time frame. In order to explain this fact, it should be said that childhood experiences that enter the consciousness of an adult are perceived just as intensely as the first time.

The area of ​​preconscious includes part of the unconscious area, which in certain life situations, becomes accessible to consciousness. The area of ​​consciousness contains everything that a person is aware of throughout his life. According to Freud's idea, the human psyche is driven by instincts and incentives that force an individual to perform various actions. Among all the instincts, 2 stimuli should be highlighted that have a dominant role:

  1. Vital energy– libido.
  2. Aggressive Energy- death instinct.

The classical psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud is aimed largely at the study of libido, the basis of which is sexual nature. Libido is a vital energy that is closely related to human behavior, experiences and emotions. In addition, the characteristics of this energy can be interpreted as the cause of the development of mental disorders.

Human personality contains three components:

  1. "Super-ego"– Superego;
  2. "I"– Ego;
  3. "It"- Id.

“It” is inherent in every person from birth. This structure includes basic instincts and heredity. It cannot be described using logic, since “It” is characterized as disorganized and chaotic. It is important to note that the “It” has unlimited influence on the ego and superego.


The topical model of the mental apparatus consists of 2 components: conscious and unconscious

“I” is one of the structures of the human personality that is in close contact with the people around us.“I” comes from “It” and appears at the moment when the child begins to perceive himself as an individual. “It” is a kind of feed for the “I,” and the “I” acts as a protective shell for basic instincts. In order to better understand the relationship between

"It" and "I", we should consider the example of sexual needs. “It” is a basic instinct, that is, the need for sexual contact. “I” determines under what conditions and when this contact will be realized. This means that “I” has the ability to restrain and control “It,” which is the key to internal psycho-emotional balance.

The “super-ego” originates in the “I” and is a kind of base where moral laws and rules are stored that limit the personality and prohibit certain actions. According to Freud, the task of the superego includes the construction of ideals, introspection and conscience.

All of the above structures have an important role in the development of human personality. They maintain a delicate balance between the danger associated with displeasure and the desire that leads to satisfaction.

The energy that originates in “It” is reflected in “It.” The task of the “Super-I” is to determine the boundaries of the action of this energy. It should be noted that the requirements of external reality may differ from the requirements of the “Super-I” and “It”. This contradiction is the cause of the development of internal conflicts. The following methods are used to resolve such conflicts:

  • compensation;
  • sublimation;
  • defense mechanisms.

Based on the above, we can conclude that dreams are a recreation of human desires that cannot be realized in reality. Recurring dreams clearly indicate the presence of unrealized stimuli. Unfulfilled incentives interfere with self-expression and psychological growth.

Sublimation is a mechanism for redirecting sexual energy to those goals that are approved in society. Such goals include intellectual, social and creative activities. Sublimation is one of the protective mechanisms of the human psyche, and the energy created by it is the basis of civilization.

Anxiety caused by unsatisfied desires can be neutralized with the help of direct appeal to internal conflict. Since internal energy is unable to find a way out, it is necessary to redirect it to overcome existing obstacles. In addition, it is necessary to reduce the consequences that these barriers can provide and compensate for unmet incentives. An example of such compensation is perfect hearing in people with visual impairments.

According to Freud, the human psyche is limitless.


Freud suggested that we are all driven by the pleasure principle

A person who suffers from a lack of certain skills and wants to achieve success can achieve his goal through assertiveness and unmatched performance. But there are examples when the tension that arises can be distorted due to the operation of special protective mechanisms. Such mechanisms include:

  • insulation;
  • suppression;
  • overcompensation;
  • negation;
  • projection;
  • regression.

An example of how these defense mechanisms work should be considered in situations with unrequited love. The suppression of these feelings can be expressed by the phrase “I don’t remember this feeling,” the mechanism of rejection is expressed as “There is no love, and never was,” and isolation can be described as “I don’t need love.”

Summarizing

Freud's theory of psychoanalysis was briefly and clearly presented in this article. To summarize, we can say that this method is one of the attempts to understand those features of the human psyche that were previously incomprehensible. In the modern world, the term “psychoanalysis” is used in the following areas:

  1. As the name of a scientific discipline.
  2. A collective name for a set of events dedicated to research into the functioning of the psyche.
  3. As a method of treating neurotic disorders.

Many modern scientists often criticize Sigmund Freud's theory. However, today, the concepts that were introduced by these scientists are a kind of basis for the science of psychology.

Psychoanalysis as a method of psychotherapy originated in Europe at the end of the 19th century. and from the very beginning was subjected to severe criticism by S. Freud’s contemporaries, mainly due to the limited reduction of a person’s personality to drives: Eros (life) and Thanatos (death), but there were also followers and students who revealed psychoanalysis from completely different sides.

What is psychoanalysis?

Who founded psychoanalysis - this question is asked only by people far from psychological knowledge. The founder of psychoanalysis is the Austrian psychoanalyst S. Freud, who was a bold innovator for his time. Psychoanalysis (German Psychoanalyse, Greek psyche - soul, analysis - decision) is a method of treating patients with mental disorders (hysteria). The essence of the method is the verbalization of thoughts, fantasies and dreams, which are interpreted by a psychoanalyst.

Psychoanalysis in psychology

During the heyday of psychoanalysis (19th - early 20th centuries), therapy lasted several years and was not affordable for everyone; modern psychoanalysis is a relatively short-term (15 - 30 sessions, 1 - 2 rubles per week) method. Previously, psychoanalysis was used only in medical institutions (psychiatric) for the treatment of neuroses; today, using this method, you can work with a different range of psychological problems.

Basic principles of psychoanalysis:

  • the behavior of an individual is based on unconscious irrational drives, often originating in early stage development (traumatic childhood situations);
  • awareness of these drives triggers defense mechanisms of resistance;
  • the conflict between the conscious and repressed material into the unconscious leads to neuroses and depression;
  • awareness of what is happening in the unconscious, with the help of a psychotherapist, frees the patient from the influence of unconscious material and leads to recovery.

Freud's psychoanalysis

As a result of many years of observation of his patients, S. Freud noted how the suppressed unconscious affects mental condition, human behavior. Freud developed a schematic structure of the psyche in 1932, highlighting the following components:

  1. The id (it) is the area of ​​unconscious desires for life and death.
  2. Ego (I) – conscious thinking, development of defense mechanisms).
  3. Superego (Super-I) is an area of ​​introspection, a moral censor (introjection of the parents’ value system).

Freud's methods of psychoanalysis at the initial stage consisted of using hypnosis to identify unconscious mechanisms; the psychiatrist later abandoned them and developed others that are successfully used in modern psychoanalysis:

  • study of motives of behavior through the patient’s free associations;
  • interpretation;
  • analysis of “resistance” and “transfer”;
  • elaboration.

Jung's psychoanalysis

Jungian psychoanalysis or analytical psychology K.G. Jung (S. Freud's favorite student, with whom there was a painful breakup due to his views on psychoanalysis) is based on the following principles:

  1. The human unconscious in good condition is in balance.
  2. Problems arise due to imbalance; this leads to the emergence of complexes that carry a negative emotional charge, which is displaced by the psyche into the unconscious.
  3. Individuation is the process of the patient’s awareness of his uniqueness and (promotes healing), the “path to himself”, carried out with the help of a psychoanalyst.

