Introduction
Psychoanalytic theory has earned its place in Psychology as a very controversial form of therapy. The concepts it promotes may have been too drastic at the time its founder, Sigmund Freud unveiled it in a society that was considered very prude and restrictive. Even during these sophisticated times, some of his theories may still shock some educated people, however, much logic and sense may be derived from it when one analyzes the context it is applied to.
The Psychoanalytic theory adheres to the belief that human nature is greatly affected by a person’s early childhood experiences, his conflicts between impulses and the prohibitions of society. At the time these theories where presented, psychosexual issues were considered “taboo”.. However, because it attracted much interest and debate, it gained a prestigious distinction in the field of Psychology to merit a great deal of influence, intensive study, modification and application.
Human behavior, according to the Psychoanalysts, are determined by irrational forces, unconscious motivations and biological and instinctual drives evolving in the first six years of life. Each life stage is associated to a body fixation namely the Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency and Genital stages. Freud theorized that if a traumatic experience has happened in a particular psychosexual stage, an individual gets fixated on that stage, thereby retaining the characteristic of behavior associated with that stage.
His idea of the three systems of personality, the id, ego and superego being in constant battle within a person makes sense to me, as I liken it to a person’s continual debate of what is right and wrong, and then behaves according to his moral decisions. Such decisions are affected by what society dictates as well as what the person truly desires for himself.
Although the Freudian view of psychosexual stages of development coincides with other contemporary theories on human growth and development, my gut reaction to it was negative. I find it demeaning to a person’s capacity to make sound judgments because he is viewed as enslaved by his biological fixations and primal needs. It is as if it implies that a person is imprisoned by his past experiences and that his horrible past determines his woeful future.
To survive living with negative experiences that may have marred a person’s personality or life views, he develops “defense mechanisms” that aim to keep those traumatic experiences repressed in the unconscious. These defense mechanisms are usually practiced by everyone in their daily life not knowing that they are applications of Freudian thought. An example of a defense mechanism commonly used is ‘rationalization’. From my personal experience, whenever I am expected to come early to an appointment and even, and I still end up coming late, I try to find justification of my actions even before the set meeting time. For instance, I had to answer an important phone call at the time I was supposed to be out of the door on my way to my appointment and it took me more than ten minutes to talk to that person. Upon arrival at the appointment, I immediately share and rationalize how important a call I had to take so that it excuses my tardiness.
Defense mechanisms, I believe is one aspect of the Psychoanalytic theory that I would find useful in my practice as a counselor, as the patterned use of whichever kind already says a lot about the coping style and personality of the client. Personally, upon reading the list of common defense mechanisms, I related to many of it, and immediately caused me to reflect on why I use them and realize that in most instances, I am personally to blame for negative consequences of my decisions and behaviors.
The goals of Psychoanalytic therapy are settling unresolved conflicts in a person’s past that deeply affect his current patterns of behavior and personality. It may involve bringing repressed painful memories to resurface to be dealt with consciously through the techniques of free association, dream analysis, hypnosis, transference, and analysis of resistance handled by a skilled psychoanalyst. This tedious process intends for the client to reach a level of self-understanding for him to be able to move on with his life without the heavy emotional baggage he has been carrying all his life. This understanding is necessary for an eventual change in character.
The psychoanalytic therapist should be adept and very patient in coaxing the client to unearth his repressions. The ability to listen and be alert and sensitive to what the client tries to communicate (verbally or non-verbally) is crucial to her valid interpretations about the client. She must also possess maturity and maintain her professional objectivity especially when the client undergoes “transference” of remembered feelings towards a significant person in his life to the therapist. A deep level of trust must have been established between the therapist and the client to be able to achieve this feat.
In order for the therapy to be successful, the client must be committed to being cooperative and ready to discover truths about himself, no matter how painful it may be. In the course of the therapy, the client is expected not to make any drastic life changes that may affect the analysis of the clients’ problems.
Psychoanalytic therapy ends when both client and therapist mutually agree that they have reached the goals of therapy, that of the client reaching self-understanding, and being able to use uncovered information in confronting present conflicts and future possibilities of repetition of patterns of unwanted behavior.
