I have always been fascinated by Freud and his psychoanalytical theory due to its unique therapeutic approach. Acquainting myself with the model of personality development has been exciting, especially the three major constructs of the theory. These are; (a) the importance of childhood experience, (b) fixation, regression, and defense mechanism concepts. I chose the theory primarily because of the argument that we are a reflection of choices made during developmental stages. Truly, one’s past plays a vital role in the future because it plays part in the problems faced later in life and relationship issues.
The first pro of psychoanalytical theory is that it was founded on experimental psychology unlike many theories of his time. Secondly, psychoanalysis theory explores major aspects of human personality and has led to other theories like Erickson’s theory of psychosocial development (Berger, 2019). Thirdly, the findings on Freud’s theory provided a platform for developing a new perspective on mental illness. Since then, it was appreciated that sharing problems with professionals were therapeutic, and could alleviates symptoms.
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On the other hand, Freud’s theory has cons such as the overemphasis of the unconscious and sexuality, where his theory places “blame” on parents for dysfunction and the preposition that the rapist must play an anonymous role for fostering transference. It is also a con that Freud based his findings on case studies. The latter makes it difficult to explain the accuracy of the theory when used on a wide variety of patients, considering that each patient deal with their problems differently. When case studies are used, the results provide are limited to only a specific individual (Berger, 2019).
In sum, Freud’s psychoanalytic theory is rejuvenating and is applicable in contemporary life. However, the theory has both pros and cons with some justifiable enough while others are wanting.
Reference
Berger, L. S. (2019). Psychoanalytic theory and clinical relevance: What makes a theory consequential for practice? . Routledge
