PSY 181 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Hypnotic Susceptibility, Psychodynamics, Psychological Trauma
Document Summary
Starting point for psychodynamic therapy: belief that in each one of us, there exist various levels of awareness. We"re aware of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors on a day-to-day basis, but according to psychodynamic theory, much of what organizes these things exists at a level below conscious awareness. Unconscious drives and repressed memories have a profound impact on our daily behaviors, thoughts, feelings . but we are unaware of this. Goal of psychodynamic theory: get down deep into the psyche to figure out how our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are shaped by the unconscious. One of the most important yet controversial thinkers. His work was groundbreakingmany of the terms he used to describe his constructs are very much in use today (like unconscious, defense mechanisms, Oedipal complex), and many of the clinical techniques he developed are still in use today. Freud was both a reductionist and a constructivist.