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In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term is transactional analysis. I got the idea for this from a post by Maja of Lampelina. Transactional analysis (TA) is a theory developed by psychoanalytic psychiatrist Dr. Eric Berne. This may not be the least bit relevant, but… Continue reading What Is… Transactional Analysis
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms This week's term is the anal triad. I originally intended to do this post on stubbornness. I couldn't find much interesting on that, but it led me to obstinacy, which in turn led to the anal triad. We have Sigmund Freud's… Continue reading What Is… The Anal Triad of Personality
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term is containment. Containment was first proposed by British psychoanalyst Wilfred Bion to describe a pattern of communicating mental experiences. Another researcher later suggested that Bion's theory was influenced by his own traumatic experience fighting in World War I. Early… Continue reading What Is… Containment in Therapy
I had never heard of the notion of depression being anger turned inward until I heard about it indirectly while I was in hospital after a suicide attempt. My primary nurse kept asking me what I was angry about. She was insistent that I must have been angry about something to have tried to kill… Continue reading Is Depression Anger Turned Inward?
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term is not so much a single term as a group of terms that fall within the umbrella of Freud's psychoanalytic theory. Love him or hate him, Sigmund Freud was quite remarkable in terms of his impact on the… Continue reading What Is… Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week, we're looking at repression vs. suppression. Suppression and repression are examples of Freudian defense mechanisms. They serve the purpose of removing unwanted information from conscious awareness. Suppression is done consciously, while repression is automatic and unconscious. Freud's psychoanalytic theory… Continue reading What Is… Repression vs. Suppression
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's term is defense mechanisms. The concept of defense mechanisms was originally proposed by Sigmund Freud. They're strategies that are used unconsciously in order to protect the ego when faced with uncomfortable feelings. Freud identified a number of defense mechanisms, as… Continue reading What is… a Defense Mechanism
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week's terms are ego-syntonic and ego-dystonic. The terms ego-syntonic and ego-dystonic come from the field of psychoanalysis, and they were coined by Sigmund Freud in 1914. Ego-syntonic ideas match up with the ego's needs, view of the self, and personality. Ego-dystonic… Continue reading What Is… Ego-Syntonic & Ego-Dystonic
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week's term is psychodynamic psychotherapy. Psychodynamic psychotherapy is a type of talk therapy that does a deep dive into the past to help uncover what's going on in the unconscious mind in order to figure out problems in the person's life. It's… Continue reading What Is… Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week's terms are transference and countertransference. The concept of transference was first proposed by Sigmund Freud. In therapy, it occurs when a client unconsciously redirects feelings associated with one person, often an important figure in the earlier part of their… Continue reading What Is… Transference & Countertransference