Product Code Database
Psychodynamics, also known as psychodynamic psychology, in its broadest sense, is an approach to psychology that emphasizes systematic study of the psychological forces underlying human behavior, feelings, and emotions and how they might relate to early experience. It is especially interested in the dynamic relations between conscious motivation and unconscious mind motivation. What is psychodynamics? — WebMD rehashing Stedman's Medical Dictionary 28th Edition (2006), Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
The term psychodynamics is sometimes used to refer specifically to the psychoanalytical approach developed by Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) and his followers. Freud was inspired by the theory of thermodynamics and used the term psychodynamics to describe the processes of the mind as flows of psychological energy (libido or psi) in an organically complex brain. However, modern usage differentiates psychoanalytic practice as referring specifically to the earliest forms of psychotherapy, practiced by
/ref>
In the treatment of psychological distress, psychodynamic psychotherapy tends to be a less intensive (once- or twice-weekly) modality than the classical Freudian psychoanalysis treatment (of 3–5 sessions per week) and typically relies less on the traditional practices of psychoanalytic therapy, such as the patient facing away from the therapist during treatment and free association. Psychodynamic therapies depend upon a psychoanalytic understanding of inner conflict, wherein unconscious thoughts, desires, and memories influence behavior and psychological problems are caused by unconscious or repressed conflicts.Adapted from Corsini and Wedding 2008; Corsini, R. J., & Wedding, D. (2008) Current Psychotherapies, 8th Edition. Belmont, CA.: Thomson Brooks/Cole. (pp. 15-17).
Despite largely falling out of favor as the primary modality of psychotherapy and facing criticism as being "non-empirical", psychodynamic treatment has been shown to be effective at treating a number of psychological conditions in randomized controlled trials, more effectively than controls and to the same degree as other psychotherapy modalities.
Freud proposed that psychological energy was constant (hence, emotional changes consisted only in displacements) and that it tended to rest (point attractor) through discharge (catharsis).
In mate selection psychology, psychodynamics is defined as the study of the forces, motives, and energy generated by the deepest of human needs.
In general, psychodynamics studies the transformations and exchanges of "psychic energy" within the personality. A focus in psychodynamics is the connection between the energetics of emotional states in the Id, ego and super-ego as they relate to early childhood developments and processes. At the heart of psychological processes, according to Freud, is the ego, which he envisions as battling with three forces: the id, the super-ego, and the outside world. The id is the unconscious reservoir of libido, the psychic energy that fuels instincts and psychic processes. The ego serves as the general manager of personality, making decisions regarding the pleasures that will be pursued at the id's demand, the person's safety requirements, and the moral dictates of the superego that will be followed. The superego refers to the repository of an individual's moral values, divided into the conscience – the internalization of a society's rules and regulations – and the ego-ideal – the internalization of one's goals. Hence, the basic psychodynamic model focuses on the dynamic interactions between the id, ego, and superego. Psychodynamics, subsequently, attempts to explain or interpret behaviour or mental states in terms of innate forces or processes.
Psychodynamics was initially further developed by Carl Jung, Alfred Adler and Melanie Klein. By the mid-1940s and into the 1950s, the general application of the "psychodynamic theory" had been well established.
In his 1988 book Introduction to Psychodynamics – a New Synthesis, psychiatrist Mardi J. Horowitz states that his own interest and fascination with psychodynamics began during the 1950s, when he heard Ralph Greenson, a popular local psychoanalyst who spoke to the public on topics such as "People who Hate", speak on the radio at UCLA. In his radio discussion, according to Horowitz, he "vividly described neurotic behavior and unconscious mental processes and linked psychodynamics theory directly to everyday life."
In the 1950s, American psychiatrist Eric Berne built on Freud's psychodynamic model, particularly that of the "ego states", to develop a psychology of human interactions called transactional analysis which, according to physician James R. Allen, is a "cognitive-behavioral approach to treatment and that it is a very effective way of dealing with internal models of self and others as well as other psychodynamic issues.".
Around the 1970s, a growing number of researchers began departing from the psychodynamics model and Freudian subconscious. Many felt that the evidence was over-reliant on imaginative discourse in therapy, and on patient reports of their state-of-mind. These subjective experiences are inaccessible to others. Philosopher of science Karl Popper argued that much of Freudianism was untestable and therefore not scientific. In 1975 literary critic Frederick Crews began a decades-long campaign against the scientific credibility of Freudianism. This culminated in Freud: The Making of an Illusion which aggregated years of criticism from many quarters. (2025). 9781627797177, Metropolitan. ISBN 9781627797177 Medical schools and psychology departments no longer offer much training in psychodynamics, according to a 2007 survey. An Emory University psychology professor explained, “I don’t think psychoanalysis is going to survive unless there is more of an appreciation for empirical rigor and testing.”
At the heart of psychological processes, according to Freud, is the ego, which he sees battling with three forces: the id, the super-ego, and the outside world. Hence, the basic psychodynamic model focuses on the dynamic interactions between the id, ego, and superego. Psychodynamics, subsequently, attempts to explain or interpret behavior or mental states in terms of innate forces or processes. In his writings about the " of human behavior", Freud used the German word Trieb, a word that can be translated into English as either instinct or drive.
In the 1930s, Freud's daughter Anna Freud began to apply Freud's psychodynamic theories of the "ego" to the study of parent-child attachment and especially deprivation and in doing so developed ego psychology.
Carl Jung's contributions in psychodynamic psychology include:
|
|
