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Counselling Theory and Practice:- PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACHES TO HELPING

INTRODUCTION TO THE PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH


PERSONALITY AND THE ‘AS IF’ RELATIONSHIP

INTRODUCTION

Psychodynamic has its meaning in the root word ‘ Psyche’ - a person’s unconscious
part. In a less secular world its real meaning is ‘ soul .There are many branches of the
Psychodynamic Approach but all are rooted in the work began by Freud. There are
many branches of Psychodynamic Counselling but four are very significant, Freudian ,
Jungian , Adlerian and Kleinian , the latter of these gives rise to Object Relations
Therapy.

Although modern psychology, and particularly the concept of personality types and traits,
lays less emphasis on the psychodynamic approach, all other approaches take this as a
starting point and either challenge the psychodynamic Approach or use it as a staring
point in the development of personality.

All psychodynamic approaches share some basic concepts and ideas. The most
important of these are as follows :

* The assumption that experiences in childhood affect us in life.

* People ‘ put things off ‘ and unconsciously suppress things until they
have the time and that we all have psychological defences.

* Other ideas can be found in the literature concerning Psychodynamic


Theory

This brief note will attempt to sketch out some of these ideas and how they affect
/influence the development of personality and then explore two important concepts used
by this approach in this approach in therapy. But first let us explore the concept of the
conscious and particularly Freud’s model.

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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC
Counselling Theory and Practice:- PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACHES TO HELPING

The Concept of the Conscious

Freud outlined the following ideas on our conscious/ unconscious being

CONSCIOUS deals with Inner


Excitations and External World

PRE - CONSCIOUS we can


readily move between this and
consciousness

Repression SUB - CONSCIOUS


/UNCONSCIOUS
Repressed and
difficult to bring into the
consciousness. Dreams can
interpret sub-conscious. This is
particularly true of the Jungian
Approach

Freud then outlined a schematic diagram which dealt with the inner workings of the
simple model above. This led to concepts such as ID - EGO and SUPER EGO and the
Dynamic balance required between all three. This is often referred to as the structure of
mental processes.

Carl Jung’s approach and model is much more complex and allows or posits the idea of a
collective nature to the unconscious. In addition most modern Personality
Typologies/Indicators ( e.g. Myers Briggs or Keirsey) are influenced and rooted in
Jungian Psychology and its approach to personality. This allows for ‘indicators’ like
Extraversion/Introversion; Intuition/Sensing; Thinking/Feeling and Perception/Judging.

Melanie Klein posits the idea of ‘Objects’ which are repressed into our deep ‘psyche’ and
preserved ( like a giant psychological freezer). These objects affect all our relating, both
intra and inter-personal , throughout our life and heavily influence our personality. This
has led to a ‘school’ based on Object Relations Theory.

Let us return the concept of the Dynamic Balance between the Ego-Super Ego and the
Id.

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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC
Counselling Theory and Practice:- PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACHES TO HELPING

The Structure of Mental Processes and its Three Components or Agents

ID The ‘ it’ or Child.

The Id is like a child, dominated by the pleasure principle. It is our reservoir of primitive
instincts, impulses and urges, Freud suggested that it was dominated by two core drive :

Love V Hate
Life V Death
Sex V Aggression

The ID is irrational and demanding ‘ It wasn’t me ‘ ‘ It seemed to overpower me ‘


‘It just happened’ etc.

EGO The I

This is our ADULT part . It is rational and operates in the CONSCIOUS part of our self. It
makes decisions based on reality and has the task of filtering and testing demands and
messages from the ID and SUPER EGO. It has an overall balancing task to perform.

I don’t know what to do ‘ I need to think’

SUPER _ EGO Over/Above I

This is the PARENT, the conscience, where rules, taboos, shoulds, should not’s, oughts
and ought not’s rule. These are stored away for reference. The attitudes we store away
are mainly internalised from parents or other significant adult figures.

