Psychoanalysis consists of discovering the unconscious aspects of a person’s psyche that explain their emotional discomfort. A journey through the history of Psychology to see how it has evolved in different currents.
Psychoanalysis is an important school of psychology that was created by the physician Sigmund Freud , giving special importance to the subject’s childhood, psychosexual development, and the unconscious.
Despite maintaining similar characteristics, different currents have been created that have presented small modifications criticizing some points mentioned above and giving more importance to others. These currents are divided mainly into two: the neo-Freudians where we will find authors such as Alfred Adler, Carl Jung, Harry Sullivan or Erich Fromm and the psychology of the self with representatives such as Donald Sullivan and Melanie Klein. Finally we will talk about Jacques Lacan who is not located in either of the two currents. Below we present a brief summary of the psychoanalysis proposed by the aforementioned authors.
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What currents of Psychoanalysis have emerged throughout history?
Psychoanalysis is a school of psychology that attempts to explain behavior and personality based on different internal psychic structures , mainly using projective techniques, which is based on the defense mechanism of projection, which consists of perceiving or transferring what is perceived to another person. that we really care about or can’t accept about ourselves.
It was founded at the end of the 19th century by the psychiatrist Sigmund Freud with the purpose of explaining mental illnesses such as neurosis or depression. Also highlighted within this theory is the study of the unconscious, which is a fundamental element in the explanation of many of our behaviors and the importance of the events that occurred in childhood to also understand the current behavior of the subject.
After Freud, other authors have emerged who have proposed new currents within psychoanalysis that, despite maintaining similar characteristics, have shown important variations. Let us see, then, what they are and what each type of psychoanalysis proposes.
1. Freudian psychoanalysis
Freud’s psychoanalysis raises 5 important models on which he bases his theory.
- Topographic model :
This first model Freud exposes the first topic where he tells us that there are three psychic structures that make up each subject , these are: the conscious, which is located between the outside world and the mnesic system, related to memory, which we can easily access ; the preconscious is more difficult to access and represents the memory trace; and the unconscious, which is the most logical structure and the most difficult to access.
The first two structures are considered secondary processes, these being more rational and logical, and the last one is a primary process where energy circulates freely and is linked to the pleasure principle.
- Dynamic model :
In this model he describes the symptom as a compromise formation between drives and defenses (defense mechanism).
- Economic model :
Libido stands out, which is a psychic energy whose operation regulates the behavior and psychic life of the subject . It also refers to drive that serves as a push, an impulse for the individual to reach an end.
- Generic model :
Where he raises the five psychosexual stages through which people pass, these would be the oral, the anal, the phallic or oedipal, the latency and the genital, which is reached in adulthood and involves sexual maturity and the integration of values. morals. It also raises the concept of fixation that occurs when development is stopped at a stage or regression that the subject goes back to a previous stage.
- Structural model :
In this model, he posits the three important structures in the individual, such as: the id most closely related to the unconscious, sexual and aggressive impulses; the ego that acts as an intermediary, regulates the unconscious with the real, the id with the superego and the superego linked to the ideal ego.
2. Alfred Adler’s Individual Psychology
As his name indicates, this author gives main importance to the singularity and individuality of the subject, therefore he proposes a molar or holistic treatment that consists of considering the individual as a whole and not as distinctive parts.
It also raises the term feeling of inferiority, which will serve to explain the conflict that arises in children by not being able to achieve their desires , in this way the desire for power appears to compensate for such a feeling. This eagerness is not pathological, although it can become pathological if it is reinforced by their environment or by biological factors.
3. Carl Jung’s Analytical Psychology
Jung proposes a division between the personal unconscious, which refers to repressed personal experiences, and the collective unconscious, referring to collective experiences that are transmitted inherited. In the same way, he describes personality as a set of autonomous subsystems that are governed by the principle of Complementarity , where opposite pairs such as introversion-extroversion are presented.
The basic processes on which he bases his personality theory are: the libidinal process where he distinguishes introversion and extroversion, the rational processes where he presents the opposites of thinking and feeling, and the irrational processes formed by sensitization and intuition. In this way he distinguishes 4 functions: thinking, feeling, intuiting and perceiving and 2 introverted and extroverted attitudes, giving rise to 8 possible psychological types. Each subject tends towards a function and an attitude, giving rise to a predominant, conscious function and a subordinate one, beyond our control.
