Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysts believe that unconscious drives and desires influence behaviour. Therapists also believe that people are guided by both aggressive and sexual impulses. Events during the first six years of life determine personality; unresolved conflicts from this time period may lead to problems in adulthood. Anxiety is a result of the repression of these early conflicts that, combined with unconscious desires, lead to maladaptive behaviour. To develop into mentally healthy individuals, people must successfully progress through the five psychosexual stages listed below.

Five Psychosexual Stages

- oral stage (birth to one year): sucking
- anal stage (one to three years): holding and releasing urine and feces
- phallic stage (three to six years): pleasure in genital stimulation
- latency stage (six to 11 years): sexual instincts develop
- genital stage (adolescence): sexual impulses increase

According to this therapy, if a child does not adequately progress through each stage then personality flaws develop. Therapists will help patients bring their unconscious conflicts into their awareness so they may resolve them. Clients who are self-centered, impulsive, or psychotic generally do not respond well to this type of treatment.

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