A conceptual approach to understanding psychological development and treating mental illness based on the clinical work and writings of Sigmund Freud. Freud was the founder of psychoanalysis, which is a widely used and highly influential technique for revealing the deep self and resolving psychological issues. Freudian theory is based on a number of Freud’s central ideas about the structure and function of the human mind.
A theory that emotional and allied diseases are due to a psychic injury or trauma, generally of a sexual nature, which did not produce an adequate reaction when it occurred and therefore remains as a subconscious or ‘affect’ memory to trouble the patient’s mind. As an extension of this theory, Freudian treatment consists of encouraging the patient to tell everything that is associated with trains of thought which lead up to this memory. This achieves a ‘purging’ from the mind of the original ‘affect memory’ which is the cause of the symptoms. This form of treatment is also called psychocatharsis or abreaction.
Psychoanalysis is a discipline pioneered by Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), a neurologist from Vienna. This theory emerged from Freud’s work with neurotic patients, initially using hypnosis and later delving into the interpretation of their dreams. The Freudian theory became the foundation of the psychoanalysis technique.
According to Freud, an individual’s emotions, thoughts, and actions are influenced by unconscious desires and conflicts that stem from childhood. Difficulties arise when these desires are unfulfilled or when conflicts persist unresolved into adulthood.
At the core of Freud’s theory lies the concept of early psychological development, with a particular focus on sexual development. Freud categorized this development into three stages: oral, anal, and genital, which correspond to the different areas of the body that capture an infant’s attention at various ages. Additionally, he identified three components of personality: the id (linked to pleasure), the ego (related to reality), and the superego (influenced by moral and social constraints).