I usually study just one day prior to my exams, because of my job, this time it was Psychotherapeutic Methods. And the most interesting theory I found was the Psychodynamics theory.

In the 1870’s thermodynamics theory was a hot topic, it explained energy and heat in a way that made sense and it drastically advanced in the field of physics. Everybody wanted a piece of it. And one scientist at the university of Vienna named Ernst Wilhelm Von Brucke thought to himself” if these laws dictate our entire world, then aren’t all living beings including humans, just bodies of energy that would also abide by these laws?

Ernst Wilhelm Von Brucke published his theory in 1874, which was a significant year because it was also the same year that he began advising a bright, young first year medical student none other than Sigmund Freud.

Sigmund Freud was so impressed with Von Bruck’s theory, that he took it a step forward. He surmised that not only do the laws of Thermodynamics apply to the human body, but they also apply to the human psyche. And thus, Psychodynamics theory was born.

A lot of early psychologists became founders and devotees to this theory, including Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. And it became the basis for the first talk therapy techniques including Psychoanalysis. Often Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamics theory are used as interchangeable terms, but they’re quite different. Alfred Adler stands out as the most prominent psychodynamic theorist, whose impact continues to this day.
According to Adler, Psychodynamic Theory believes that striving for superiority is the core motivation for all human beings. Sounds dark right? But superiority doesn’t necessarily refer to trying to dominate other people. Instead, superiority means rising above what you currently are and striving to live a more perfect and complete life. Adler proposed that humans truly believe that the perfect and complete life is attainable. And so, we create our own Fictional goals for our Lives and believe that those personal goals are the entire purpose of life. If you realize these goals, you realize your “ideal self”. So logically a person’s life will be greatly influenced by these goals they perceive to be the purpose of life. However, Adler proposed that striving towards our ideal self will bring up inescapable feelings of inferiority or not being good enough. He termed this human experience the “inferiority complex”. Adler believed that those feelings of inferiority have driven every improvement humanity has developed to better deal with our world. So, the belief is that areas where you feel inferior influence where you choose to become superior. And whatever you choose to become superior becomes your lifestyle. Let me give you an example: If as a child you felt other kids were smarter than you, got better grades than you, the inferiority complex developed would only push you to be better at acquiring intellectual superiority.

Psychodynamic therapy also heavily focuses on childhood experiences and family environment as the root of many mental health issues and disorders. Adler developed the theory of birth order; The theory explains that your birth order will influence your inferiorities and your lifestyle choices. But the evidence to support this theory is weak.

Psychodynamic Therapy also examines a person’s level of social interest. It’s your ability to work in a group for “the greater good”.
Unlike Psychoanalysis that works on internal conflicts, Psychodynamic is concerned with interpersonal conflicts.

Adler understood that humans are inherently social beings and so, to be a healthy person, one must have real involvement and investment in society. In childhood, social interest can be nourished in a family environment of respect, trust, support and understanding, or it can be squashed in an atmosphere of competition, mistrust, neglect, domination. Children from the latter kinds of families are more likely to strive for their ideal self at the expense of others through selfish means.

I must conclude that Psychodynamic theory is used inappropriately in the corporate world. I will put forward my views in the next blog.

Reference: Neuroscience Transmissions, WebMD, Doon Psychotherapeutic Centre.