Defining the Psychodynamic Approach

Psychological Approaches – The Psychodynamic Approach

Trigger warning // child sexual abuse discussion in module 3 Trigger warning // sexual assault discussion throughout module 4

In this course, Dr Shanti Shanker (Bournemouth University) explores the psychodynamic approach within psychology. In the first lecture, we think about what the psychodynamic approach is and how the conscious and subconscious mind is divided according to Freud’s theory. In the second lecture, we think about psychosexual development and the stages that make up that process. In the third lecture, we think about the six defence mechanisms proposed by Freud. Next, we think about some clinical applications of psychodynamic theory and evidence for its concepts. In the fifth and final lecture, we think about how these concepts can be summarised.

Defining the Psychodynamic Approach

In this lecture, we think about what the psychodynamic approach is, focusing in particular on: (i) recognising the unconscious mind as the aspect of our mind that we are not aware of; (ii) a metaphor for the unconscious mind being a memory storage facility, akin to a computer hard drive; (iii) the differences between, and functions of, active and passive forgetting; (iv) characteristics of the id, ego and superego, proposed by Freud as three parts of the mind; (v) defence mechanisms, which are non-conscious mechanisms put in place to manage conflicts between the id and superego; (vi) psychosexual stages of development that each correspond to a conflict which, if left unresolved, can lead to issues in adult life; (vii) the three main defence mechanisms in psychodynamic theory as denial, repression and displacement; (viii) Michael Anderson’s ‘Think/No-Think’ paradigm, which requires both the repression and highlighting of certain memories.