Lacanian psychoanalysis

Jacques Lacan is a French psychoanalyst, a controversial figure in psychoanalysis. Lacan called himself a Freudian and constantly emphasized that Freud's teachings are not fully revealed and it is important to constantly re-read his works in order to comprehend his ideas. J. Lacan preferred to teach psychoanalysis in orally, at seminars. Lacan considered the “Imaginary – Symbolic – Real” scheme to be basic:

  • imaginary – human self-identification (mirror stage);
  • symbolic – differences, and awareness on the other side of the image of the Other, which contains the symbolic;
  • the real – Lacan believed that the encounter with the real is possible through trauma.

Existential psychoanalysis

Classical psychoanalysis - the main ideas were subjected to the French philosopher and writer J.P. Sartre, the founder of existential psychoanalysis, criticized and Freudian libido was replaced by the original choice. The main meaning of existential analysis is that a person is an integrity, with a certain meaning, at every moment he makes a choice of himself in relation to being. Choice is personality itself. Fate is formed from elections.

Methods of psychoanalysis

Modern psychoanalysis has undergone changes both in the management of patients and in the types of therapy used, but the basic techniques continue to be used with success:

  1. Free association method. The patient lies on the couch and voices all the thoughts that come to mind.
  2. Method of dream interpretation. S. Freud's favorite method, about which he said that dreams are the royal road to the unconscious.
  3. Method of interpretation. This technique allows you to bring unconscious processes to the level of consciousness. The patient (analysand) speaks, and the psychoanalyst analyzes and conveys the meaning, which is either confirmed and any events related to the meaning are recalled, or is not accepted by the patient.

Classic psychoanalysis

Orthodox personality psychoanalysis or Freudianism is based on the basic techniques of S. Freud. On modern stage It is rarely used in its pure form in therapy; it is mainly neo-Freudianism - a synthesis of techniques from various directions. Target classical psychoanalysis resolve internal conflicts and complexes formed at an early age. The main method of Freudianism is the flow of free associations:

  • the patient is invited to say whatever comes to his mind without logic, even those things that cause shame;
  • the therapist deciphers the derivatives of the unconscious and conveys in an understandable form true meaning to the patient.

Group psychoanalysis

Group psychoanalysis is an effective type of therapy that uses psychoanalytic methods. Group psychotherapy promotes:

  • development through empathy for other group members sharing their pain and psychological trauma;
  • spiritual healing;
  • a person's self-acceptance.

Group psychoanalysis - the concept was introduced by psychoanalyst T. Barrow in 1925. Modern group psychotherapy is meetings once a week for 1.5 - 2 hours. Goals of analysis groups:

  • creating a safe space for group members where they can freely talk about painful issues;
  • identifying hidden authentic affects;
  • through the depth of communication, resolution of internal contradictions and conflicts.

System-vector psychoanalysis

Modern personality psychoanalysis undergoes changes over time. Soviet psychologist V.A. Ganzen develops system matrices of perception, on the basis of which his student V.K. Tolkachev develops 8 vectors (types) of the psyche. Today, Yu. Burlan is working in this direction. Based on system-vector psychoanalysis, each person has a predominant one of 8 vectors:

  • muscular;
  • oral;
  • anal;
  • visual;
  • olfactory;
  • cutaneous;
  • sound;
  • urethral.

Books on psychoanalysis

Studying psychoanalytic techniques and techniques is impossible without reading the relevant literature. Best books on psychoanalysis:

  1. « Humanistic psychoanalysis» E. Fromm. The anthology compiled by the German psychoanalyst will be of interest to students of humanitarian universities studying psychoanalysis. E. Fromm reconsiders such well-known phenomena in psychoanalysis as the Electra and Oedipus complex, narcissism, and the motives of unconscious motives.
  2. « Ego and psychological defense mechanisms» A. Freud. A book by the daughter of a famous psychoanalyst, who continued her father’s work in the field of child psychoanalysis. The work describes new approach in revealing the child’s internal emotional traumas.
  3. « Archetype and symbol» K.G. Jung. Hidden in every person are the archetypes of the collective unconscious: Persona, Anima and Animus, Shadow, Self and Ego.
  4. « Runner with the Wolves» Female archetype in myths and tales. K.P. Estes. Psychoanalytic direction based on the analysis of fairy tales. The author invites women to look inside themselves and find that natural, wild and unbridled part that has been forgotten.
  5. « Liar on the couch» I. Yalom. A talented psychoanalyst is also successful in the craft of writing. Subtle humor and dramatic moments taken from own practice– the reader sees that the psychoanalyst is the same person with his own problems.

Films about psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is a topic of interest to many eminent directors, and psychological films arouse considerable interest among those who like to know themselves; often after watching such films, they develop their own insights that help untangle a tangle of problems. Films about psychoanalysis that are worthy of attention:

  1. "The Son's Room / La stanza del figlio". The Italian psychoanalyst Giovanni has everything in order in his life, he is in demand in his profession, but disaster struck - his son died, and Giovanni is trying to find meaning.
  2. "Psychoanalyst / Shrink". Henry Carter is a successful psychoanalyst, there are a lot of celebrities waiting to see him, but not everything is so smooth in his personal life. Henry's wife commits suicide, and the psychoanalyst comes to the conclusion that he can no longer help his patients.
  3. "A Dangerous Method". The film's script is based on the real and controversial relationship between S. Freud, his student C. Jung and patient Sabina Spielrein.
  4. "Patients / In Treatment". A series in which each episode is a psychotherapy session using various classical techniques, including psychoanalysis. The film will be useful both for psychologists and for people interested in psychology.
  5. “When Nietzsche Wept / When Nietzsche Wept”. The film is about the development of psychoanalysis in Europe, based on the novel of the same name by the famous Hungarian psychoanalyst Irvin Yalom.

Over the course of several decades, the development of psychoanalysis was accompanied by the popularization of psychoanalytic ideas and their integration into various fields of knowledge, such as science, religion, and philosophy. After the concept entered the international arena, it became so widely used and widespread in the psychological, artistic and medical literature of the 20th century that it became vague and incomprehensible.
The first to enter this concept, was Sigmund Freud. In 1896, he published an article in French about the etiology of neuroses. At that time, this concept was interpreted as a kind of therapeutic technique. Then it received the name of a science that studied the unconscious mental activity of the individual. And over time, it turned into a concept that could be applied in all spheres of life not only of humans, but also of world culture.


The uncertainty in the designation of the concept of psychoanalysis is mainly caused by an incompletely thought-out interpretation on the part of many scientists, doctors and researchers of theories, concepts, and ideas once described by Freud. However, the ambiguity of this concept is explained not only by these factors. In the works of Freud himself, one can notice several definitions of psychoanalysis. They are not only related to each other, but also in a certain context they are interchangeable and contradict each other, which is a difficult factor in understanding the definition of psychoanalysis.
The traditional definition of psychoanalysis is in the following way– set psychological methods, ideas and theories aimed at explaining unconscious connections using the associative process.

Wide use this concept received in Europe (early 20th century) and in the USA (mid-20th century), as well as in some countries Latin America(second half of the 20th century).

