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Theory
and Practice of Counseling -
PSY632
VU
LESSON
25
NEO-FREUDIANS
Link
to Previous Lecture: Evaluation of Freudian
Psychoanalysis
Strengths
·
The
importance of sexuality and the
unconscious in human
behavior.
·
The
approach lends itself to empirical
studies. Freud's proposals
have generated a
tremendous
amount
of research since the early
1900s. Usually psychoanalytic research is
based on case
histories
·
Provides
a theoretical base of support for a
number of diagnostic instruments.
·
The
approach reflects the complexity of
human nature.
·
The
approach has grown and
developed through the years. There are
several modified forms of
psychoanalysis,
such as ego psychology or
object-relations theories.
·
The
approach appears to be effective for
those who suffer from a wide variety of
disorders, such as
hysteria,
narcissism, obsessive-compulsive
reactions, character disorders, anxiety,
phobias, and
sexual
difficulties.
·
The
approach stressed the importance of developmental
stages the knowledge of which is
essential
for
treatment plans. Moreover, this also
provided basis for the development of
other personality
theories,
such as those of Erikson and
Levinson.
·
Some
psychological tests, such as the
Thematic Apperception Test or the
Rorschach Ink Blots,
are
rooted
in psychoanalytic theory.
Weaknesses
Despite
the unique emphases of psychoanalysis,
most modern professional counselors do
not use the
approach.
The reasons are numerous,
but among them are following
limiting factors:
·
Time
consuming and
expensive.
·
The
approach does not seem to
lend itself to working with
older clients.
·
Based
on many concepts not easily
communicated or understood. These
concepts not only
are
difficult
to test but also have
inadequate evidence for
their existence.
·
Overemphasis
on biology and unconscious
forces
·
Sexism
·
Lack of
Cross-cultural support
·
The
approach is deterministic.
·
Counselors
and psychologists without
medical degrees have had a
difficult time getting extensive
training
in psychoanalysis.
·
Feminist
perspective argues that
psychoanalytic therapy places too
much emphasis on penis
envy,
mother's
responsibility for patient's
problems.
NEO-FREUDIANS
Psychoanalytic
theory represents one of the
most sweeping contributions to the
field of personality. Despite
its
influence, Freud's followers developed opposing
views and rejected many of
his controversial concept,
for
example, Adler was the first
analyst to reject Freud'
ideas in favor of social
interest. Karen
Horney,
Sullivan,
and Eric Fromm are the
psychoanalysts who developed a
social-psychological view. They
extended
Freud'
views and are known as
Neo-Freudian.
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Theory
and Practice of Counseling -
PSY632
VU
Adlerian
Counseling
Alfred
Adler
Alfred
Adler was born in 1870 in
Penzing, Austria, a suburb of Vienna. He
was a second of six children
in a
middle-class
Jewish family. Adler shared
a close relationship with his
mother until his younger
brother was
born.
Because he felt abandoned at
that time, he sought the support of his
father. Adler was also
close to
his
older brother,
Sigmund.
Alder
was a sickly child and
was injured often. He was
run over in the street, suffered
from rickets, and
almost
died of phenomena at age 5. At age 3, he
witnessed the death of a younger brother.
It is little wonder
that
he was later attracted to the profession of
medicine. To make up for his
physical limitations,
Adler
spent
a great deal of his
childhood outside playing with
other children and went out
of his way to cultivate
their
friendship.
In
1895, he graduated in medicine
from the University of Vienna.
Adler was invited to join
Freud's Vienna
Psychoanalysis
Society where he quickly
gained prominence. Adler
always thought as a colleague rather
than
a
disciple of Freud. He disagreed early on
with Freud's theoretical approach,
especially the emphasis on
biology
and sexuality. Adler developed a
theoretical orientation that was
less deterministic and
more
practical
and hopeful. In 1911 he formed
his own group, Individual
Psychology, because of differences
with
Freud.
He disagreed with the sexual
etiology of neurosis and importance of
instinctual drives.
View
of Human Nature
Following
are the important concepts of
Adlerian Psychology:
·
Family
constellation and Environment
·
Striving
for superiority
·
Social
interest
·
Life-Style
·
Fictional
finalism
Adler's
view of human nature is much
more positive than Freud's.
