Psychodynamic Theories Jayme Terrigno PSY/405 October 6, 2014 Patti Tolar

Psychodynamic Theories

According to "Good Therapy" (2014), “The psychological interpretation of mental and emotional processes—is rooted in traditional psychoanalysis and draws from object relations, ego psychology, and self psychology” (para. 1). Psychodynamic theories draw most of their information from the idea of the unconscious, especially in the development of early childhood. This paper will describe personality, discuss the mail tenets of the theories presented, discuss how each theory applies to personality and behavior, and discusses the strengths and limitations of each theory. The degree to which individual humans vary from one another, both physically and psychologically, is quite astonishing and somewhat unique among species (Feist, Feist, & Roberts 2013). Personality id the physical characteristics of a person and how it reflects toward others. Personality is the thoughts and feelings that each person holds and shows to others. It is collection of a person, but these pieces of each person tend to remain the unchanged through the years. Psychodynamic theory was developed by a Sigmund Freud, a well-known theorist, and in his own words, scientist. Sigmund Freud began to combine philosophical speculations with a primitive scientific method. As a neurologist trained in science, Freud began to listen to his patients to find out what hidden conflicts lay behind their assortment of symptoms. “Listening became, for Freud, more than an art; it became a method, a privileged road to knowledge that his patients mapped out for him (Feist, Feist, & Roberts, 2013). Freud focused on the id, ego, and superego of individuals and their personalities. Beginning at birth a child is naturally selfish and is in the id stage of life.