Popular definitions of psychoanalysis


As mentioned earlier, there are quite a few interpretations of psychoanalysis. If we take a certain interpretation as a starting point, then the basis for a detailed study and understanding of the concept disappears. Therefore, we will try to give its characteristics described by Freud in his works. So, psychoanalysis has the following definitions:

One of the subsystems of psychology as a science that studies the unconscious;
one of the main means of scientific research;
a way of researching and describing the processes of psychology;
a kind of tool, for example, as a calculation of small quantities;
concept with which I can master IT(conscious - unconscious);
one of the means of research in various spheres of spiritual life;
a type of self-knowledge of oneself as a person;
research on therapeutic techniques;
a method for ridding yourself of mental suffering;
a medical method that can be used to treat some forms of neuroses.


As you can see, psychoanalysis can be considered both a science and an art. Moreover, it occupies a place between philosophy and medicine.
However, can psychoanalysis be considered a science that would be able to study and explain a person’s unconscious drives and desires? Is it the art of interpreting dreams, literary texts and cultural phenomena? Or is this still a common method of treatment that is widely used in psychotherapy?

The answers to these questions directly depend on from what point of view we view Freud's psychoanalytic teachings about culture and man. Thus, the question of the scientific status of this concept remains unanswered, despite numerous efforts by experienced scientists and researchers to confirm or refute all kinds of psychoanalytic theories, methods and concepts. Some researchers (who are supporters of classical psychoanalysis) believe that psychoanalysis can be considered the same studied science as, for example, chemistry or physics. Others say that psychoanalysis can in no way meet the requirements of science (K. Popper) and is an ordinary myth (L. Wittgenstein) or an intellectual delusion of a person endowed with fantasy and imagination, which was Freud. Some philosophers, for example, J. Habermas and P. Ricoeur, believe that psychoanalysis is hermeneutics.
The most complete definition of the concepts of psychoanalysis can also be found in the encyclopedic article “Psychoanalysis and the Theory” of libido, which Freud wrote. There he highlighted the following interpretations:

A method of studying and determining mental processes that are inaccessible to conscious understanding;
one of the methods of treating neuroses;
several emerging and constantly evolving psychological constructs that may, over time, recreate a new scientific discipline.

Background, goals and ideas of psychoanalysis


The main premise of psychoanalysis is the division of the psyche into two categories: the unconscious and the conscious. Any more or less educated psychoanalyst does not consider consciousness to be the main link of the psyche and proceeds from the fact that unconscious desires and aspirations are the predetermining factor in a person’s thinking and actions.
Speaking about the causes of most mental and emotional disorders, it should be noted that many of them are rooted in experiences that destructively affect the child’s psyche childhood, unconscious desires and sexual drives, and, as a result of an aggressive nature, colliding with the cultural and moral standards. Because of this, a mental conflict is born, which can be resolved by getting rid of the “bad” inclinations and desires that are rooted in the mind. But they cannot just disappear without a trace, they only move into the depths of the individual’s psyche and sooner or later they will make themselves felt. Thanks to sublimation mechanisms (switching aggressive and sexual energy to good intentions and acceptable goals), they can turn into creativity and scientific activities, but they can also push a person towards illness, i.e. a neurotic way of resolving the contradictions and problems facing a person in life.
In theory, the main goal of psychoanalysis is to identify the meaning and significance of the unconscious in an individual’s life, to reveal and understand the functioning mechanisms responsible for the human psyche. The main psychoanalytic ideas include the following:

There are no accidents or coincidences in the psyche;
events in the first years can influence (both positively and negatively) the subsequent development of the child;
the Oedipus complex (the child's unconscious drives, which are accompanied by the expression of loving and aggressive emotions towards parents) is not only the main cause of neuroses, but also the main source of morality, society, religion and culture;
The structure of the mental apparatus has three areas - the unconscious IT(drives and instincts that originate in the somatic structure and manifest themselves in forms not subject to consciousness), the conscious self (which has the function of self-preservation and control over actions and demands IT, as well as always striving to obtain satisfaction at any cost) and hypermoral SUPER-SELF, who is the authority of the parents, social requirements and conscience.
The two fundamental drives of man are the drive to live (Eros) and to death (Thanatos), which includes a destructive instinct.
In clinical practice, psychoanalysis is used to eliminate the symptoms of neurosis by bringing the patient to awareness of his unconscious desires, actions and drives in order to understand them and subsequently not use these intrapsychic conflicts. Using numerous analogies, Freud compared therapeutics to the work of a chemist and an archaeologist, as well as the influence of a teacher and the intervention of a physician.

Lecture by A.V. Rossokhina Mysteries of modern psychoanalysis


1890s

The idea of ​​psychoanalysis (German: Psychoanalyse) first received serious development through Sigmund Freud, who formulated his own theory of psychoanalysis in Vienna in the 1890s. Freud was a neurologist who tried to find effective remedy for the treatment of patients with neurotic or hysterical symptoms. Freud realized that there were mental processes that were unconscious while working as a neurological consultant at a children's hospital, where he noticed that many children with aphasia had no apparent organic cause for their symptoms. He then wrote a monograph on this topic. In 1885, Freud received a grant to study with Jean Martin Charcot, the famous neurologist, at the Salpêtrière in Paris, where Freud observed clinical manifestations in Charcot's patients, especially in such areas as hysteria, paralysis and loss of sensation. Charcot introduced hypnosis as an experimental research tool and developed photographic representations of clinical symptoms. Freud's first theory of hysterical symptoms was presented in Studies on Hysteria (1895), co-authored with his mentor, the eminent physician Breuer, and is generally considered the "birth" of psychoanalysis. The work was based on Breuer's treatment of Bertha Pappenheim, referred to in case studies under the pseudonym "Anna O.", with Pappenheim herself dubbing the treatment the "talking cure." Breuer wrote that many factors can lead to such symptoms, including different kinds emotional trauma, and he also drew on the work of other scientists such as Pierre Janet; while Freud argued that hysterical symptoms were based on repressed memories of disturbing events, almost always having direct or indirect sexual associations. Around the same time, Freud tried to develop a neurophysiological theory of unconscious mental mechanisms, which he soon abandoned. It remained unpublished during his lifetime. In 1896, Freud published his so-called "theory of seduction", in which he proposed that a prerequisite for the development of hysterical symptoms is sexual arousal in infancy, and he assumed repressed memories of sexual abuse in all of his patients. However, in 1898 he privately admitted to his friend and colleague Wilhelm Fliess that he no longer believed in his theory, although he did not state this publicly until 1906. Although in 1896 he reported that his patients "had no recollection of [infantile sex] scenes" and that they spoke of their "decisive disbelief" in his theory, in later sources he states that patients spoke of that they were sexually abused as children. This was disputed by several scholars in the second half of the 20th century, who argued that Freud projected his preconceived notions onto his patients. However, based on his claims that his patients reported infantile experiences of sexual abuse, Freud subsequently stated that his clinical findings in the mid-1890s provided evidence for the emergence of unconscious fantasies that supposedly exist to conceal memories of infantile sexual abuse. masturbation. Only much later did Freud, using the same conclusions, begin to talk about oedipal desires.