Rather than being motivated
by
instinctual
drives, Adler thought that
humans are primarily
motivated by social interpersonal
factors. His
theory
holds that conscious aspects of
behavior, rather than the unconscious
are central to the development
of
personality.
Family
Constellation
His
theory places considerable
emphasis on birth order; those
who share ordinal birth
positions (for
example
firstborn) may have more in
common with one another that
siblings from the same
family. Five
ordinal
positions are emphasized in Adlerian
literature on the family constellation.
·
Firstborn
o
Firstborn
are initially the "reigning monarchs" of
a family because they receive
undivided
attention
from parents. They are
socialized to confirm, achieve,
behave, and please.
They
take
responsibility when parents are absent
and often act as parent
substitutes in large
families.
All firstborn experience the
loss of their unique position in the
family when a
second
child is born.
·
Secondborns
o
The
position of secondborn is an enviable
one, according to Adler, but
does have
drawbacks.
Secondborns never have to
worry about issues of power
and authority as
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Theory
and Practice of Counseling -
PSY632
VU
firstborns
do. Usually, these individuals
are more outgoing, carefree,
and creative and
less
concerned
with rules than
firstborns.
·
Middle
Children
o
Children
born in the middle positions of a family
often feel alliances that an
oldest or a
youngest
child may form. These
skills can prove useful
for manipulating events to get
what
they
want and choosing areas
where they can be
successful.
·
Youngest
Children
o
Youngest
children in the family have
difficulties and opportunities
that are different
from
those
of their older siblings.
Youngest children receive a
great deal of attention
from
others,
who are likely to cater to
their needs. These children
may become charmers
but
may
also have difficulty breaking
out of the role of baby or
family pet. They face
the
danger
of becoming spoiled. At the same time,
youngest children may make
great strides in
achieving
because of role models
provided by older
siblings.
·
Only
Children
o
Any
child born seven or more
years apart from siblings is
psychologically an only
child.
These
children, as a group, are never dethroned
and are at an advantage,
like oldest
children,
in receiving a great deal of
attention.
Family
Environment
In
addition to birth order, the
family environment is important to a
person's development, particularly in
the
first five years of
life.
·
A
negative family atmosphere
might be authorization, rejective,
suppressive, materialistic,
overprotective,
or pitying.
·
Perception of
the family atmosphere, rather than any
events themselves, is crucial to
the
development
of a style of life.
Srtriving
for Superiority
Drive
toward superiority is similar to
self actualization but has
nothing to do with achieving a
position in
society.
It pulls the individual through the developmental
stages. Human beings strive
for superiority as
their
life goal. It is "the great
upward drive". A major Adlerian tenet is
that people strive to become
successful
(that is the best they can
be); therefore their behavior is
goal directed and purposeful. There
is
also
a tendency for each person
initially to feel inferior to others
because of psychological or
social
problems
or actual physical disability. If this
feeling is not overcome the person
develops an inferiority
complex.
In contrast a person who
overcompensates for feelings of
inferiority develops a superiority
complex
which is what Adler also
described as a neurotic fiction
that is unproductive.
Social
interest and Life
Style
The
judgment of self in relation to one's
perception of status in the world begins
to form patterns of
behavior
that become one's
life-style.
·
Human
beings are motivated by
social rather than instinctual
factors
·
The
judgment of self in relation to one's
perception of status in the world begins
to form patterns
of
behavior that become one's
life-style.
·
The
life-style is based on the individual's
feelings of inferiority and
striving to overcome a
weakness
·
Formed at the
age of 4 or 5
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Theory
and Practice of Counseling -
PSY632
VU
Teleological
Goals and Fictional
Finalism
Adler
believed that people are as influenced by
future (teleogical) goals as by
past causes.
Fictional
goal: The fiction is the
subjective creation of the individual
that offers a basis for action as if
such
were
a true assessment of reality
·
Fictional
finalism is the striving for this
goal
Role
of the Counselor
·
Adlerian
counselors function primarily as
diagnosticians, teachers, and
models in the equalitarian
relationships
they establish with their
clients. They try to assess
why clients are oriented to
a certain
way
of thinking and behaving. The
counselor makes an assessment by
gathering information on the
family
constellation and a client's earliest
memories.
·
The
counselor then shares interpretations,
impressions, opinions, and
feelings with the client
and
concentrates
on promoting the therapeutic relationship.
·
The
client is encouraged to examine
and change a faulty life-style by
developing social
interests.
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