Counseling Theories

our behavior is determined by the unconscious motivations and biological drives that developed within the first 6yrs of life.

• biologically driven, child-like
• pleasure principle

• Socially driven
• morals, standards, right vs wrong

• Psychologically driven
• in charge, negotiates between id and superego
• reality principle

• consciousness is only the surface of the mind
• unconscious reveals itself in:
• dreams
• slips of the tongue
• free association
• posthypnotic suggestion

• protects the ego from anxiety
• healthy except when overused

threatening or painful thoughts and feelings are excluded from awareness

closing ones eyes to the existence of a threatening aspect of reality, person is aware.

actively expressing the opposite impulse when confronted with a threatening impulse

• Attributing to others one's own unacceptable desires and impulses.
• lustful, agressive impulses are seen as being possessed by "those people out there, but not by me"

• directing energy toward another object or person when the original object or person is inaccessible
• discharging impulses onto a safer target

manufacturing good reasons to explain away a bruised ego

diverting sexual or aggressive energy into other channels

going back to an earlier phase of development when there were fewer demands

taking in and swallowing the values and standards of others

identifying with successful causes, organizations, or people in the hope that you will be perceived as worthwhile

masking perceived weaknesses or developing certain positive traits to make up for limitations

• Psychosexual (Freud)
• focus on childhood (0-6yrs)
• biological development

• Erickson
• development throughout lifetime

Forming secure relationships

expressing negative feelings

attitudes toward sexuality

Ego psychology

• long term
• time intensive

• make the unconscious, conscious (insight)
• strengthen ego to reduce defense mechanisms

• blank screen for projection
• listens to content to make connections
• interpretation

• talks openly
• free association
• dream analysis

recreating the trusting relationship from infancy

• talk without inhibition
• reveal unconscious

dreams, free association, etc

manifest vs latent content

ego defends itself from anxiety

primary care giver projected onto therapist

• replaced authoritarian relationship with egalitarian model
• focus on the complex interplay b/t the client and therapist
• limited goals, not change whole personality
• focus on later life development
• fewer sessions
• therapist offers support
• focus on real world

Eg. Anna Freud, Jung, Erickson

• explores internal unconscious internalizations of others
• replay patterns based on early attachment style

how we use relationships to develop our view of ourselves

• the unconscious
• transference
• resistance
• value of therapeutic alliance
• early childhood patterns replay themselves
• defense mechanisms

• time commitment and expense
• not concrete, short term
• better for insightful, educated clients
• feminist critque