1900-1940s

By 1900, Freud theorized that dreams have symbolic meanings that are typically specific to the dreamer. Freud formulated his second psychological theory, suggesting that the unconscious is a "primary process" consisting of symbolic thoughts, and a "secondary process" is logical, conscious thoughts. This theory was published in his 1900 book The Interpretation of Dreams. Chapter VII was a reworking of the earlier "Project", and Freud outlined his "Topographic Theory". According to this theory, which was later superseded by structural theory, unacceptable sexual desires are repressed in the "unconscious system" due to society's condemnation of premarital sexual activity, and this repression creates anxiety. This "topographic theory" is still popular in most of Europe, although it is not accepted in most of North America. In 1905, Freud published Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, in which he outlined his discovery of the so-called psychosexual phases: oral (0-2 years), anal (2-4 years), phallic-oedipal (today called the first genital ) (3-6 years), latent (6 years - puberty), and mature genital (puberty and after). Its early formulation included the idea that, due to social restrictions, sexual desires are repressed into an unconscious state, and that the energy of these unconscious desires can be converted into anxiety or physical symptoms. Thus, they were developed early methods treatments, including hypnosis and abreaction, to make the unconscious conscious in order to reduce the pressure and symptoms presented. In his work On Narcissism (1915), Freud drew attention to the topic of narcissism. Still using the energy system, Freud described the difference between energy directed toward oneself and energy directed toward others, called cathexis. By 1917, in Mourning and Melancholia, he suggested that some types of depression were associated with a transfer of guilt-induced anger onto the self. In 1919, with A Child Being Beaten, he began to address the problems of self-destructive behavior (moral masochism) and outright sexual masochism. Based on my experience with depressed and self-destructive patients and reflecting massacres During the First World War, Freud stopped considering only oral and sexual motives for behavior. By 1920, Freud turned to the theory of identification (oneself with the leader and with other members) in groups as a motivation for behavior (group psychology and ego analysis). That same year (1920), Freud proposed his theory of the "double energy" of sexuality and aggression in Beyond the Pleasure Principle to try to begin to explain human destructiveness. In addition, this is the first time his “ structural theory", consisting of three new concepts - id, ego and superego. Three years later, he summarized the ideas of the id, ego, and superego in a book entitled The Self and the Id. In this book, Freud revised the entire theory of mental functioning, this time taking into account that repression is only one of many defense mechanisms of the psyche, and that repression is needed in order to reduce anxiety. Thus, Freud characterizes repression as both the cause and the result of anxiety. In 1926, in Inhibition, Symptom and Anxiety, Freud described how the intrapsychic conflict between desire and superego (desire and guilt) gives rise to anxiety, and how this anxiety can lead to inhibition of mental functions such as intellect and speech. Inhibition, Symptom and Fear was written as a response to Otto Rank, who in 1924 published Das Trauma der Geburt (The Trauma of Birth), analyzing how art, myth, religion, philosophy and therapy were illuminated by the anxiety department in " phase before the development of the Oedipus complex." In Freud's theory, however, there is no such phase. According to Freud, the Oedipus complex is at the center of neurosis and is the fundamental source of all art, myth, religion, philosophy, therapy, in reality, all human culture and civilization. For the first time, someone in Freud's close circle described something other than the Oedipus complex as affecting intrapsychic development, a concept that was rejected by Freud and his followers at the time. By 1936, the "multiple function principle" had been discussed in detail by Robert Welder. He expanded the formulation that psychological symptoms are both caused and released by conflict. In addition, symptoms (such as phobias and compulsions) each represent elements of some kind of desire (sexual and/or aggressive), superego, anxiety, reality and defense. Additionally, in 1936, Anna Freud, Sigmund's famous daughter, published her seminal book, The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense, outlining the many ways in which the brain can remove unpleasant things from consciousness.

1940s to present

As Hitler's power grew, Freud's family and many of his colleagues fled to London. Within a year of moving to London, Sigmund Freud died. In the United States, after Freud's death, a new group of psychoanalysts led by Haynes Hartmann, Chris, Rappaport and Loewenstein began to explore ego function. The group was built on an understanding of the synthetic function of the ego as a mediator of mental functioning. Hartmann, in particular, made a distinction between the autonomous functions of the ego (for example, memory and intellect, which can be secondarily damaged as a result of conflict), and the synthetic functions that result from compromise education. These "ego psychologists" of the 1950s focused their analytical work on defense mechanisms (mediated by the ego), and also explored the deeper roots of unconscious conflicts. In addition, there is a growing interest in child psychoanalysis. Although psychoanalysis has been criticized since its inception, it is used as a research tool in child development, and is still used to treat some mental disorders. In the 1960s, Freud's early thoughts about child development female sexuality; this problem led to the development in various ways understanding of female sexual development, many of which modified the timing and normality of several of Freud's theories (through the treatment of women with mental disorders). A number of researchers have continued Karen Horney's research on the social pressures that affect women's development. In the first decade of the 21st century, there were approximately 35 institutions for the study of psychoanalysis in the United States accredited by the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA), which is a component of the International Psychoanalytic Association (IPA). There are over 3,000 practicing psychoanalysts in the United States. The IPA accredits psychoanalytic training centers with the help of such organizations in all other countries of the world, including in such countries as Serbia, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and many others. About six institutes are located directly in the United States.

Theories

Prevailing psychoanalytic theories can be divided into several theoretical schools. Although these theoretical schools differ, most of them emphasize the influence of unconscious elements on consciousness. Considerable work has also been done to consolidate elements of conflicting theories (cf. the work of Theodor Dorpte, B. Killingmo and S. Akhtar). As in all areas of medicine, there are some ongoing conflicts over the specific causes of certain syndromes, as well as debates regarding ideal treatments. In the 21st century, psychoanalytic ideas are beginning to take root in Western culture, especially in the fields of child care, education, literary studies, cultural studies, mental health, and especially psychotherapy. Although there are a number of basic analytical ideas, there are groups that follow the "precepts" of one or more later theorists. Psychoanalytic ideas also play a role in some types of literary analysis, such as archetypal literary criticism.

Topographic theory

The topographic theory was named and first described by Sigmund Freud in The Interpretation of Dreams (1900). According to this theory, the mental apparatus can be divided into conscious, preconscious and unconscious systems. These systems are not anatomical structures of the brain, but rather represent mental processes. Although Freud remained faithful to this theory throughout his life, he largely replaced it with the structural theory. Topographical theory remains one of the meta-psychological perspectives for describing how the mind functions in classical psychoanalytic theory.

Structural theory

Structural theory divides the psyche into id (it), ego and superego. It is present at birth, and is the “repository” of the basic instincts, which Freud called “Triebe” (“energies”): unorganized and unconscious, it acts only on the “pleasure principle”, without regard to reality and without the gift of foresight. The ego develops slowly and gradually, being an intermediary between its desires and realities. outside world; thus the ego operates on the “reality principle.” The superego is the part of the ego in which self-observation, self-criticism and other reflective and evaluative abilities develop. The ego and superego are partly conscious and partly unconscious.