Both the ID and Super-Ego are mainly rooted in the sub-conscious/ Unconscious . The
role of the EGO is to try to balance the (often) conflicting demands of the ID and SUPER
EGO

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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC
Counselling Theory and Practice:- PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACHES TO HELPING

The following diagram attempts to show the function of the Ego and its task of balancing.

 


ID EGO SUPER - EGO

Seeks satisfaction Balance Internalised version of


Follows pleasure Develops to manage Parent
principle tension between ID ( ( particularly same sex)
Difficult to know right Child) and Super-Ego ( Moral Influence
from wrong Parent) Guilt and Anxiety can
Extremes - leads to Follows Reality Principle rule
Psychopath Constrains the ID
You can’t, should, etc.
Extremes lead to
Neurosis

The battle caused by the ID and Super-Ego is managed by the Ego. Now and then it gets
out of control and people require support. The Ego constrains the ‘ raw’ ID and prevents
its access to the conscious. It erects barriers and the ID is forced to find other routes. This
re-routing tends to force the Id to find more acceptable ways of behaviour/reaction. This
is often referred to as Ego Defences ( more on this later)

Psychic energy is spread between the three (3) agencies ( ID - EGO - Super -Ego )
which may bring stages of either HARMONY or CONFLICT. Thus the conflict this
arouses can cause anxiety and fears and it certainly heavily influences our Personality.
Psychodynamic Theory suggests that there are particular stages when these conflicts
can become acute. These are often referred to as Life Stages and each stage has a
particular task or focus. One of the main proponents of this is Erikson and his concept of
the 8 Stages of Life.

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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC
Counselling Theory and Practice:- PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACHES TO HELPING

ERIKSON’s STAGES OF LIFE

Klenian psychology also stipulates that the effects of both early childhood and later
stages has a bearing on the development of the EGO or SELF. Erikson developed this
further and laid down an 8-Stage approach. Further reading ( particularly form Jacobs
(1998) is recommended for those interested in developing their knowledge and
understanding in this area. But many psychodynamic ‘experts’ contend that the early
stages of Erikson’s model do influence the development of personality .

Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development


Conflict Typical Age Major
Stage
Faced Range Challenge(s)
Having basic
Trust vs. First year of needs met,
1
mistrust life attaching to
people
Autonomy vs.
Gaining
2 shame and 1–3 years
independence
doubt
Acting in a
Initiative vs.
3 3–6 years socially
guilt
responsible way
Competing with
Industry vs.
4 6–12 years peers, preparing
inferiority
for adult roles
Identity vs.
Determining
5 role Adolescence
one’s identity
confusion
Developing
Intimacy vs. Early
6 intimate
isolation adulthood
relationships
Generativity
Middle
7 vs. self- Being productive
adulthood
absorption
Integrity vs. Evaluating one’s
8 Old age
despair life

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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC
Counselling Theory and Practice:- PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACHES TO HELPING

Two Important Psychodynamic Concepts

Now to explore the important Psychodynamic concepts of DEFENCES and


TRANSFERENCE

Counselling and Supervision are forms of a helping and therapeutic relationship. Many of
the aspects of therapeutic helper-client relationship have echoes of those found in areas
where counselling skills are used. Examples are teaching, nursing, social work and close
relationships. Consequently it can be important for those involved in helping others to
have some awareness and understanding of how issues of transference and counter-
transference can impact on the relationship with the client. This note will focus on the
former.

Many models of therapy, but particularly psychodynamic and transactional analysis ( TA),
stress that the relationship in the present between the helper and the client and its
relationship to current and past situations can lead to valuable insights. Jacobs (1999: p
114-115) focuses on this aspect and then leads on to consider some important aspects
that lead to these insights. Foremost amongst these is the twin issues of transference
and counter-transference and how they are rooted in several forms of unconscious
defences.