Personally, I find Psychoanalytic theories to be too difficult to accept. Requiring a client to undergo a long and agonizing journey to his past in order to gain enlightenment may have its advantages, and I believe in its goals of self-understanding. However, dwelling too much in the past may also be a waste of time, as what is more essential upon gaining such awareness is the process of moving forward. The bible offers much hope for wounded souls, and integrating its truths to victims of past hurts is the panacea they might just be searching for. The assurance that God loves man unconditionally in spite of man’s use or abuse of his gift of free will may be enough for wayward prodigal sons to come back to the fold.
Adlerian Theory
I found the Adlerian theories to be more to my liking. It is more humanistic and forgiving of human frailties. It views human nature as creative, active and decisional. It is influenced and motivated by social forces, most especially by a person’s first social circle, his family. Adlerian theory is a breath of fresh air offered to downtrodden souls. It embraces inherent feelings of inferiority as positive and humbling signs of a person’s realization that he needs to strive to be better than what he is now. It reflects the Christian view that man is inherently fallen as inherited from Adam and Eve’s original sin, and this state makes him feel the need for a savior in the person of Jesus Christ. A sinner will strive hard to change for the better in order to be worthy of salvation.
Adlerian theory focuses more on an individual’s concern for social interest. It is more consistent with biblical teachings of loving one’s neighbor. An individual derives much fulfillment in empathizing with other people and gives him a clearer view of his own purpose in life. Alfred Adler advocates that we must successfully master three universal life tasks: building friendships, establishing intimacy and contributing to society. Being able to do all three makes life worth living.
The quality of experiences and shared relationships with his family while growing up greatly influences how a person develops his own personality. Individuals acquire a certain style of relating to others in childhood that carries over to their adult interactions. For instance, if his birth order reflects strong sibling rivalry, the patterns of behaviors with the rival sibling may be repeated to an adult counterpart in the person of a colleague at work who constantly competes with him in terms of work performance or social popularity within the office.
Adlerian therapy begins with establishing a mutually respectful relationship between the therapist and the client who both collaborate in identifying, exploring and disclosing mistaken goals and faulty assumptions in a client’s life. The client is then reeducated towards the useful side of life which acknowledges his existence to be significant in his social circles. He is likewise assisted in the adoption of appropriate behaviors and practices characterized feelings of belongingness and social interest. In doing so, the client gains confidence and positive self-esteem empowering him to modify his faulty beliefs of his weaknesses and uselessness in society.
The therapist gets information about a client’s lifestyle using subjective information provided by the client himself as he volunteers information about himself and objective information likewise provided by the client, but structured by the therapist. Mostly, they discuss recollections of early family memories. From this point, a client may be aware of some personality quirks he possesses because of a significant past familial experience. Being a child always compared to other more worthy standards of good behavior, I became a defensive child who refused to believe that I was not at par with other well-behaved children. Up to now as an adult, I realize that it is difficult for me to accept criticism and my default is always to rationalize my misdemeanor.
Throughout the therapy, the therapist accepts the client’s frame of reference in understanding his subjective life views. Again, this fosters a sense of belongingness, and encourages the client to move towards positive change because of a motivating partner. Developing insight about oneself comes from exploring different interpretations of disclosed and realized goals and purposes, directions in life, one’s private logic and how it works, and one’s current behavior. The final stage of therapy translates these insights to action in achieving the goals of developing the client’s positive self-concept and empowerment to be a contributing member of society. It is likely that the client acknowledges his God-given gifts and decides to share it with others.
Adlerian theories may be appropriately applied to a wide variety of fields – from education to parenting, marriage and family counseling, group therapy, etc. I have become a fan of its precepts and believe that applying most of its theories in my counseling practice would benefit my clients and eventually the society they live in.
Encouragement is the key in Adlerian theory, and it is something this world needs a lot of. With devastation consuming a lot of people because of stress, family conflicts, imbedded hurts from failed relationships, and moral transgressions, Adlerian therapy would be very much welcome, as it aims to heal broken and strengthen healthy relationships.
I have reflected that Jesus Christ would apply Adlerian theory himself as he is compassionate and moves people to unite together. He is a very encouraging and motivating “therapist” fully capable of healing broken spirits and making them new again. He offers unconditional love in spite of all our human flaws and understands our human thinking with his divine wisdom.
Reference
Corey, G. (2005) Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy, 7th ed. Brooks/Cole, a division of Thomson Learning Inc.