Ego Psychology

Egopsychology was originally proposed by Freud in Inhibition, Symptom and Anxiety (1926). The theory was expanded by Hartmann, Loewenstein and Chris in a series of articles and books from 1939 to the late 1960s. Leo Bellak also contributed to the development of this theory. This series of concepts, paralleling some of the later developments of cognitive theory, includes the concepts of autonomous ego functions: mental functions do not depend, at least in their origin, on intrapsychic conflict. Such functions include sensory perception, motor control, symbolic thinking, logical thinking, language, abstraction, integration (synthesis), orientation, concentration, danger judgment, reality testing, adaptive capacity, executive decision making, hygiene and self-preservation. Freud noted that inhibition is one way in which the mind can inhibit any of these functions in order to avoid painful emotions. Hartmann (1950s) noted that there may be delays or deficits in such functions. Frosch (1964) described differences in people who exhibit a disturbed attitude toward reality, but who may be aware of it. Deficiencies in the ability to organize thoughts are sometimes called blocking or free association (Bleuler), and are characteristic of schizophrenia. Deficits in abstraction and self-preservation also suggest psychosis in adults. Deficits in orientation and sensorium often indicate a medical illness affecting the brain (and thus the autonomic functions of the ego). Deficits in some ego functions are commonly found in children who have been sexually or physical violence, while the powerful effects created in childhood can undermine functional development. According to ego psychology, ego strengths, later described by Kernberg (1975), include the ability to control oral, sexual, and destructive impulses; tolerate painful effects; and to prevent the admission of strange symbolic fantasies into the consciousness. Synthetic functions, in contrast to autonomous functions, arise from the development of the ego and serve to manage conflict processes. Defense mechanisms are synthetic functions that protect consciousness from forbidden impulses and thoughts. One of the goals of ego psychology is to emphasize that some mental functions can be seen as basic functions rather than derived from desires, emotions, or defense mechanisms. However, the ego's autonomic functions may be secondarily affected due to unconscious conflict. For example, a patient may have hysterical amnesia (memory is an autonomous function) due to intrapsychic conflict (when he does not want to remember something because it is too painful). Together, the above theories represent a group of metapsychological assumptions. In this way, a group of different classical theories can provide a cross-sectional understanding of human thinking. There are six "points of view", five were described by Freud and a sixth was added by Hartmann. Unconscious processes, thus, can be assessed from each of these six perspectives. These “points of view” are: 1. Topographical 2. Dynamic (conflict theory) 3. Economic (energy flow theory) 4. Structural 5. Genetic (provisions concerning the origin and development of mental functions) and 6. Adaptive (psychological phenomena and their relation to the outside world).

Modern conflict theory

Modern conflict theory, a variation of ego psychology, is a revised version of structural theory, differing most notably in its changes in concepts related to where repressed thoughts are stored (Freud, 1923, 1926). Modern conflict theory views emotional symptoms and personality traits as complex methods for resolving mental conflict. It works with the concepts of the fixed id, ego and superego, and postulates conscious and unconscious conflicts together with desires (dependent, controlled, sexual and aggressive), feelings of guilt and shame, emotions (especially anxiety and depressive affect) and ways of protecting the consciousness. In addition, healthy (adaptive) functioning is also largely determined by conflict resolution. One of the main goals of modern psychoanalytic conflict theory is to change the balance of conflict in the patient, making aspects of less adaptive solutions (also called “compromise formations”) conscious so that they can be rethought, and searching for more adaptive solutions. Contemporary theorists who postulate many of Brenner's proposals (see especially Brenner's 1982 book The Mind in Conflict) include Sandor Abend, M.D. (Abend, Porder, and Willick (1983), Borderline Patients: Clinical Perspectives), Jacob Arlow (Arlow and Brenner (1964), Psychoanalytic Concepts and Structural Theory), and Jerome Blackman (2003), 101 Defenses: How the Mind Defends Itself.

Object Relations Theory

Theory object relations attempts to explain the successful and unsuccessful periods of human relationships through the study of how internal representations of self and others are organized. Clinical symptoms indicative of object relations problems (typically developmental delays across the lifespan) include disturbances in the individual's ability to feel warmth, empathy, trust, security, personality stability, consistent emotional closeness, and stability in relationships with significant others. Although the basic concepts concerning internal representations (also sometimes called "introspections", "representations of self and (other) objects", or "internalization of self and others") are often thought to have been coined by Melanie Klein, they actually first appear in early concepts of Sigmund Freud in his theory of drive (Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, 1905). In his 1917 article “Mourning and Melancholia,” Freud, for example, hypothesized that unresolved grief is caused by the internalized image of the survivor merging with the internalized image of the deceased. The survivor transfers unacceptable anger towards the deceased onto an already complex image of himself. Vamik Volkan, in Linking Objects and Linking Phenomena, expanded on Freud's ideas on this issue, describing syndromes of "established pathological mourning" versus "reactive depression" based on similar dynamics. Melanie Klein's hypotheses regarding internalization during the first year of life leading to a paranoid and depressive position were subsequently challenged by René Spitz (for example, in The First Year of Life, 1965), who divided the first year of life into a kinesthetic phase lasting the first six months , and a diacritic phase lasting the next six months. Margaret Mahler (Mahler, Fine and Bergman, The Psychological Birth of the Human Infant, 1975) and her group, first in New York and then in Philadelphia, described the various phases and subphases of child development leading to "separation-individuation" during the first three years of life, emphasizing the importance of consistent parental figures in the face of a child's destructive aggression, for the child's internalization, stability in emotion regulation, and ability to develop healthy autonomy. John Frosch, Otto Kernberg, Salman Akhtar, and Sheldon Bach developed a theory of self-object constancy and how this influences adult mental disorders such as psychosis and borderline states. Peter Blos (in a book called On Adolescents, 1960) described how a similar separation-individuation occurs in adolescence, which is of course different from the first three years of life: the teenager usually eventually leaves the parents' home (this depends on the culture). Erik Erikson (1950s–1960s) described an “identity crisis” in adolescence that involves identity-diffusion anxiety. In order for an adult to experience “warmth, empathy, trust, intimacy, identity, and stability” in a relationship (see Blackman, 101 Defenses: How the Mind Shields Itself, 2001), the adolescent must resolve issues related to identity and rethink the constancy of perceptions of self and others.

Self psychology

Self-psychology emphasizes the development of a stable and integrated sense of self through empathic contacts with other people, significant others, designated as “self-objects.” Self-objects satisfy the developing personality's needs for mirroring, idealizing, and twin narcissistic transference, and thereby enhance the development of the self. The treatment process proceeds through “transmuting internalizations,” in which the patient gradually assimilates the functions of self-objects provided by the therapist. Self-psychology was originally formed in the works of Heinz Kohut, and was further developed thanks to Arnold Goldberg, Frank Lachman, Pavel and Anna Ornstein, Mariana Tolpin and others.

Jacques Lacan and his psychoanalysis

Lacanian psychoanalysis, which integrates ideas from psychoanalysis, structural linguistics, and Hegelian philosophy, is particularly popular in France and parts of Latin America. Lacan's psychoanalysis represents a departure from traditional British and American psychoanalysis, which is predominantly ego psychology. In his seminars and in his writings, Jacques Lacan often used the phrase "retourner à Freud" ("return to Freud"), as he argued that his theories were a continuation of Freud's own theory, and opposed to the ideas of Anna Freud, ego psychology, object theories relationships and self-theories, and also spoke about the need to read the complete works of Freud, and not just individual parts. In his concepts, Lacan refers to the "mirror stage", the "real", the "imaginary" and the "symbolic", and argues that "the unconscious is structured like a language". Although Lacan had a major influence on psychoanalysis in France and parts of Latin America, it took longer to translate into English and because of this he had less influence on psychoanalysis and psychotherapy in the English-speaking world. In the UK and US, his ideas are most widely used for text analysis in literary theory. Due to his increasingly critical stance towards Freud, Lacan was expelled from the IPA as an analyst, which led him to create his own school, in order to maintain an institutional structure for many candidates wishing to continue their analysis with him.

