Getting Psychodynamic
Dave Jarrold
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OK, so if I ask you to imagine a therapist and their client what jumps to your mind?? Is it a couch, and a therapist with glasses and a beard?
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It’s hard to change the engrained image of a Freudian figure delving into a client’s psyche, therapist in a chair with a notepad, and client laid out on a couch spilling their innermost thoughts.? Even AI would agree.? I did a little AI training last week and this was the result of the prompt to find an image of a therapist.? (I added steampunk for fun, which explains the abundance of cogs)
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Freud was a pioneer of psychodynamic therapy, and although many of his theories have been challenged as our understanding of the mind has progressed, there are still elements that remain valid.? I think the beard is also optional.
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One of the elements that really struck a chord with me was the Ego Defence Mechanisms that we develop.
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I talked last time about our self-image, and we sometimes need a strategy or mechanism to protect this self-image.? We also use these mechanisms to avoid stressful situations and avoid anxiety.
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These defence reactions are automatic and not necessarily bad, but it’s useful to be aware of them.? If we use them at the right time and in a positive way, then that’s good for us.? But, if we over rely on them to the point that they limit us, or we use them at a time that’s less appropriate, then that can cause more problems than it solves.
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I’ll put a full list down below so you tray and identify yours.
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There were a few that resonated with me, but the one that jumped out most strongly was humour.? I like to see the upside of most situations, and I broadly subscribe to the theory that life is too important to be taken seriously.? For the most part this helps me maintain a sunny and positive disposition (at least that what’s going on in my head).
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But, if I fall back on humour at the wrong time, then this can mean I respond in a way that’s not useful.? It might make light of a situation that is having a more serious impact on someone and I run the danger of trivialising things.
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In a therapy setting it’s something that I need to be mindful of. I want to create a warm and supportive connection with a client, but I don’t want to collude and stop them getting to the bits that are painful and uncomfortable if this is what will help them move forward.
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I’m interested to know, what jumps out as the strongest for you?
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How does it work well for you?
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And when does this overplay into a challenge?
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Denial:
Protecting oneself from an unpleasant reality by refusing to perceive it.
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Displacement:
Transferring emotion from a situation or object with which it is properly associated to another which is less threatening and will result in less distress.
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Humour:
Shielding oneself against painful experiences and avoiding serious and reflective consideration of one’s own problems by use of humour.
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Identification:
Taking on some of the activities or characteristics of another person - often to reduce the pain of separation or loss.
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Intellectualisation:
Separating emotion from a threatening or anxiety-provoking situation by talking or thinking about it in impersonal terms.
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Introjection:
Unquestioningly taking in the views and attitudes expressed by other people.
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Projection:
Attributing one’s own feelings, shortcomings or unacceptable impulses to others.
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Rationalisation:
Justifying one’s own behaviour by giving reasonable and rational but false reasons for it.
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Reaction Formation:
Preventing dangerous impulses from being expressed by exaggerating opposite behaviour.?
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Regression:
Retreating to an earlier level of development or to earlier, less demanding habits or situations.
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Repression:
Preventing painful or dangerous thoughts from entering consciousness.
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Splitting:
Separating feelings from the memory of the event which gave rise to them. Feelings may then seem to arise “out of the blue” or become attached to some less threatening situation and be experienced as “out of proportion”. The event is remembered without emotion.
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Sublimation:
Working off unmet desires or unacceptable impulses in activities that are constructive.
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