Psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...

is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques that deal in part with the

unconscious mind In psychoanalysis and other psychological theories, the unconscious mind (or the unconscious) is the part of the psyche that is not available to introspection. Although these processes exist beneath the surface of conscious awareness, they are t ...

, and which together form a method of treatment for

mental disorder A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

A

Acathexis Acathexis is a psychoanalytic term for a lack of emotional response to significant memories or actual interactions, where such a response would normally be expected. The term also refers more broadly to a general absence of normal or expected feeli ...

Afterwardsness In the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud, afterwardsness () is a "mode of belated understanding or retroactive attribution of sexual or traumatic meaning to earlier events. ''Nachträglichkeit'', is also translated as deferred action, retroaction, a ...

Anal eroticism Anal eroticism, in psychoanalysis, is sensuous pleasure derived from anal sensations. Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, hypothesized that the anal stage of childhood psychosexual development was marked by the predominance of anal er ...

Anal expulsiveness Anal expulsiveness is a theorized state of a person who exhibits cruelty, emotional outbursts, disorganization, self-confidence, artistic ability, generosity, rebelliousness and general carelessness. Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis theory claim ...

Anal retentiveness Anal retentiveness is a personality trait that is characterized by excessive concern with details. The concept originated in Freudian psychoanalytic theory, where one aspect of the anal stage of psychosexual development is pleasure in the retentio ...

Anticathexis In psychoanalysis, anticathexis, or countercathexis, is the energy used by the ego to bind the primitive impulses of the Id. Sometimes the ego follows the instructions of the superego in doing so; sometimes however it develops a double-countercat ...

* Antinarcissism *

Aphanisis In psychoanalytic theory, aphanisis (; from the Greek ἀφάνισις ''aphanisis'', "disappearance") is the disappearance of sexual desire. The etymology of the term refers to it as the absence of brilliance in the astronomical sense such as the ...

B

* Basic hostility *

Body cathexis Body cathexis is defined as the degree of satisfaction or dissatisfaction one feels towards various parts and aspects of their own body.Jourard, S. M., & Secord, P.F. (1955). Body cathexis and the ideal female figure. The Journal of Abnormal and So ...

C

Cassandra (metaphor) The Cassandra metaphor (variously labeled the Cassandra "syndrome", "complex", "phenomenon", "predicament", "dilemma", "curse") relates to a person whose valid warnings or concerns are disbelieved by others. The term originates in Greek mytholo ...

Catharsis Catharsis is from the Ancient Greek word , , meaning "purification" or "cleansing", commonly used to refer to the purification and purgation of thoughts and emotions by way of expressing them. The desired result is an emotional state of renewal an ...

Cathexis In psychoanalysis, cathexis (or emotional investment) is defined as the process of allocation of mental or emotional energy to a person, object, or idea. Origin of term The Greek term ''cathexis'' (κάθεξις) was chosen by James Strach ...

* Censorship (psychoanalysis) *

Complex (psychology) A complex is a structure in the unconscious that is objectified as an underlying theme—like a power or a status—by grouping clusters of emotions, memories, perceptions and wishes in response to a threat to the stability of the self. I ...

Condensation (psychology) In Freudian psychoanalysis, a condensation () is when a single idea (an image, memory, or thought) or dream object stands for several associations and ideas. This is an energetic reshuffling in which mental energy flows freely from one idea etc. to ...

* Construction (psychoanalysis) *

Counterphobic attitude In psychology, a counterphobic attitude is a response to anxiety that, instead of fleeing the source of fear in the manner of a phobia, actively seeks it out, in the hope of overcoming the original anxiousness. Contrary to the avoidant personali ...

D

Death drive In classical psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud, the death drive () is the Drive theory, drive toward destruction in the sense of breaking down complex phenomena into their constituent parts or bringing life back to its inanimate 'dead' state, often ...

Decathexis In psychoanalysis, decathexis is the withdrawal of cathexis from an idea or instinctual object. Decathexis is the process of dis-investment of mental or emotional energy in a person, object, or idea. Narcissism In narcissistic neurosis, cathex ...

Decompensation In medicine, decompensation is the functional deterioration of a structure or system that had been previously working with the help of compensation. Decompensation may occur due to fatigue, stress, illness, or old age. When a system is "compensa ...

Defence mechanism In psychoanalytic theory, defence mechanisms are Unconscious mind, unconscious psychological processes that protect the self from anxiety-producing thoughts and feelings related to internal conflicts and external stressors. According to this ...