Interpersonal psychoanalysis

Interpersonal psychoanalysis emphasizes nuances interpersonal interactions, in particular, on how people protect themselves from anxiety by establishing interactions with others, and on the importance of actual experiences with other people in childhood (eg, family members and peers) and in adulthood. This contrasts with the predominance of intrapsychic forces as in classical psychoanalysis. Interpersonal theory was first introduced by Harry Stack Sullivan, M.D., and was further developed in the work of Frieda Fromm-Reichmann, Clara Thompson, Erich Fromm, and others who contributed to the founding of the William Alanson White Institute and to interpersonal psychoanalysis in general. .

Culturalist psychoanalysis

A certain group of psychoanalysts are called culturalists because they believe that behavior is primarily influenced by culture. Culturalists include Erich Fromm, Karen Horney, Harry Stack Sullivan and others. These psychoanalysts are in conflict with “traditional” psychoanalysts.

Feminist psychoanalysis

Feminist theories of psychoanalysis emerged in the second half of the 20th century, in an attempt to articulate feminine, maternal, and sexual difference and development from the perspective of female subjects. For Freud, man is the subject and woman is the object. For Freud, Winnicott and object relations theory, the mother is structured as an object for rejection (Freud) and destruction (Winnicott) in the infant. For Lacan, "woman" can either take on phallic symbolism as an object or represent absence in the symbolic dimension. Feminist psychoanalysis is essentially post-Freudian and post-Lacanian. Feminist theorists include Toril Moy, Joan Kopjek, Juliet Mitchell, Teresa Brennan and Griselda Pollock. They rethought Art and Mythology after French feminist psychoanalysis. French theorists such as Luce Irigaray challenge phallogocentrism. Bracha Ettinger proposes a "matriarchal" dimension of the subject, which takes into account the prenatal stage (connection with the mother) and speaks of feminine Eros, the matrix and primal fantasies about the mother. Jessica Benjamin talks about femininity and love. Feminist psychoanalysis includes gender theory, queer theory and postfeminist theories.

Adaptive paradigm of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy

The "Adaptive Paradigm of Psychotherapy" develops from the work of Robert Langs. The adaptive paradigm interprets mental conflict, first of all, from the point of view of conscious and unconscious adaptation to reality. In his recent work, Langs returns to some extent to a more early Freud, favoring a modified version of the topographical model of the psyche (conscious, preconscious and unconscious) rather than the structural model (id, ego and superego), including a focus on trauma (although Langs considered death-related trauma rather than sexual trauma ). At the same time, Langs' model of the mind differs from Freud's because he understands the mind in terms of evolutionary biological principles.

Relational psychoanalysis

Relational psychoanalysis combines interpersonal psychoanalysis and object relations theory, as well as intersubjective theories, as important to mental health. Relational psychoanalysis was introduced by Stephen Mitchell. Relational psychoanalysis emphasizes how a person's personality is formed through real and imagined relationships with other people, and how these relational patterns will be re-enacted in the interaction between analyst and patient. In New York, key proponents of relational psychoanalysis include Lew Aron, Jessica Benjamin, and Adrienne Harris. Fonagy and Target, in London, have argued for the need to help isolated patients by developing their ability to "mentalize" - thinking about relationships and themselves. Arietta Slade, Susan Coates, and Daniel Schechter in New York further contributed to the application of relational psychoanalysis to the treatment of the adult patient-as-parent, a clinical study of mentalization in the parent-child relationship, and the intergenerational transmission of attachment and trauma.

Interpersonal-relational psychoanalysis

The term "interpersonal-relational psychoanalysis" is often used as a professional identification. Psychoanalysts within this broader movement debate exactly what differences exist between the two schools, without any current clear consensus.

Intersubjective psychoanalysis

The term “intersubjectivity” was introduced into psychoanalysis by George E. Atwood and Robert Stolorow (1984). The intersubjective approach emphasizes how personality development and the therapeutic process are influenced by the relationships between the patient's subjective perspective and that of others. Authors of interpersonal-relational and intersubjective approaches: Otto Rank, Heinz Kohut, Stephen A. Mitchell, Jessica Benjamin, Bernard Brandchaft, J. Vosshagh, Donna M. Orange, Arnold "Arnie" Mindell, Thomas Ogden, Owen Renick, Irwin Z. Hoffman , Harold Searles, Colvin Trevarthen, Edgar A. Levinson, Jay Greenberg, Edward R. Ritvo, Beatrice Beebe, Frank M. Lachmann, Herbert Rosenfeld, and Daniel Stern.

Modern psychoanalysis

"Modern psychoanalysis" is a term coined by Hyman Spotnitz and his colleagues to describe theoretical and clinical approaches that aim to expand Freud's theory to make it applicable to the full range of emotional disorders and to expand the possibilities for treating pathologies considered incurable in the modern world. classical methods. Interventions based on this approach are primarily designed to provide emotionally mature communication for the patient rather than to promote intellectual insight. These measures, in addition to insight-oriented purposes, are used to resolve resistances that are presented in the clinical setting. This school of psychoanalysis provides professional training to students in the United States and in countries around the world. The journal “Modern Psychoanalysis” has been published since 1976.

Psychopathology (mental disorders)

Adult patients

Various psychoses are associated with deficits in the autonomous functions of the ego, such as the integration (organization) of thought, the ability to abstract, relation to reality and reality testing. In depressions with psychotic features, the self-preservation function may also be impaired (sometimes due to overwhelming depressive affect). Because of integrative deficits (often causing what psychiatrists call “free association,” “blocking,” “flight of ideas,” “verbigeration,” and “escape”), the development of self-object concepts is also impaired. Clinically, therefore, psychotic individuals exhibit limitations in warmth, empathy, trust, identity, intimacy, and/or stability in relationships (due to anxiety problems associated with the fusion of self and object). In patients whose autonomic ego functions are less affected but who still have problems with object relations, the diagnosis often falls into a category known as “borderline.” Borderline patients also show deficits, often in impulse control, affect, or fantasy, but their reality-checking abilities remain more or less intact. Adults who do not experience feelings of guilt and shame and engage in criminal activity are typically diagnosed as psychopaths, or, using the DSM-IV-TR, as having antisocial personality disorder. Panic, phobias, conversions, obsessions, compulsions and depression (analysts call these “neurotic symptoms”) are not generally caused by functional deficits. Instead, they are caused by intrapsychic conflicts. These conflicts typically occur with sexual and hostile-aggressive desires, feelings of guilt and shame, and reality factors. Conflicts can be conscious or unconscious, but provoke anxiety, depressive affect and anger. And finally, the various elements are controlled by defensive operations, essentially shutdown mechanisms in the brain that make people unaware of that element of conflict. “Suppression” is a term for a mechanism that isolates thoughts from consciousness. Affect isolation is a term used to describe a mechanism that isolates sensations from consciousness. Neurotic symptoms can be observed with or without deficits in ego function, object relations, and strengths ego. Thus, obsessive-compulsive schizophrenics, panic patients who also suffer from borderline personality disorder, etc. are not uncommon.

