Frequently Asked Questions

Patient Commitment in Psychoanalytic Therapy

Psychoanalysis is concerned with making unconscious mental aspects conscious, such as thoughts and motivations. Interactions between the psychoanalyst and the patient are frequently frequent and last a long time in order to attain this goal as a therapeutic method. As a result, psychoanalytic therapy normally requires three to five weekly visits, while spontaneous maturational change takes three to seven years. Treatment duration varies from patient to patient, with an average of 5 to 6 years. The insurance coverage would, therefore, not be sufficient for psychoanalytic therapy.

Importance of Discussing Childhood with the Therapist

Is it important for me to discuss my childhood with the therapist?

The discussion of childhood memories is usually necessary during psychoanalytic therapy. Psychoanalysis is especially useful as a therapeutic tool in the case of problems that are persistent. Such include personality disorders and depression. The analysis of childhood experiences is important in such cases since the effects of such could have contributed significantly to the current condition. The dreams, wishes, and fantasies expressed by the patient are usually recollections of childhood experiences and as such may help the psychoanalyst find the root cause of the problem. According to Gil (1978), “reconstructions of childhood in psychoanalysis show not only what happened to an individual in childhood but also how they adopted to their particular situations to conflict solutions in the past and how they continue to be guided today by that experience of the past.”

Freudian Psychoanalysis and Sexual Urges

Why does Freudian psychoanalysis put so much emphasis on sexual urges?

Sigmund Freud is renowned for his attribution of normal human behaviors to sexuality. However, the term sexuality in Freudian psychoanalysis is not limited to how we commonly use the word. In psychoanalysis, sexuality is a broad term that denotes pleasure, and where and how human beings obtain it. As such, our common perception of sexuality, “genital adult sexuality” is only one expression of sexuality according to the psychoanalytic theory. Sexuality according to Freudian psychoanalysis ranges from infantile sexuality to adult sexuality. The former is particularly important in childhood since it defines the relationship between an infant with its primary care providers. “In psychoanalytic treatment, the ways in which the individual in question has experienced satisfaction and frustration of his infantile sexuality will appear in his ways of feeling, thinking, and acting” (Consultabaekeland.com).

The Role of Dreams in Psychoanalytic Therapy

Will I have to talk about my dreams? Why?

You will have to talk about dreams in psychoanalytic therapy. This is because the interpretation of dreams is key to the therapeutic process in Freudian psychoanalysis. Dream analysis is key to accessing unconscious mental elements. As such, dreams can provide important insight into an individual’s conflicts and unconscious desires. A dream usually consists of manifest content which the dreamer remembers perfectly and latent content which is quite the contrary. The latent content of a dream which contains the repressed meaning of the dream is particularly important in this context. A psychoanalyst can then use free association to transcribe the latent content by instructing the patient to mention images that come to mind when thinking about a particular dream. As such, dreams may inform the psychoanalyst of certain traits of the patient that are the result of recurring patterns within dreams. This is influential since it determines the direction the psychoanalyst will use during therapy.

Differences Between Freudian and Jungian Therapy

My friend is going to a Jungian therapist. How is that different from a Freudian therapist?

Jungian therapy is based on the theories of Carl Jung, who together with Sigmund Freud, is seen as one of the most influential figures in the field of psychology. Jungian therapy is a type of psychoanalysis just like Freudian therapy but there are divergences when it comes to views of the unconscious mind, dreams, sex and sexuality, and religion. In Jungian analysis, the patient will still be subjected to dream analysis. However, in Jungian analysis, the patient/dreamer plays an influential role in deciphering the message contained in the dream unlike in Freudian psychoanalysis. This is due to Jung’s assertion that the interpretation of a dream is only helpful if it is understood by the dreamer. Jungian analysis also utilizes the amplification technique which is not used in Freudian psychoanalysis. This technique is based on the assumption that human beings share “inherited universal experiences.” This helps in the interpretation of a patient’s dream.

Personal Unconscious vs Collective Unconscious

What is the difference between the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious?

The personal unconscious and the collective unconscious are both layers of the unconscious proposed by Carl Jung. The personal unconscious is made up of information that is forgotten temporarily in addition to memories that are repressed. Such memories are very important in psychoanalytic therapy since they include memories such as hatred, pain, bitterness, and prohibited urges that can have a great impact on a person. Personal unconscious depends on personal experiences and as such is unique to an individual.

Collective unconscious, on the other hand, applies to all human beings unlike personal unconsciousness. It is passed on from generation to generation and is based on the memories of humans over the years. This is different from personal consciousness which each individual develops over the course of their life. Collective unconscious is much deeper than the personal unconscious and also marks a point of divergence between Jungian psychoanalysis and Freudian psychoanalysis.

Understanding Defense Mechanisms

I have heard a lot about defense mechanisms. What are they?

According to the psychoanalytic theory, defense mechanisms refer to structured apparatus instituted by an individual’s ego in a bid to defend its existence. The ego usually defends itself against external factors that jeopardize its existence, and internal factors that make extravagant demands. Defense mechanisms are usually unconscious and they usually intervene when an individual’s ego cannot reach a compromise in a bid to solve a particular real-life problem. They protect one from the anxiety associated with facing one’s weaknesses. Defense mechanisms are wide and varied and include the following: denial, repression, displacement, sublimation, projection, intellectualization, rationalization, reaction-formation, acting out, turning against oneself, affiliation, purpose inhibition, altruism, avoiding, compensation, passive aggression, and humor.

Anal Retentiveness in Freudian Psychoanalysis

I’ve been told that I am a very anal person. Does that have anything to do with Freud?

This alludes to anal retentiveness which is based on one of the psychosexual stages proposed by Sigmund Freud. The anal stage is usually observed in children between 1 and 3 years of age. During this stage, a child is cognizant of the fact that they are an independent individual. Their ego has developed and they are aware that their desires and wishes can result in a conflict with external demands. An anal retentive individual is usually obsessive in their behavior; they hate mess, are compulsively tidy, punctual and have the utmost respective for authority. This kind of behavior is usually annoying to other people and can be detrimental to the social life of the anal retentive individual. Such individuals are also frugal. This is basically what it means by being an anal person.

References

Consultabaekeland.com. What sexuality does psychoanalysis talk about? Retrieved from http://www.consultabaekeland.com/p/en/psychologist-madrid-faqs/more-science-less-fiction-about-psychoanalysis/what-sexuality-does-psychoanalysis-talk-about.php

Gill, H. (1978). The reconstruction of childhood in psychoanalysis. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 51(4), 311- 318.

Psychoanalysis.org. Cost and Time. Retrieved from http://psychoanalysis.org.uk/what-is-psychoanalysis/cost-and-time