Most therapeutic models stress the importance of the therapeutic relationship and the
part it can play in ‘modelling’ current and, possibly, future relationships. Brown and
Pedder (1979) focus on some of the Parent, Child, and Adult aspects, particular to TA,
which can affect the helper-client relationship. These are particularly relevant, as many
clients may see their helper in a parental role. This can give rise to distorted
communications, inappropriate and incorrect connections with past relationships and
thereby could give rise to clients being defensive and particularly to transference and
counter- transference in the relationship.

This remainder of this short paper will examine some of the major forms of unconscious
defences, identify those allied to the twin defences of transference and counter-
transference, outline KoIb’s experiential learning cycle and how this can aid our
understanding in the helper-client relationship and finally explore in greater detail the
issues of transference and counter-transference. These notes are complemented by a
series of brief exercises designed to give participants the opportunity to reflect on and
(hopefully) experience the concept of an ‘as if’ relationship.

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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC
Counselling Theory and Practice:- PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACHES TO HELPING

DEFENCES

‘Popular’ psychology has perhaps given rise to the misconception that defences are
inherently negative. This is definitely not correct. Jacobs (1999) stresses that defences
are a natural part of being human. However, they can ‘block’ insights and thereby impede
not only personal growth and understanding but also our spiritual growth in awareness.
There are many types of defences but the following are most relevant when exploring
issues of transference and counter-transference.

Splitting . Splitting involves the separation of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ feelings. This can lead
to the denial of certain feelings and thoughts. Jacobs (1998) suggests that some religious
systems resort to ‘splitting’ in an attempt to resolve the problem of how a good God can
‘allow’ evil. Splitting occurs in all areas of life, in politics the ‘good guys’ versus the ‘bad
guys’, in nationalism, the ‘ them versus us ‘ syndrome, etc. Splitting is a common reaction
used against helpers/therapists. It is a form of denial and can lead to playing the helper
/therapist (the ‘good’) off against the other (the ‘bad’).

Projection. Very often we can have difficulty ‘owning’ aspects of ourselves. These can
be either positive and/or negative aspects. A way of denying these feelings and
defending against the unconscious anxiety of ‘owning’ them, is to project these aspects
onto others.

For Example: - The helper/therapist can be idealised as the all powerful, all caring
person. When it is expressed in negative terms it can often be like ‘the pot calling the
kettle black’. Another example might be a client saying ‘You must be finding me a difficult
client~ Although this might be true, it could also be a defence against saying the opposite
i.e. ‘I am finding you (the director ) difficult! Jacobs (1998) expresses a great truth when
commenting on projection he states that it is ‘one which many people recognise others
using, even If they are less aware of it in themselves!’

Proiective Identification. This defence is allied to that of projection and like projection is
reckoned to be one of the earliest and most primitive defences that occurs shortly after
birth. It is like an early warning defence against aspects it sees in others which it wants to
deny. Another way of putting it is, that it is like a form of pre-emptive strike. Therefore in
the case of the ‘caring director/therapist’, the client ‘attacks’ the helper/therapist in order
to ‘ward off’ this caring aspect. This form of defence is very often found in intimate
relationships where one partner wants to ‘deny’ any need for intimacy.

The defences of projection and projective identification are often allied to incidences of
transference and counter-transference.

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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC
Counselling Theory and Practice:- PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACHES TO HELPING

TRANSFERENCE : The’ As If’ Relationship

Transference is a common human condition where we transfer attitudes, beliefs, feelings


and thoughts from the past to the present and from the ‘particular’ to the ‘general’
relationship. This is concept of the ‘presenting past’ effecting our current experience is
both the title of and content of Jacobs (1998). In another text, Jacobs (1993) suggests
that knowledge of transference reactions and relationships is essential for the
helper/therapist ‘even though he/she may not openly refer to it’. Indeed all those who
engage in helping, social workers, health professionals, clergy, laity, teachers, doctors etc
will gain from an understanding of this phenomenon. Transference effects the way
helpers may be ‘perceived’ by those they seek to help. This is greatly influenced by the
‘authority’ and ‘power’ that helpers may consciously or unconsciously assume. Before
looking at this in greater depth it can help to view this through the medium of the
‘Experience Cube’.