Childhood background

Psychoanalysis in Great Britain

The London Psychoanalytic Society was founded by Ernest Jones on October 30, 1913. Due to the expansion of psychoanalysis into the United Kingdom, the society was renamed the British Psychoanalytic Society in 1919. Soon after, the Institute of Psychoanalysis was created to manage the activities of the Society. The Society's activities include: training psychoanalysts, developing the theory and practice of psychoanalysis, providing treatment through the London Clinic of Psychoanalysis, publishing books in the New Library of Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Ideas. The Institute of Psychoanalysis also publishes the International Journal of Psychoanalysis, maintains a library, promotes research, and holds public lectures. The Society has a Code of Ethics and an Ethics Committee. The society, institute and clinic are located in Byron House. Society is integral part The IPA has members on all five continents committed to professional and ethical practices. The Society is a member of the Psychoanalytic Council of Great Britain (PSC); PSV publishes a register of British psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists. All members of the British Psychoanalytic Society are required to undertake continuing professional development. Members of the Society included Michael Balint, Wilfred Bion, John Bowlby, Anna Freud, Melanie Klein, Joseph J. Sandler and Donald Winnicott. The Institute of Psychoanalysis is the main publisher of psychoanalytic literature in the world. 24 volumes of the Standard Edition of the Complete Collection Psychological writings Sigmund Freud was published and translated under the direction of the British Psychoanalytic Society. The Society, in conjunction with Random House, will soon publish a new, revised and expanded Standard Edition. Thanks to the new psychoanalysis library, the Institute continues to publish books by leading theorists and practitioners in the field of psychoanalysis. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis is also published by the Institute of Psychoanalysis. The magazine has one of the largest circulations among psychoanalytic journals.

Research

For over a hundred years, the effectiveness of analysis in cases of neurosis and character or personal problems. Psychoanalysis has been modified by object relations techniques, the effectiveness of which has been demonstrated in many cases of deep-rooted intimacy and relationship problems (see many books by Otto Kernberg). As a means of therapeutic treatment, psychoanalytic techniques may be useful in a one-session consultation. In other situations, psychoanalytic treatment can last from about a year to many years, depending on the severity and complexity of the pathology. Psychoanalytic theory, from the very beginning, has been the subject of criticism and controversy. Freud noted this early in his career when he was ostracized by other doctors in Vienna for his conclusions that conversion hysterical symptoms were not limited to women. Objections to analytic theory began with Otto Rank and Alfred Adler (turn of the 20th century), whose initiative was taken up by behaviorists (eg Wolpe) in the 1940s and 50s, and by our contemporaries (eg Miller). Criticism involves disagreement with the idea that there are mechanisms, thoughts or feelings that may be unconscious. The idea of ​​"infantile sexuality" (the recognition that children between the ages of two and six imagine how people reproduce) has also come under criticism. Criticism of the theory led to changes in analytic theories, such as the work of Ronald Fairbairn, Michael Balint, and John Bowlby. Over the past 30 years or so, criticism has focused on the problem of empirical testing, despite many empirical, promising scientific research, which have been empirically confirmed (for example, see the studies of Barbara Milrod at Cornell University Medical School, etc.). IN scientific literature there are studies that support some of Freud's ideas, such as the unconscious, repression, etc. Psychoanalysis has been used as a research tool in child development younger age(see the journal "Psychoanalytic Study of the Child"), and was reworked into a flexible, effective method treatment of certain mental disorders. In the 1960s, Freud's early (1905) ideas about the development of childhood female sexuality were challenged; this problem led to major research in the 1970s and 80s and then to a reformulation of female sexual development that adjusted some of Freud's concepts. See also various works by Eleanor Galenson, Nancy Chodorow, Karen Horney, Françoise Dolto, Melanie Klein, Selma Freiberg and others. More recently, psychoanalytic researchers who have integrated attachment theories into their work, including Alicia Lieberman, Susan Coates, and Daniel Schechter, have explored the role of parental trauma in the development of young children's mental representations of themselves and others. Exist various shapes psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, in which psychoanalytic thinking is practiced. In addition to classical psychoanalysis, there is, for example, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, a therapeutic approach that expands the "accessibility of psychoanalytic theory and clinical practice" Other examples are good known methods treatments that also use ideas from psychoanalysis include mentalization-based treatment and transference-focused psychotherapy. Psychoanalytic thinking continues to influence various areas mental health care. Let us give an example: in psychotherapeutic training in the Netherlands, psychoanalytic and systemic therapeutic theories, projects and methods are combined and integrated. Other psychoanalytic schools include the Kleinian, Lacanian, and Winnicotian schools.

Efficiency mark

The effectiveness of pure psychoanalysis is difficult to assess; Freudian therapy relies too heavily on the therapist's interpretation, which cannot be confirmed. The effectiveness of more modern, subsequently developed techniques can be assessed. Meta-analyses conducted in 2012 and 2013 show that there is evidence for the effectiveness of psychoanalytic therapy, thus the need for further research. Other meta-analyses published in last years, have shown that psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapy are effective, with treatment results comparable to or superior to those of other types of psychotherapy or antidepressants, but these arguments have also been criticized. In 2011, the American Psychological Association made 103 comparisons between psychodynamic treatment and its non-dynamic competitor. It was found that in 6 cases psychodynamic therapy was better, in 5 cases it was worse, in 28 cases there was no difference, and in 63 cases the difference was adequate. The study found that this could be used "to make psychodynamic psychotherapy an empirically evaluated treatment method." A meta-analysis of brief psychodynamic psychotherapy (BPT) found effect sizes ranging from 0.34 to 0.71 compared with no treatment, and a follow-up study found CBPT to be slightly better than other therapies. Other reviews have found effect sizes of 0.78–0.91 for somatic disorders compared with no treatment for depression. A 2012 meta-analysis of the Harvard Psychiatry Review of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (I-STPP) found effect sizes ranging from 0.84 for interpersonal problems to 1.51 for depression. The overall I-STPP had an effect size of 1.18 compared with no treatment. A systematic review of long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy conducted in 2009 found that total value the effect is 0.33. Other data show effect sizes of 0.44–0.68. According to a French review conducted by INSERM in 2004, psychoanalysis has proven effective in treating panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder stress disorder and personality disorders. The world's largest randomized controlled trial of treatment for outpatients with anorexia, the ANTOP study, published in 2013 in The Lancet, found that modified psychodynamic therapy should be more effective than cognitive behavioral therapy in the long term. A 2001 Cochrane Collaboration systematic review of the medical literature concluded that there is no evidence demonstrating that psychodynamic psychotherapy is effective in treating schizophrenia and severe mental illness. The authors cautioned that the treatment should always be used alongside any type of talk therapy in cases of schizophrenia. A French review from 2004 found the same. Research group according to schizophrenic patients, does not recommend the use of psychodynamic therapy in cases of schizophrenia, arguing that more trials are needed to establish its effectiveness.

