Freud's Theory of Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is a theory of personality and a method of psychotherapy developed by Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis is the first dynamic theory of personality that talks about displacing, repressing, denying, venting, and regressing; about the unconscious; and about the significance of dreams. With all of the new psychodynamic approaches out there today, there are many differences between them and the original psychoanalysis, however they generally share five of the same elements.

The first is the emphasis on unconscious intraphysic, within the mind or self, dynamics. This is the movement of mental energy within the mind. The next is a belief in the primacy of the first five years. This is an assumption that the adult personality and other problems are formed primarily by experiences in early childhood. After this would be the belief that psychological development occurs in fixed stages. During this time there can be predictable mental events that occur and also unconscious issues or crises that need to be resolved. Next is a focus on a person’s “psychic reality”, which is his