The Experience Cube Although we live and experience things in the ‘present’,
experience is cumulative and very complex. The Present is influenced by past
experiences, future expectations and hopes and our experiences — ‘out there’ with
others. These are all contained with the influence of the present, here and now
experience. Thus we all have an ‘experience cube’, where all FOUR fields, if folded up,
form a cube. This cube thereby contains the ‘wholeness’ of the present experience.

OUT THERE
other(s)

FUTURE
PRESENT Expectations
PAST Experiences in And hopes
the
‘here and now’

The Experience Cube

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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC
Counselling Theory and Practice:- PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACHES TO HELPING

Transference

Hough(2002: p 17) suggests that ‘ transference refers to a human tendency to displace


emotional attitudes and feelings, learned in early childhood, to many situations in adult
life’. When feelings about an important past experience are somehow ‘transferred’ into
the ‘present’ relationship, we then behave ‘as if’ this present relationship IS the past
relationship. In other words the past part of the experience cube is mixed —up with the
present. Jacobs (1993) reminds us that ‘falling in love’ is one example of common
transference. We tend, in the early part of any relationship, to endow the loved one with
idealised qualities! A transference relationship is according to Jacobs’ like viewing
someone through coloured glass’. All that is seen may be transformed and perceived
incorrectly. However, unlike coloured glasses, transference in relationships is not so
obvious. Some common examples of transference in relationships are.

The adoring mother - adored baby relationship.

Caring nurse — sick patient relationship

Client — Helper/Therapist relationship — good or bad

Our ‘as if’ reactions to someone who reminds us of someone else


— this may be either conscious ( aware) or unconscious ( unaware).

The helper/therapist may remind the client of an experience in the past


(normally with a ‘parental’ or ‘authority’ figure. Then the client may react or
behave ‘as if the Helper IS that person.

For the helper/therapist, both the recognition of transference and its importance to the
relationship are vital. Transference can be a force for good or bad in the relationship. It
depends upon the nature and degree of the transference. Whether or not the helper
openly addresses or refers to the transference is another matter. In general, as in all
helping relationships, the question to ask is ‘In what way could the knowledge of this
(transference) be of any help to the client?’ If in doubt it might be best to take these
thoughts to supervision before ‘challenging’ the client with what is after all is an
unconscious defence mechanism.

Transference can be both positive and negative and vary from mild to severe. Positive
transference can create a ‘halo effect’ where the client’s esteem or high regard for the
director can be a positive, healing and changing influence in the relationship.

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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC
Counselling Theory and Practice:- PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACHES TO HELPING

For this to work is requires and demands a great deal of self-awareness, a healthy ego
and some good inter-personal skills on the part of the helper/therapist. However, very
high or severe positive transference can be very uncomfortable for the helper and may
require him/her either to make ‘deliberate ‘mistakes or use skills to ground the
relationship in reality. Negative transference can be handled in a similar way to positive
transference. However, when it is high or severe it can provoke considerable anxiety in
the helper/therapist and may require some supportive supervision and a very high level of
inter-personal skills, particularly the use of concreteness, immediacy and challenge.
Some common causes of transference are:

The idealisation of the helper as symbolic of the embodiment of desired


qualities by the client.

A tendency to develop a special attachment based on perceived friendship or


similarities

Identification of the helper/therapist with a particular incidence in the past. E.g


the bad teacher syndrome.

Many of us may be aware of the often ‘distorted’ image that others have of us. This is
particularly true in relationships of trust, where those who are being helped very often
place the helpers in positions of authority and sometimes on a pedestal. They then react
or behave accordingly and this can lead to past experiences with authority figures
‘clouding’ or transferring onto the relationship.

