Theories in

Counseling
Jessica Yabut, RPm & Diego Rozul, RPm
M.ClinAud 2016-2018

Personality theories grow from theorists
own personalities (Feist & Feist, 2010).
Psychodynamic Theories
Freud & Jung
Sigmund Freud
Psychoanalytic Theory
 Sigmund Freud: Psychoanalytic Theory

Psychoanalysis: the most famous personality

theory
Levels of mental life
Provinces of the mind
Anxiety
Defense mechanisms
 Levels of Mental Life

The conscious
Mental elements in awareness
The unconscious
The unconscious proper
drives/urges/instincts
May leak into consciousness in a distorted
way
The preconscious
Elements that arent conscious but can be
made conscious
Either disguised forms of unconscious
images or conscious perceptions that pass
 Conscious

Filter
Preconscious

Filter

Unconscious

Adapted from: Feist & Feist

(2010)
 Provinces of the Mind

Id
Completely unconscious
Pleasure principle
Houses basic drives
Ego
Only region in contact with reality
Decision-maker
Also partly pre- and unconscious so can make
decisions including all three levels
Superego
Conscience: Shouldnt do
Ego-ideal: Should do

A psychologically healthy person is dominated
by the ego
 Anxiety

Unpleasant state or feeling that warns

against danger
Usually vague
Only produced or felt by the ego, but
Id: neurotic anxiety
Superego: moral anxiety
Outer world: realistic anxiety
 Anxiety

Neurotic anxiety: on unknown dangers

Example: anxiety around authority figures
Moral anxiety: conflict between ego and
superego
Realistic needs vs superego
Not being able to do whats morally right
Realistic anxiety
Nonspecific feeling involving a possible danger
Not afraid of something specifically, but
something that may happen
Example: driving vs losing control of the car
 Some Defense Mechanisms

Normal, until taken to the extreme, then they

become unhealthy
Repression
Reaction Formation
Introjection
Sublimation
Displacement
Regression
Projection
 Some Defense Mechanisms

Repression
forcing threatening feelings and undesirable
impulses into the unconscious
Reaction Formation
acting the opposite of how one feels, usually
exaggerated
Introjection
Incorporating positive things about another
person into yourself
Sublimation
Turning undesirable impulses towards something
socially acceptable
 Some Defense Mechanisms

Displacement
Redirecting unacceptable urges onto other
people or things
Regression
Reverting to an earlier pattern of behavior that
feels secure or familiar, usually infantile
Projection
Attributing unwanted feelings or urges to
another person or object
 Carl Jung
Analytical Psychology
 Carl Jung: Analytical Psychology

Separated from Freuds psychoanalysis, Jung

emphasized experiences inherited from our
ancestors
Levels of the psyche
Conscious
Unconscious
Personal
Collective
Archetypes
 Levels of the Psyche

Conscious
Less emphasis in analytical psychology
Conscious experience must be balanced with
unconscious life
Personal unconscious
Contains everything repressed, forgotten, or
subliminally experienced by an individual
Collective unconscious
Comes from the ancestral past of all human
beings
Influences myths, legends, and religious beliefs
Biologically inherited response tendency
 Levels of the Psyche

Archetypes
Ancient images from the collective unconscious
Universal concepts
The goal of a healthy person is to realize or
become acquainted with our different archetypes
 Archetypes

Persona: What we show the world

Shadow: What we hide from ourselves and
others
Anima: feminine side of a man (irrational
moods and feelings)
Animus: masculine side of a woman
(irrational thinking, illogical opinions)
Great Mother: derived from the anima
Fertility and destruction
Example: Mother Nature
 Archetypes

Wise old man: derived from the animus

Wisdom and meaning
Hero: powerful person who vanquishes
evil/conquers the villain
Our ideal personality
Self: unites other archetypes
Process of self-realization
Humanistic Theories
Fromm, Maslow, & Rogers
 Erich Fromm
Humanistic Psychoanalysis
 Erich Fromm: Humanistic Psychoanalysis

Humanity is separated from the natural world,

causing loneliness and isolation (basic anxiety)
The human dilemma
humans are isolated from nature (no instincts),
but have the ability to reason (aware that they
are isolated)
Human needs
 Human Needs

Relatedness: drive for union with other

people
Love is the only way to become one with the
world
Love: sharing with another, yet with the freedom
to be unique and separate
Transcendence
Life is accidental, so humans have the need to
rise above passive and accidental existence
Need for purpose and freedom
 Human Needs

Rootedness: need to feel at home again in

the world
Sense of identity: ourselves as a separate
entity
Frame of orientation: a map to make
sense of the world
Personal philosophy or religion, with a goal or
destination
Abraham Maslow
Holistic-Dynamic Theory
 Maslow: Holistic-Dynamic Theory

People are motivated by needs, and everyone

has the potential for self-actualization
(psychological health)
Hierarchy of needs
Aesthetic needs
Some people are motivated by beauty and
aesthetically pleasing experiences
Cognitive needs
Curiosity, the desire for knowledge
Neurotic needs
Compensation for unsatisfied basic needs
Clark, D. (2012, April 27). [Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs]. Retrieved February 12, 2017, from
http://donaldclarkplanb.blogspot.com/2012/04/maslow-1908-1970-hierarchy-of-needs-5.html
 Carl Rogers
Person-Centered Theory
 Rogers: Person-Centered Theory

Formative tendency: tendency for all

matter...to evolve from simpler to more
complex
Actualizing tendency: tendency for people
to move towards fulfillment of potentials
 Rogers and Counseling

Counselor congruence
Dont pretend to be pleasant or friendly when its
not genuine
Unconditional positive regard
To be liked and accepted without any
conditions/requirements
A warm, positive, and accepting attitude towards
the client
Empathic listening
Accurately sensing the clients feelings
Making sure the client feels safe, heard, and
understood
Interpersonal Theory
Harry Stack Sullivan
 Sullivan: Interpersonal Theory

People develop their personalities within a

social context
Healthy development relies on the ability to
establish intimacy with another person
Psychological disorders can only be
understood with the patients social
environment
The therapist helps the patient learn to
communicate and relate with others
Behavioral Analysis
B. F. Skinner
 Skinner: Behavioral Analysis

Emerged from laboratory studies of humans

and animals
Classical conditioning
Neutral stimulus is paired with unconditioned
stimulus, until it brings about a response
(conditioned response)
Operant conditioning
The desired response is reinforced until it
becomes a conditioned response
Therapists mold desirable behavior by
reinforcing improvements
 Source

Feist, J., & Feist, G. J. (2010). Theories of Personality (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.