Psychoanalysis – the path to the depths of the psyche of the individual

6 min read
Psychoanalysis – the path to the depths of the psyche of the individual
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Some of us from time to time, as necessary and relevant, asked the question: what is the difference between a psychologist, psychotherapist and psychoanalyst? A neurologist, a psychiatrist, etc. are sometimes added here to the heap.

We will not touch purely medical specialties (psychiatrist, neurologist). Let’s touch only psychological. And here is the basis for the disclosure of the topic of this article: a psychologist is a specialist in the initial psychological profile who has received a higher education, which allows him to conduct consultations, for example; psychotherapist – a specialist who can conduct a prolonged course of therapy and counseling.

The difference between them, if we shorten the explanations to the utmost, is this: a consultant psychologist will give one session, maximum two, to one client, and a psychotherapist can conduct a course even for years. Neither the first nor the second deal with patients – only with clients, i.e. mentally healthy people who are not burdened with psychopathologies and diseases such as schizophrenia, paranoia and others like them. Although there are exceptions here, but they are too specific, and it makes no sense to cover them in this article.

All these points are indicated by us in order to be able to smoothly move on to explanations about psychoanalysis.

The essence of psychoanalysis

First of all, you need to understand that in the text below there will be no fundamental explanations regarding the theory – you can read the relevant articles to get acquainted with them. It will also highlight the specifics of the subject, which stands out for its methods, and the mechanical basis.

Psychoanalysis
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Psychoanalysis, in its essence, is a type of psychotherapy, but, due to the exceptional specificity of the methods, it stands apart in the whole family of practices related to activities in the field of the psyche of the individual.

The founder of psychoanalysis is, as you know, Sigmund Freud. Although this statement is not entirely true: Freud, rather, is not the founder, but the main successor of the theory. We see the first mention of the most important theoretical layers of psychoanalysis in Breuer, who was Freud’s friend and mentor. The essence of this remark is that it is important to understand that both of these people were doctors. Those. specialists in the field of medicine. In particular, Freud was a neurologist by specialization.

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And, in fact, he began to make a name for himself on this path: his work on trigeminal neuralgia, as well as the classification of cerebral palsy, are still used – however, with some modern upgrades, of course. That is why psychoanalysis initially swung even at illnesses – it was immediately focused on a wider range of problems simply because it was the creation of a doctor.

The connection with medicine, in many ways, determines the non-standard in comparison with other types of psychoanalysis therapies as a method. And the scope of its application is extremely curious: neuroses and even psychoses in the original. Today it has undergone significant changes, and new trends in psychoanalysis have little in common with the original.

Explains perinatal psychologist, Jungian psychotherapist Olesya Panarina:

Psychoanalysis is the basic theoretical foundation of modern psychosomatics. It was Z. Freud who stated that bodily diseases (somatics) have psychological causes. Over time, different schools interpret his theory in their own way and develop new methods of working with the body through symbols, games or psychological therapy.

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Since Chiozza’s modern school of psychoanalysis believes that all diseases have a psychological cause, the disease is seen as a history hidden in the body. If it is told (the main method of psychoanalysis), the symptom will no longer need to be retained in the body.

Importance of psychoanalysis

Even Freud himself pointed to the theoretical ambiguity of his creation, emphasizing the exceptional importance of practice. What does it mean? Approximately the following: there is a theoretical basis that allows a certain amount of initiative and freedom of interpretation, but strictly determines the use of an individual approach to each new patient. This is the quintessence of conclusions: psychoanalysis is a practice. There is still no consensus on the applicability and, most importantly, the validity of his methods. But they work.

Psychoanalysis
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Psychoanalysis is a psychotherapeutic practice that professes methods that are very directive and even harsh in relation to the patient’s psyche. But this is also due to the means of manipulation: mental defense mechanisms are an important element of the entire theory and practice of psychoanalysis. In addition, this element is extremely difficult to influence, because they are the obstacle that prevents our consciousness from adequately processing information for the purpose of a healthy perception of problems, if any.

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Especially worth mentioning is the fact that psychoanalysis is a theory that does not require special medical knowledge. Although those, of course, will greatly facilitate the practice of the therapist. But, nevertheless, the most important thing in psychoanalysis is the ability to deeply and thoughtfully analyze. Those. analyze patterns and identify cause-and-effect relationships. Logic is one of the main tools of this practice.

Well, and finally, it is worth saying: psychoanalysis can be compared with the method of the famous Sherlock Holmes. His practice is individual and does not fit into the general systematics of similar practices.

Main ideas of psychoanalysis

The head of the Center for Psychological Safety, a clinical psychologist with 17 years of experience, psychotherapist Alexander Tsapenko explains:

The subject of psychoanalysis is the study of the inner reality, the so-called unconscious person. As well as the objects of this inner reality – “I”, “It”, “Superego” and archetypes, activated or sleeping.
Psychoanalysis
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It cannot be said that there is a modern psychoanalysis, and it is radically different from the classical one. This is not some new method, but simply an adaptation of the methods of psychoanalysis to the needs of modern man. Freud and a number of scientists who are behind psychoanalysis (such as Sabine Spielrein, Melanie Klein) have already said everything that could be said about this. To have time to comprehend and adopt the works of Freud will already be a very great achievement for a modern psychoanalyst.

The main tools of psychoanalysis are transference and countertransference. Through them, the analyst has access to the client’s inner reality through his own inner reality. Unfortunately, now in the so-called modern psychoanalysis, the emphasis is more on the attributes of a psychoanalytic session – the duration of therapy, the contract between the client and the therapist, some rules, the number of sessions, the interval between sessions.

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The emphasis is on all this, and not on the work that Freud intended – the active use of transference and countertransference, which makes psychoanalysis a rather harsh and in some sense dangerous method. But with the help of which the positive effect of therapy is achieved quite quickly, contrary to the opinion that has now developed about psychoanalysis precisely because of the formalism in it, erroneous statements that it is necessary to work with the problem from six months or more. No, Freud did not do that, he could help a person, even meeting him on the street, quickly removing the symptom.

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Alexander Tsapenko
Alexander Tsapenko
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