In today’s era, one of the most prominent theorists of psychology is Sigmund Freud, who was able to transform all the foundations of psychology. Freud was an Austrian neuroscientist and the founder of the school of psychoanalysis, and he influenced thinkers such as Carl Gustav Jung, Alfred Adler, Karen Horne, Anna Freud, Otto Rank, Eric Fromm, Jacques Lacan, etc. He studied under teachers such as Jean-Martin Charcot, Josef Breuer, Theodor Meinert and Hermann Note Nagel.
Getting to know Freud
According to many psychologists, Freud is the most prominent and influential psychologist in history, but his theories faced many criticisms due to the structural breakdowns he had, especially his theories in the field of psycho-sexual stages, Oedipus complex and Electra complex. He was able to show the importance of topics such as childhood, dreams, sexuality, etc., which had been ignored until then.
Freud’s theories
Freud considered the human psyche to consist of conscious, semi-conscious and unconscious parts, but some time later he proposed it in two levels, conscious and unconscious. He believed that the human psyche is like an iceberg, a small part of which can be seen, and this part It is conscious, and man is aware of it, but he put a large part of the iceberg under water, and it includes semi-conscious and unconscious, and man is not aware of it.
Freud’s next theory was about the dimensions of human personality. He considered the human psyche to consist of three levels: id, ego, and superego.
The institution includes the repressed and deep desires and instincts of the human being, which is like a child who tends to have all his desires met immediately.
It is the logical part of each person’s personality and in order to comply with social norms, it postpones the demands until they are resolved at the right time.
The superego includes the do’s and don’ts and the norms that a person has taken from their parents, and when a person commits a mistake, it appears in the form of a guilty conscience.
Getting to know: Alfred Adler
Sexual-psychological theory
Freud proposed five stages to explain the psychological-sexual development of humans, and in these five stages, the center of pleasure is transferred to different parts of the body.
In the first stage, which is the oral stage, the child enjoys sucking on the mother’s breast. After the oral stage, in the second year, the child’s sexual focus shifts to the anus, where the child enjoys defecation. In this stage, the child faces the challenge of going to the toilet. In the anal stage, the child’s pleasure comes from defecation. The third stage, which lasts from the fourth to the sixth year, is called the phallic or alti stage. Because Freud relied on male sexuality as the developmental norm, his analysis of this stage attracted considerable opposition, particularly because he claimed that the main concern of this stage was castration anxiety.
The fourth stage is the latent stage, which includes up to the tenth year of life, in which the child transfers the center of pleasure from his body to the outside environment, and the last stage is the reproductive stage, in which the center of pleasure is transferred to the opposite sex.
Oedipus and Electra complex
Freud believed that boys develop a state of interest towards their mother, which causes them to be jealous of their father. This concept was named the Oedipus complex. In fact, he adapted this name from the legend of Oedipus. According to this concept, children of same-sex parents They consider them as competitors. A boy feels he has to compete with his father for his mother’s attention. Or in the Electra complex, a daughter falls in love with her father and competes with her mother. But since it is not possible to compete with the powerful parent, it starts to identify with him.
Defense mechanisms
Freud believed that every person unconsciously defends himself against unpleasant events in life. He proposed defense mechanisms such as displacement, denial, projection, projection, repression, exaltation, withdrawal, inverse reaction, etc., which later His daughter Anna Freud expanded these mechanisms and added the defense mechanisms of childhood and adolescence to them.
Getting to know: Karen Horne
Treatment methods in psychoanalysis
Freud raised the issue that most of the psychological damage caused to the person is external. Of course, this tension is different for each person because the conditions of people are different from others, so a unique treatment method should be adopted for each person. He used methods such as free association, hypnosis, dream interpretation, etc. to reach the unconscious contents and suppressed and buried desires.
- Interpretation of dreams: Freud considered dreams to have important symbols and a way to reach the unconscious, so he asked his clients to remember their dreams and express them in the treatment session.
- Free association: In this method, the client had to talk about whatever he wanted without thinking, and in this way he revealed many of his unconscious issues.
- Hypnosis: This method was used by Mesmer and Charcot some time before Freud, and Freud learned it from Charcot. In this method, the client falls into an artificial sleep and unconsciously reveals his unconscious contents.
- Transference: In this method, the client transfers the feelings he had to other important people in his life to the therapist, and in the meantime, a constructive relationship is formed between the therapist and the client.
- Interpretation: In this method, the client expresses his thoughts and feelings about people, then the therapist interprets these thoughts.
Freud started a revolution in the way of thinking and treating mental illnesses. He saw psychoanalysis as a way to listen to patients and better understand how their minds work. Psychoanalysis also had a great influence on modern psychology and psychiatry, and today it is one of the most practical and profound psychological treatment methods.