Psychoanalysis

It is the common name of theory and treatment methods for neuroses, developed by Sigmund Freud in the 1890s. Psychoanalysis asserts that the impact of early childhood sexuality and experiences, stored in the unconscious, can lead to the development of adult emotional problems.

The main treatment method involves the free association of ideas, and their interpretation by patient and analyst, in order to discover these long-buried events and to grasp their significance to the patient, linking aspects of the patient's historical past with the present relationship to the analyst.

Psychoanalytic treatment aims to free the patient from specific symptoms and from irrational inhibitions and anxieties.

id, ego, and superego

Freud proposed a model of human psychology based on the concept of the conflicting id, ego, and superego. The id is the mind's instinctual element which demands pleasure and satisfaction; the ego is the conscious mind which deals with the demands of the id and superego; the superego is the ethical element which acts as a conscience and may produce feelings of guilt. The conflicts between these three elements can be used to explain a range of neurotic symptoms.

Other schools

In the early 1900s a group of psychoanalysts gathered around Freud. Some of these later broke away and formed their own schools, notably Alfred Adler in 1911 and Carl Jung in 1913. The significance of early infantile experience has been further elaborated in the field of child analysis, particularly in the work of Melanie Klein and her students, who pay particular attention to the development of the infant in the first six to eight months of life.