Explain Psychology Theories in a Health Care Setting

Explain Psychology Theories in a Health Care Setting

The essay your about to read will explain two psychological theories, psychoanalytic by Sigmund Freud and psychosocial by Erik Erikson. It will also show how using these two theories could help us understand someone who suffers with the illness of depression.
Sigmund Freud was born May 6, 1856 and died September 23, 1939. He was an Austrian psychiatrist who founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud. Freud believed that the personality consisted of three different structures that control the driving force, naming them the id, ego and superego. http://www.freudfile.org/theory.html. Freud believed that the id is present from birth. The id is the unconscious portion where instincts reside in eating, drinking and sexual gratification (looking or seeking pleasure). The id is controlled by the “pleasure principle”, a duty to please impulses and desires by releasing the power/energy behind them with an outcome of pleasure.
The ego is responsible for the personality, for organising ways to get to the real world instead of fantasy. The ego is controlled by the “reality principle”, which can make sensible decisions to the world. For example, a child could take a biscuit from the packet, but won’t if the parent is nearby. The needs of the id are still there, but the ego recognizes the cost of stealing the biscuit. The ego will grow with knowledge, taking in experiences of right from wrong and will react to demands from parents. For example, a baby will continually crawl to the edge of the stairs, but a child will stop when told to.
The superego is based on two parts, the conscious and the ego-ideal. The conscious intimidates the ego with ‘good’ on one shoulder and ‘bad’ on the other. The conscience makes a decision on what it should do. The ego-ideal will give praise to one’s self. The two parts of the superego will mature with experience with society and social gatherings. This is developed though a process known as...

Similar Essays