Criticism

Psychoanalysis as a field of science

Both Freud and psychoanalysis have been subject to very harsh criticism. The exchanges between critics and defenders of psychoanalysis are often so heated that they are called the "Freudian Wars." Early critics of psychoanalysis believed that its theories were based on too few quantitative and experimental research, and also relied too heavily on the clinical research method. Some have accused Freud of deception, such as in the case of Anne O. Frank Cioffi, author of Freud and the Question of Pseudoscience, cites false statements of scientific evidence about a theory and its elements as the strongest basis for proving that Freud's work and his school are pseudoscientific. Others suggest that Freud's patients suffered from now easily identifiable illnesses unrelated to psychoanalysis; for example, Anna O. is believed to have suffered from an organic disorder such as tuberculous meningitis or temporal lobe epilepsy rather than hysteria (see modern interpretations). Karl Popper argued that psychoanalysis is a pseudoscience because what it claims is unverifiable and cannot be refuted; that is, it cannot be falsified. Imre Lakatos later noted: "The Freudians were not discouraged by Popper's basic observation regarding the scientific integrity of their theories. In fact, they refused to specify the experimental conditions under which they would abandon their basic assumptions.” Cognitive scientists, in particular, have also contributed to the criticism of Freud. One prominent positive psychology academic wrote: “Thirty years ago, the cognitive revolution in psychology toppled both Freud and the behaviorists, at least in academic circles. Thinking is not simply the result of emotions or behavior. Emotion is always generated by thinking, and not vice versa.” Linguist Noam Chomsky has criticized psychoanalysis for lacking a scientific basis. Steven Pinker considers Freudian theory unscientific. Evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould viewed psychoanalysis as a theory influenced by pseudoscientific theories such as recapitulation theory. Psychologists Hans Eysenck and John F. Kihlstrom also criticized Freudian teaching as pseudoscientific. Adolf Grünbaum argues that theories based on psychoanalysis can be falsified, but that the positions stated by psychoanalysis are not based on available clinical data. Richard Feynman called psychoanalysts "witch doctors": "If you look at everything complex ideas which they developed in an infinitesimal amount of time, if you compare with any other science how long it takes for one idea to be followed by another, if you take into account all the structures and inventions and complex things, the id and the ego, the tensions and forces , I submit that you will see that this cannot be true. It is impossible for one brain or several brains to concoct such a theory in such a short period of time.” E. Fuller Torrey, in Medicine Men and Psychiatrists (1986), agreed that psychoanalytic theories have no more scientific basis than those of traditional healers, "witch doctors" or modern "cult" alternative medicine. Psychologist Alice Miller, in her book For Your Own Good, stated that psychoanalysis is like “toxic pedagogy.” She thoroughly researched and rejected Freud's theories, including the Oedipus complex, which she and Jeffrey Masson said blamed the child for adult sexual misconduct. Psychologist Joel Kapfersmid examined the validity of the Oedipus complex by considering its nature and origins. He concluded that there was little evidence to support the existence of the Oedipus complex. Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze argued that the institution of psychoanalysis had become a center of power, and that its confessional methods resembled the Christian tradition. Jacques Lacan criticized some American and British schools of psychoanalysis for their emphasis on what he saw as the proposal of putative "causes" for symptoms, and recommended a return to Freud. Deleuze and Felix Guattari criticized the idea of ​​the Oedipus complex. Luce Irigaray criticized psychoanalysis using Jacques Derrida's concept of phallogocentrism to describe the phenomenon of the exclusion of women from Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalytic theories. Deleuze and Guattari, in their 1972 work Anti-Oedipus, took the cases of Gerard Mendel, Béla Grünberger and Janine Chasseguet-Smirgel, prominent representatives of the most respected associations (MPA), to suggest that, traditionally, psychoanalysis enthusiastically embraced the idea of police state. Psychoanalysis is still practiced by psychiatrists, social workers, and other mental health professionals; however, this practice is less common than before. "I think most people would agree that psychoanalysis as a form of treatment is on its last legs, so to speak," says Bradley Peterson, a psychoanalyst, child psychiatrist and director of the Institute for the Developing Mind at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. The theoretical foundations of psychoanalysis are associated with philosophical movements, which lead to interpretive phenomenology, rather than with the teachings that lead to scientific positivism, which makes the theory largely incompatible with the positivist approach to the study of the mind. According to a 2004 French report from INSERM, psychoanalytic therapy is less effective than other types of psychotherapy (including cognitive behavioral therapy) for treating some illnesses. Meta-analyses of numerous other studies were used to determine whether treatment was “proven” or “presumed” to be effective in various diseases. Numerous studies have shown that the effectiveness of therapy is related to the qualifications of the therapist, and not to the characteristics of the psychoanalytic school or technique or training method.

Freud's theory

Many aspects of Freud's theory are indeed outdated, and this is not surprising, since Freud died in 1939, and he was in no hurry to modify his theory. His critics, however, are equally behind the times, attacking the Freudian views of the 1920s as if they still had any validity in their original form. Psychodynamic theory and therapy have evolved significantly since 1939, when Freud's bearded face last time shone on the scientific horizon. Modern psychoanalysts and psychodynamic therapists no longer pay such attention great attention concepts of the id and ego, and they do not consider the treatment of psychological disorders to be an “archaeological expedition” in search of lost memories.-Drew Westen This criticism is being addressed by a growing number of empirical research academic psychologists and psychiatrists. A review of scientific research suggested that while personality traits corresponding to Freud's oral, anal, oedipal and sexual phases can be observed, they do not necessarily appear as stages in children's development. These studies also did not confirm that such traits in adults are the result of childhood experiences (Fisher & Greenberg, 1977, p. 399). However, these stages should not be considered as being of primary importance for modern psychoanalysis. What really matters crucial for modern psychoanalytic theory and practice, it is the power of the unconscious and the phenomenon of transference. The idea of ​​the "unconscious" is disputed because human behavior can be observed, while a person's mental activity is not obvious to an outsider. However, the unconscious is currently the most popular research topic in experimental and social psychology (e.g., relationship assessments, fMRI and PET scans, as well as other indirect tests). The idea of ​​the unconscious and the phenomenon of transference have been widely researched and their relevance is said to have been confirmed in the fields of cognitive psychology and social psychology (Westen & Gabbard, 2002), although the Freudian interpretation of unconscious mental activity is not pursued by most cognitive psychologists. Recent developments in the field of neuroscience have led, on the one hand, to providing a biological basis for unconscious emotional processing in accordance with psychoanalytic theory, i.e., neuropsychoanalysis (Westen & Gabbard, 2002), while, on the other hand, such findings make psychoanalytic theory obsolete. Shlomo Kahlo explains that the materialism that flourished in the 19th century did serious damage to religion and rejected everything that is called spiritual. In particular, the institution of confession to a priest suffered greatly. The void resulting from this was quickly filled new area– psychoanalysis. In his writings, Kahlo argues that the basic approach of psychoanalysis, which is that happiness is unattainable and that man's natural desire is to use his fellow men for his own pleasure and benefit, is erroneous. Freud's psychoanalysis was also criticized by his wife, Martha. Renée Laforgue writes that Martha Freud stated: “I must admit that if I had not realized how seriously my husband took his method, I would have thought that psychoanalysis was a form of pornography.” In Martha's opinion, there was something vulgar in psychoanalysis, and she distanced herself from it. According to Marie Bonaparte, Martha did not like what her husband was doing and the very method of his work (treatment of sexuality). Jacques Derrida incorporated aspects of psychoanalytic theory into his theory of deconstruction to question what he called the “metaphysics of presence.” Derrida also translates some of these ideas against Freud, revealing tensions and contradictions in his work. For example, although Freud defines religion and metaphysics as movements of identification with the father in resolving the Oedipus complex, Derrida (The Postcard: From Socrates to Freud and Beyond) insists that the important role of the father in Freud's own analysis is itself overridden. father in Western metaphysics and theology since Plato. Lakatos, Imre; John Worrall and Gregory Currie, eds. (1978). The Methodology of Scientific Research Programs. Philosophical Papers, Volume 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 146

Drew Westen, "The Scientific Legacy of Sigmund Freud Toward a Psychodynamically Informed Psychological Science." November 1998 Vol. 124, No. 3, 333-371

Derrida, Jacques, and Alan Bass. The Postcard: From Socrates to Freud and Beyond. Chicago & London: Univ. of Chicago, 1987.