Clinical and Developmental Psychology Psychoanalysis 2 phases in history of psychoanalysis 1 Freudian theory 2 Object relations theory Modern psychoanalysis Freud developed psychoanalysis by observing only adults not children Then object relations people did massive study of children greatly improving psychoanalysis Freud 1856 1939 Major psychological illness of 19th century Women suffering from hysteria Because women had no rights Not aloud to receive education use libraries etc Husbands had all the money Only men were able to have jobs Wife beating and abuse were considered honorable Necessary etc Entire legal system was in favor of man against women Girls raised as slaves Passed on as slaves when married No escape Complete powerless from birth to death Hysteria Symptoms Heightened excitability Violent mood swings Depression when your angry and unconscious mind presses you down and upset because anger could be harmful Phobias Also many severe physical problems Paralysis of the arms can t hit husband Paralysis of hands Paralysis of jaw Blindness In modern times hysteria is called posttraumatic stress disorder The long severe stress that follows trauma anyone can have this not just women These women s symptoms are exactly the same as those of solders returning from war No one in the 19th century knew that trauma was the issue For example Charcot French neurologist at large hospital asylum in Paris Gave world famous lectures on effect of hypnotism on hysteria Used hypnotic suggestion instructions under hypnotism to remove patients symptoms Freud as a young man visiting Paris saw Charcot s demonstrations much impressed Charcot not interested in cause of hysteria only in fame and altering condition using hypnotic suggestion Freud and Janet independently came up with the theory of the cause Cause of Hysteria Patients have had traumatic experiences These experiences leave memories that are too emotional to face The memories are split off from the rest of the mind hidden The memories are so intense that they actually control the person s life Freud said purpose of hypnotism E g paralyzing the arm etc To discover these memories and bring them into consciousness where they could be faced and united with rest of consciousness It is unification of consciousness with the buried memories that brings the relief and happiness Freud s discovery is the most fundamental anyone has ever made about the human mind This discovery contains the following 7 basic ideas learn Very valuable 1 Memories are the problem The psychological difficulties people develop are due to the fact that they are suffering from memories 2 Too Muchness The memories are to emotionally charged to be faced The emotions overwhelm the person they have too muchness 3 Defense 4 Splitting The too muchness must be defended against There are a number of techniques that the mind uses to defend itself against too muchness Behind all defenses is really a splitting of the mind A defense is a barrier A barrier creates a splitting Example 1 repression creates a barrier between memory and consciousness Example 2 Multiple personality disorder is a splitting 5 Illness is splitting Psychological illness is therefore splitting or fragmentation of mind It is therefore splitting that makes the person unable to function properly in his her life 6 Health is absence of splitting A psychologically healthy person I e a person who is able to function well is a person whose mind is unified whole I e not splitting 7 Psychotherapy is integration The purpose of psychotherapy is to make the person whole removing splitting The word integration means make whole With the above 7 we see that for Freud and subsequent psychoanalysis the problem was therefore to develop techniques to make person whole I e integrated Freud soon discovered that hypnosis was not a successful technique It brings short term relief but the relief is not permanent Why We can understand this by using the above 7 points Which point does hypnosis fail to handle Hypnosis might be able to bring up the memories but it does not help you overcome defenses A defense is really a strategy for living It is much harder dealing with a defense than a memory So history of psychoanalysis changed from being directed towards both memories and defenses So Freud gave up hypnotism because he claimed it wasn t doing the cure Developed a remarkable set of techniques to uncover and deal with both the memories and defenses The Most Important Technique It seems obvious to us now but no one had ever done this before Freud LISTENED to his patients Listening is the fundamental technique This is a total revolution Psychiatry was done by medical doctors Doctors never listen to their patients The patient was regarded as ignorant The doctor was regarded as the expert The role of the doctor give the patients instructions Freud was a doctor But he was the first doctor that ever listened to his patients He regarded listening as most important Willing to listen for years Talking brings incredible relief to the patients In a sense the patient cures themselves by talking Talking removes defenses and unifies the patients minds So Freud invented the Talking Cure It works The phrase talking cure was invented by one of Jung s patients Related Techniques If a person talks in the normal way they spend much effort getting it right trying to communicate properly being polite respectful They edit almost everything they say Freud believed this editing hid important information Freud invented the concept of Free Association speaking thinking without editing This reveals much about the person their memories and defenses Transference Freud discovered that after a year or so of therapy the patient starts to confuse the therapist with his her own parents caretakers The patient has transferred his her parents onto the therapist called transference Transference a remarkable phenomenon and it happens to everyone although most people believe that it is not going to happen to them After 3 or 4 years the patient experiences being a small child again in relation to the therapist With extreme and very difficult feelings This phase Transference Neurosis The most valuable phase of therapy and soon leads to the cure and happiness Missing Notessssss Object Relations Theory Freud did not really observe children A group of people the object relations theorists did a huge study on children They thereby moved psychoanalysis forward enormously The single
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