4. Harry S. Sullivan’s Interpersonal Psychoanalysis
Sullivan gives greater importance to the study of the interaction and transactions that occur between the subject and others, whether real or imaginary . He describes the personality as a stable pattern of repeated interpersonal situations, it is composed of the dynamisms and needs, the system of the self that develops during childhood in relation to experiences and the personifications that are constituted from the experience with other people.
In this way, the pathologies are understood as the effect of the anxious reactions of the parents that transmit discomfort to the child, maladjustment in interpersonal relationships. Describes three modes of experience, thought that relates some people to others, prototaxic experience are momentary states of the individual, where the environment is undifferentiated, parataxic experience begins to differentiate the environment, allows relationships and predictions and syntactic experience is linked to healthy development and healthy.
5. Psychoanalysis of Donald Winnicott
Winnicott focused fundamentally on the study of children and adolescents , referring that the main cause of the appearance of pathology is a problem or lack of environmental provisions, that is, parents do not meet the needs of their children.
He will talk about different phases of child dependency: absolute dependency that goes from 0 to 6 years old, the child is continually on the verge of unconditional anguish and parents must cover their physical and psychological needs so that the child can develop correctly ; relative dependency in the interval from 6 months to 2 years, the mother must gradually frustrate the child so that he achieves his independence and progresses towards independence where the child can face the external world but there may be small setbacks until independence is achieved total.
It also presents three important concepts: primary maternal concern, which refers to the state that the mother acquires during the last months of pregnancy and the first weeks after birth, which gives her a special sensitivity to perceive the baby’s needs; good enough mother referring to the support function that the mother performs; and holding, which is defined as emotional support.
6. Psychoanalysis of Melanie Klein
Melanie Klein is contrary to some points raised by S. Freud: the author affirms that at birth the child consists of a primitive self; unconscious fantasies, which are mental expressions of instincts, are the cause of anguish; she proposes the existence of an early oedipus; and of an early sadistic superego. Likewise, she cites as a central feeling the envy that is present from birth .
It also proposes two different positions through which the subject passes: the paranoid schizoid position that appears in the first 4-6 months of the child, in it the child conceives two partial objects, the good breast and the bad breast, of the mother, the early sadistic superego also arises and there is no difference between the ego and not ego, the anxiety related to this position is psychotic anguish.
The other position that occurs later, in the second semester of life, is the depressive one, in this case the child already perceives a single object that is sometimes good and sometimes bad, giving himself an ambivalence, he is already able to distinguish the non I of the I and the type of anxiety that appears is depressive or loss anguish.
7. Erich Fromm’s humanistic psychoanalysis
Erich Fromm presents a theory of psychoanalysis influenced by humanism , who understood that the important thing and the tendency of people is to self-realize, develop our potential and give meaning to our lives. In other words, it gives greater importance to the study of the positive elements and processes of the individual rather than to their problems. Likewise, he is more interested in the study of society and does not focus so much on the particular and specific analysis of the individual.
8. Psychoanalysis of Jacques Lacan
Lacan proposes an important distinction between: pleasure, which is based on letting oneself be carried away by pleasure; and jouissance, which on the contrary is linked to the death drive , is only bearable in small doses.
He describes language as a way of structuring the self and eclipsing it and differentiates between two linguistic signs: the signifier, which is the material support of the discourse, and the signified, which is the meaning of the sentence.
For the correct constitution of the subject, it must go through: the Mirror stage between 6 and 18 months where the first gestalt is formed, a unique conception of one, overcoming the anguish of fragmentation and the Oedipal Conflict from 3 to 5 years the father names the child, if this appointment does not happen, the defense mechanism of foreclosure or repudiation appears, which can lead to psychosis.
He tells us about three registers that are the ones that make up the psychic apparatus : the real, which refers to the unconscious, the imaginary, which would be the primary and narcissistic identification and where the mirror stage would occur, and the symbolic, which is the overcoming of the Complex. of Oedipus, the name of the father appears, the secondary identification and the formation of the superego.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.
