The Case
Caleb is a very close friend who is known for his social behavior that attracts almost everybody in society. However, he has a problem when it comes to settling down to accomplish a certain task, particularly when the task demands a lot of attention. This has affected his life in several ways since he cannot sustain any job given the fact that employers need an individual who can be relied upon to realize certain objectives. Caleb lacks self-discipline since he cannot spare some time to conduct a review of his life and come up with an adequate answer to resolve the socio-economic issues facing him. For instance, he is unable to sustain a relationship with any woman owing to his character. He fails to draw a line between a friend and a lover, as he considers the two equal. From time to time, his friends have been forced to intervene to salvage the situation since he might be engaging two close friends in a sexual relationship. His life is full of tribulations because he cannot honor an agreement, irrespective of whether the agreement is casual or official. Caleb is extremely talkative, something that encourages him to participate fully in local debates touching on socio-political and economic life. Recently, he was relieved of his duties as a bank accountant following a confrontation with the line supervisor over the popularity of a presidential candidate. Before his sacking, he had threatened to teach those who were against his presidential choice a lesson. Since banks are non-political institutions, they had no option but to lay off Caleb.
My friend is yet to secure employment since he does not have time to settle down to strategize on the best way to uplift his living standard. This has affected the entire family since parents are concerned with this behavior given the fact that all of his college friends are young executives enjoying their careers. After losing his first job as a marketer with one of the leading firms in town, his first lover, Joyce, parted ways with him over claims of irresponsibility and infidelity. He went ahead to engage a different woman named Nancy, who has been complaining of neglect and infidelity as well. The behavior of Caleb is unbearable as far as family life is concerned.
Analysis of the Case using Theories
Sigmund Freud observed that the behavior of an individual is determined by the libido since it controls life instincts. Based on this, the personality of an individual is structured in a way that has several parts. The id represents the pleasure principle whereby an individual would want to achieve a certain objective without failure. This means that Caleb is mainly inspired by the id to act in a way that is often dangerous to himself and other people. The ego represents reality while the superego represents the moral principles. Caleb does not have a strong ego and superego, which allows the id to dominate. If the demands of the id are not met, an individual tends to be anxious, which leads to tension. At this stage, an individual seeks to reduce tension through various defense mechanisms. In the case of Caleb, the main defense mechanism employed is resistance since he does not want to accept reality. Freud observed that early stages of growth and development influence the behavior of individuals at mature commitments. At the oral stage, Caleb might have developed an oral aggressive behavior, which tends to be excessively ambitious. At the anal stage, he might have developed a similar behavior, which is related to aggressiveness.
Therapists employing the views of Freud adopt two major ways in analyzing the behavior of an individual with a problematic past. Analysis of manifest content entails a close review of what the therapist can see and hear. For the case of Caleb, analysis of repressed thoughts would be of great importance. Moreover, the therapists would as well interpret the transferences, as well as interpreting the nature of resistance. Caleb demonstrates promiscuous behavior, which is a sign of too much love in childhood from their parents. Freud noted that promiscuity is a result of failure to strike a balance between isolation and intimacy. Being too intimate results in promiscuity while lack of it leads to a malignant tendency referred to as isolation. Since Caleb has failed to establish the right balance, a maladaptive tendency referred to as promiscuity is inevitable. At the latency stage, the main task of the child is to be industrious to avoid inferiority. Since Caleb was unable to strike a balance between the two tasks, he developed a maladaptive tendency referred to as narrow virtuosity. This helped him in excelling academically, but there was confusion at the adolescence stage whose task is to strike a balance between ego identity and ego confusion. In case Caleb could have to strike a balance between the two, a psychosocial strength referred to as loyalty could have been achieved. Since this did not happen, a maladaptive tendency known as fanatic developed.
Carl Jung noted that libido is psychic energy that drives people to perform certain actions, such as perceiving, thinking, and even wishing. The energy operates based on three principles, including the principle of the opposite, the principle of entropy, and the principle of equivalence. He observed that psychic energy operates in opposite direction meaning that if it were channeled to do good things in one field, the result would be bad things in other fields. Of the energy is utilized in performing conscious duties, the duties undertaken without it would be unconscious. Through this, the scholar concluded that psychic energy operates in operate. He clarified that concentration of psychic energy in one area would lead to deterioration in other areas without it. He referred to this scenario as the principle of equivalence. For Caleb, his psychic energy is channeled to making new friends, which impedes his chances of securing employment. However, Jug was of the view that psychic energy aspires to create a balance, which results in the ideal state of selfhood, but does not resolve the conflicts. This principle is known as the principle of entropy. Personal unconscious leads to complexes, such as inferiority complexes. It should be noted that Caleb does not suffer from the personal unconscious, but instead, he suffers from collective unconsciousness, which is transferred from one individual to the other. Analysis reveals that he had good parents who played their roles effectively, but he ended up developing a persona unconsciousness or archetype, which made him develop a false character to please the public. He utilizes the image in confusing the members of the public.
Scholars aligned with Jung’s views apply various techniques in analyzing the behavior of individuals facing challenges in life. Three methods are often employed, including active imagination, explication, and amplification. In many cases, active imagination is utilized in experiencing the unconscious whereas explication and amplification are employed in interpreting the unconscious. Inactive imagination, patients are urged to retrieve images of dreams from their unconscious. Therapists would then engage such clients in conversations, as they interact with the images in internal realities. Under explication, it is established that the unconscious is charged with the responsibility of assembling images with the main purpose, even though the purpose is often hidden. Amplification means psychologists enlarge images and try to compare them with myths and literature.
Alfred Adler suggested that human behavior is always purposeful, goal-oriented, and conscious. This implies that an individual makes decisions that he or she deems relevant. In his view, the life of an individual is shaped within the first six years. At this age, the child tries to be successful in life by trying to be perfect in everything he or she does. Since children have no power to realize their objectives, they view themselves as helpless or inferior. Some children refuse to give in to the demands of society by setting personal goals. The desire to excel in life is a result of inferiority. Each person has his or her approaches, viewpoint, beliefs, and feelings. An individual would end up developing a unique lifestyle, as he or she strives to fulfill the goals. In this regard, an individual would perceive him or herself in a very different way. Moreover, an individual would have unique feelings, actions, and interpretations of events. It would be difficult for an individual to neglect the community, as he or she tries to realize his goals. Therefore, each person attempts to embrace the views of other people and respects the viewpoints of other people. In other words, an individual feels a sense of belonging. Since Caleb is the last born, h believes he is the baby. This makes him behave in a very different way as other siblings.