Psychodynamic Key Issue

a Describe one key issue of relevance to today’s society and apply concepts, theories, and/or research (as appropriate) from the Psychodynamic Approach to explain the issue. Suitable examples: effectiveness of psychoanalysis in treating abnormal and normal clients debate concerning the issue of false memory and repression debate concerning relationship of early childhood experience to later sexual orientation debate about whether dreams have meaning. Note: in the examination paper, students may be given stimulus material from a key issue to explain using concepts, theories and/or research (as appropriate) from the Psychodynamic Approach.

The issue is the effectiveness of psychoanalysis in treating  abnormal  and normal clients.

Psychoanalysis is a therapeutic technique based on Freud’s theory, diagnosing and treating mental and emotional disorders through ascertaining and analyzing the facts of the patient’s present and past mental life and emotional experiences.

Traditionally, the most common abnormal behaviors treatable with psychoanalysis included: phobias, compulsions, obsessions, anxiety, depression and sexual dysfunctions. It seems that psychoanalysis works well with such behaviours but may be less suitable for other disorders such as severe depression or schizophrenia. It is also not appropriate for people with addictions or substance dependency or disorders of aggression or impulse control.

However, psychoanalysis is becoming increasingly popular for ‘normal’ people without any of these problems simply to gain insight into their behaviour. Even though psychoanalysis is a form of therapy which is often lengthy and costly, this does not seem to be putting people off seeing a psychoanalyst when there is nothing wrong with them. The treatment is usually prolonged, such as with four or five analytic sessions a week, lasting 45 minutes to an hour, for two to five years. As Marlon Brando said ‘The principal benefit acting has afforded me is the money to pay for my psychoanalysis.

Psychoanalysis may have limited usefulness and may not be suitable for every individual. One reason for this is that psychoanalysis often involves discussion of early childhood experiences since this is where Freud believed many of our problems stem from. Some individuals may not wish to talk about their childhood because it was traumatic and it may be painful for them to remember details. For example, their relationship with their parents might be unresolved and may be affecting the person at an unconscious level.

Psychoanalysis is also a very subjective process since the interpretation of the analyst could be biased and affected by their own life experiences and expectations of the analysand. For example, during free association the analyst will determine the meaning of the analysand’s responses and decide whether they have a problem. Similarly, the use of Rorschach inkblot tests to test the analysand’s personality is very subjective since this relies upon the analyst’s interpretation of what they are being told – there is no right or wrong answer.

Furthermore, research by Eysenck into the effectiveness of psychoanalysis suggests that people who received no therapy improved as much as those people who did over the same period of time. This suggests that psychoanalysis has limited effectiveness and may be a waste of time and money.

However, psychoanalysis may be the only type of therapy where the analyst can uncover defence mechanisms that are affecting behaviour and this may hold the key to helping the analysand’s behaviour to improve. For example, a repressed memory may be brought out of the unconscious mind meaning the analysand becomes aware of it and can then work through it and overcome it. This therefore means that the root cause of the problem is being tackled and not just the symptoms. This is not possible with other forms of therapy.

To conclude, psychoanalysis may not work for everyone due to its many problems including bringing up traumatic events from early childhood, relying on the interpretations of the analyst and having limited effectiveness. However, it does allow defence mechanisms to be uncovered which may be the key to improving some peoples’ behaviour.