One of the ways that directors can recognise signs of transference is when statements do
have an as if quality to them. This is as if the client is confusing the helper (or another
person being referred to) with someone else. This ‘someone else’ is, as stated before,
most likely to be someone important in the client’s life and/or a parental or authority
figure. If the helper feels it appropriate to bring the transference into the present, then
they need to be aware that the client may think or feel that their own ‘perception’ is
correct and not an as if experience. So the helper must be able to show some evidence
for their interpretation of the transference. Stewart and Joines (1987: p111) remind us
that in Transactional Analysis, transference is referred to as ‘putting a face on someone’
This expresses the essence of the task facing the director if they are to successfully work
with the transference in the relationship.

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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC
Counselling Theory and Practice:- PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACHES TO HELPING

Summary on Transference

In summary, some characteristics of transference in a relationship are:

It is innate and inevitable, often aroused by people either very familiar to us or


(paradoxically) unfamiliar but powerful.

It can lead to a distorted perception of reality.

It is very often inappropriate, in its ensuing actions, attitudes and behaviours.

It is often untimely

It is very often repetitive — leading to cycles of behaviours and to ‘games’


The latter concept ( games) is linked to Transactional Analysis.

It can (is designed to) deflect attention from the ‘real’ issue.

It can have positive and negative effects on the relationship and vary from mild to high or
severe.

Because helping/therapy can sometimes involve an holistic relationship and directly


addresses not only the physical and psychological but also the spiritual aspect of what it
is to be a person, then it caries with it the opportunity of some additional causes for, and
possibly occurrences of, transference.

NOTE:

If this is part of a presentation — a brief exercise now follows)

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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC
Counselling Theory and Practice:- PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACHES TO HELPING

KOLB’s EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING CYCLE

Transference and counter- transference are part of all helping and meaningful
relationships and therefore will almost inevitably occur in prayer guiding and spiritual
direction. They are part of the ‘experiences’ of direction and may require exploration as
and when they arise. If the decision is taken to explore the issue, then it can be helpful to
inform this exploration in the light of KoIb’s Experiential Learning Cycle. This is outlined in
the following figure.

1. EXPERIENCING
What Happened?
Open to & engaging
With experiences

4. EXPERIMENTATION 2 REFLECTION
What can/do we do? What was it like ?
Trying things out – doing Investigating the
Things differently Experience(s)

3. CONCEPTUALISING
What does it mean?
Analysing & creating
Meaning from experience

Adapted from Morrison, T (1998) Casework Consolidation. Whitby & Birch, London
QPeter Creagh (2005)

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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC
Counselling Theory and Practice:- PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACHES TO HELPING

These notes are both based on and informed by the author’s practical experience of
counselling and training over the past 25 years. Much of the text is drawn from this
experience and from supervising helpers in a wide variety of settings. In addition the
following texts have informed both notes on transference and counter-transference.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bradshaw, J(1990) Homecoming Piatkus London

Brown,D & Pedder ,J 1979 , Introduction to Psychotherapy Tavistock,


London

Cairns,F. 1994, A Beginners Guide to Transference & Counter- Transference


BACP, Counselling Nov 94 ,Rugby

Frankland, A & Sanders, P(1995) – Next Steps in Counselling – PCCS Ross on Wye

Hough, M . 2002, A Practical Approach to Counselling Prentice-Hall

Jacobs,M.1993, Still Small Voice SPCK

Jacobs,M.1998, The Presenting Past OU Press

Jacobs,M.1999 Psychodynamic Counselling in Action Sage, London

McLeod,J 1998 An Introduction to Counselling OU Press

Stewart,I & Joines,V 1987, TA Today — A New Introduction to Transactional


Analysis, Lifespace,Nottingham

Winnicott,DW 1965, The Maturational and the Facilitating Environment , Hogarth


Press,London

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© 2010 - Peter Creagh, Trainer, Supervisor and BACP Registered Counsellor UKRC

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