The immature ego is not developed fully enough to deal with external events such as maternal abscences, paternal shortcomings or competition with siblings. Traumatic or confusing events in childhood, therefore, are pushed into the unconscious, a process which Freud called repression, because they are too painful for the ego to bare, or because the child hasn't developed sufficient knowledge of the world to make sense of the event. Distressing feelings around traumatic events do not disappear, however, simply because they are repressed. They find expression in dreams and irrational behaviour and may eventually erupt and express themselves in psychological disorders such as depressions.
In order to balance the demands of the id and superego and to protect itself, the ego employs 'defence mechanisms'. These mechanisms distort or deny reality and are essential ways of protecting the ego from distress and allowing the person to cope with life. They have a powerful, yet unconscious, influence upon our behaviour, and everyone uses them. Freud said that they are perfectly natural and normal and offer a way of satisfying the demands of the id without upsetting the superego. Whilst useful for protecting the ego, however, they do not offer a long term solution, and if defence mechanisms are adopted too frequently, or get out of proportion, they themselves can create psychological problems of their own.
According to Freud, the behaviour of people is to some extent 'abnormal', in that none of us is free from the dynamic conflicts caused by our unconscious drives and repressed memories. Therefore it is perfectly 'normal' to experience anxiety. Abnormality is, therefore, both inevitable and beyond our conscious control.
Freudian theory has been enormously influential and was the first model to establish talking therapy as an acceptable form of treatment in mainstream mental health practice. Freud's ideas about the unconscious have had a profound impact on the way we think about what motivates behaviour. The use of psychodynamic insights, for example to analyze and even create films and literature, is well known; for instance, in the film 'Psycho' Norman Bates is portrayed as having 'oedipal problems'. However, the psychodynamic model has proved difficult to test scientifically. Kline (1988), nevertheless, claims that a theory is not invalidated merely because it cannot be tested scientifically; it just means that no one has yet found a way to do it. Zeldow (1995) points out that 'psychoanalytic theories have inspired more empirical research in the social and behavioural sciences than any other group of theories'. Although early traumatic experiences may not necessarily emerge in adulthood as psychological problems, research indicates that many people with psychological problems do recollect having experienced emotional trauma in childhood. However it is important to understand that retrospective data collected during interviews (i.e. information from clients gathered years after the event) may be unreliable. The psychodynamic model claims that abnormal behaviour results from unconscious psychic conflict related to innate, biological drives. The model also claims that early relationships with parents are important to psychological development. For these reasons, it has been claimed that the theory is deterministic, that is, individuals are portrayed as having very little conscious involvement in their own personal development.
Freud's psychoanalytic approach has been criticized for underestimating the importance of current difficulties that clients might be facing. Even if repressed childhood experiences contribute to adult disorders, it is still important to take account of factors (such as loss of job or relationship break-up) that might be contributing to the person's psychological problems. Later psychodynamic approaches take adult experiences into account. The implicit assumption of the psychoanalytic model is that people are not to blame for their own abnormal behaviour, but may be partially responsible for the development of abnormal behaviour in their offspring. This may prove a heavy burden for parents who feel they have 'done their best' and, according to the model, may also be grappling with their own inner emotional conflicts.
Amir Aourarh
