The psychodynamic perspective in psychotherapy believes that unconscious motivations shape behavior, often stemming from childhood experiences. Sigmund Freud’s three-part model of the self, including the ego, superego, and id, is a key component. Other theorists have added to or diverged from Freud’s ideas, resulting in a wide range of psychodynamic schools of thought. In therapy, the therapist listens to the client to uncover hidden motivations for behavior.
The psychodynamic perspective refers to several theories that share some basic commonalities in the practice of psychotherapy and the broader view of the individual’s view. It is nearly impossible to discuss this perspective, as there are now so many in use in modern therapy practice. They do have commonalities, however, which can be delineated, and overall, they share a basic principle that most of the reasons people do things lie in unconscious motivation. Sigmund Freud first explored this principle, although many contributors have added other elements that may be contradictory to his original ideas.
In the simplest terms, a psychodynamic perspective speaks to the belief that experiences, often in childhood, shape who people are and how they think today. Most of the time, people don’t remember those experiences or they wouldn’t connect the dots between past and present. In fact, the motivation to do something now is often unconscious and needs to be revealed through therapy.
Freud invented the three-part model of the self, made up of an ego, superego, and id. These aspects of the mind are formed in very early childhood, he suggested, with the ego as the conscious self. Usually, the superego and the id fought against each other under the surface, and the results of this can be seen in various neuroses presented within the ego. Freud worked on these theories for many years, initially suggesting that early, unconsciously stored experiences were the predictor and reason for most human behavior. There are some today, such as Control Mastery theorists, who support this thought.
Later, Freud gave a much more sexually-based explanation of behavior, attributing much of it to people’s unexpressed sexual desire for their parents. For some, such theories were of great use, although others believed this perspective to be flawed. One theorist who opposed Freud was Carl Jung, who suggested that the self included many more parts and that underlying it all was the collective unconscious, shared by all people, no matter where or how they lived.
Other theorists, such as Heinz Kohut, have devised forms of the psychodynamic perspective such as Object Relations, similar to Freud’s work. Kohut also insisted on the empathic nature of the therapist, which was a diversion from the standard psychoanalysis practiced by Jung or Freud. Indeed, the traditional distance between client and analyst has been discarded in many forms of psychotherapy, and today there are fewer psychoanalysts and many more therapists who espouse some form of psychodynamic thinking.
In therapy, the psychodynamic therapist listens to the client to see if, together, they can uncover hidden motivations for behaviors that confuse the person today. Whether these are seen as repressed sexuality, some form of parental rejection, or some other reason tends to depend on the particular psychodynamic school of thought. Given the wide range of schools that are referred to as psychodynamics, therapy can be conducted in slightly different ways and can incorporate other schools of thought. Many therapists also use cognitive behavioral therapy where it seems appropriate.
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