Grand Canyon UniversityA Paper Presented in Partial FulfillmentOf the Requirements ofPsychology 315January 2009The common ground between psychoanalytic research and neo-Freudian psychoanalytic research is that they all consider the effect of unconscious material that may be presently hindering current situations, resulting from past, unresolved issues as they relate to present day personal conflict . Their focus is to bring into conscious awareness, any issues that may impede our personal growth, initiate poor mental health, and hinder our ability to live satisfying lives. Only upon conscious examination, can we then identify these impediments and assign them a proper perspective. This is an examination of but a few of Sigmund Freud's theories and a look at what continues to evolve from his research.
Dreams are a manifestation of wish fulfillment according to Sigmund Freud. Only through a subliminal avenue such as a dream or possibly hypnosis, are our repressed memories able to come into conscious realization.
Sigmund Freud, founder of psychoanalysis, smoking ...
Statue of Sigmund Freud in London, with the Tavist...
English: Entrance to Freuds consulting roomHypnotic techniques have been used successfully by both Freud and neo-Freudists on patients with high degrees of absorption to discover repressed memories of childhood abuse or other painful experiences that apparently interfere with normal activity and relationships. Freud considered symbolic references in our dreams to be intrinsic in determining the message in a dream. Freud's symbolism more often than not, indicated an underlying sexual connotation to explain the anxieties and frustrations that lead to hostilities, neurisis, and behavioral difficulties. Flying may relate to sexual intercourse according to Freud and a tall building or even a pencil may represent the male phallus. Dreaming of a cave could lend implications to preoccupation with the womb. Thus, in Sigmund Freud's world, psychosexual influences were the bases for our personality formation, which takes place in a short span of early, formative years noting the darker side of our personalites. Herein lays...