Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis, system of psychology having as its base the theories of Sigmund Freud; also the psychotherapeutic technique based on that system. The distinct forms of psychoanalysis developed by Carl Jung and Alfred Adler are more correctly termed analytical psychology and individual psychology, respectively. Freud's initial interest was in the origins of neuroses. On developing the technique of free association to replace that of hypnosis in this therapy, he observed that certain patients could in some cases associate freely only with difficulty. He decided that this was due to repression, where memories of certain experiences being held back from the conscious mind, and noted that the most sensitive areas were in connection with sexual experiences. He thus developed the concept of the unconscious (later to be called the id) and suggested (for a while) that anxiety was the result of repression of the libido. He also defined resistance by the conscious mind to acceptance of ideas and impulses from the unconscious, and transference, the idea that relationships with other people or objects in the past affect the individual's relationships with other people or objects in the present.

See also: Freud, Sigmund; Psychology.