Deferred obedience Deferred obedience is a psychological phenomenon first articulated by Sigmund Freud, whereby a onetime rebel becomes subservient to the very rules and standards against which they had previously been rebelling. To father figures Deferred obedience ...

Delayed gratification Delayed gratification, or deferred gratification, is the ability to resist the temptation of an immediate reward in favor of a more valuable and long-lasting reward later. It involves forgoing a smaller, immediate pleasure to achieve a larger o ...

Demand (psychoanalysis) In Lacanianism, demand () is the way in which instinctive needs are alienated through language and signification. The concept of demand was developed by Lacan—outside of Freudian theory—in conjunction with need and desire in order to account fo ...

Displacement (psychology) In psychology, displacement () is an Unconscious mind, unconscious defence mechanism whereby the mind substitutes either a new aim or a new Object relations theory, object for things felt in their original form to be dangerous or unacceptable. Exa ...

Drive theory In psychology, a drive theory, theory of drives or drive doctrine is a theory that attempts to analyze, classify or define the psychological drives. A drive is an instinctual need that has the power of influencing the behavior of an individual; ...

E

Electra complex In neo-Freudian psychology, the Electra complex, as proposed by Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung in his ''Theory of Psychoanalysis'', is a girl's psychosexual development, psychosexual competition with her mother for possession of he ...

Eros (concept) Eros (, ; ) is a concept in ancient Greek philosophy referring to sensual or passionate love, from which the term ''eroticism, erotic'' is derived. ''Eros'' has also been used in philosophy and psychology in a much wider sense, almost as an equi ...

F

Fixation (psychology) Fixation () is a concept (in human psychology) that was originated by Sigmund Freud (1905) to denote the persistence of anachronistic sexual traits. The term subsequently came to denote object relationships with attachments to people or things in ...

Foreclosure (psychoanalysis) In psychoanalysis, foreclosure (also known as "foreclusion"; ) is a specific psychical cause for psychosis, according to French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. History According to Élisabeth Roudinesco, the term was originally introduced into psych ...

Four discourses Four discourses is a concept developed by French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. He argued that there were four fundamental types of discourse. He defined four discourses, which he called Master, University, Hysteric and Analyst, and suggested tha ...

Freudian slip In psychoanalysis, a Freudian slip, also called parapraxis, is an error in speech, memory, or physical action that occurs due to the interference of an unconscious subdued wish or internal train of thought. Classical examples involve slips of ...

G

Gaze In critical theory, philosophy, sociology, and psychoanalysis, the gaze (French: ''le regard''), in the figurative sense, is an individual's (or a group's) awareness and perception of other individuals, other groups, or oneself. Since the 20th ...

Gender inequality Gender inequality is the social phenomenon in which people are not treated equally on the basis of gender. This inequality can be caused by gender discrimination or sexism. The treatment may arise from distinctions regarding biology, psychology ...

* Graph of desire

I

Id, ego and super-ego In psychoanalytic theory, the id, ego, and superego are three distinct, interacting agents in the psychic apparatus, outlined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche. The three agents are theoretical constructs that Freud employed t ...

Identification (psychology) Identification is a psychological process whereby the individual assimilates an aspect, property, or attribute of the other and is transformed wholly or partially by the model that other provides. It is by means of a series of identifications that ...

* Identification with the Aggressor *

The Imaginary (psychoanalysis) In Lacanian psychoanalysis, the Imaginary (or Imaginary Order) is one of three terms in the psychoanalytic perspective of Jacques Lacan, along with the Symbolic and the Real. Each of the three terms emerged gradually over time, undergoing an e ...

Intellectualization In psychology, intellectualization (intellectualisation) is a defense mechanism by which reasoning is used to block confrontation with an unconscious conflict and its associated emotional stress – where thinking is used to avoid feeling. It invo ...

Interpellation (philosophy) Interpellation is a concept introduced to Marxist theory by Louis Althusser as the mechanism through which pre-existing social structures "constitute" (or construct) individual human organisms as Subjectification, subjects (with consciousness ...

Introjection In psychology, introjection (also known as identification or internalization) is the Unconscious mind, unconscious adoption of the thoughts or personality traits of others. It occurs as a normal part of development, such as a child taking on Par ...

* Inversive

J

Jocasta complex In psychoanalytic theory, the Jocasta complex is the incestuous sexual desire of a mother towards her son. Raymond de Saussure introduced the term in 1920 by way of analogy to its logical converse in psychoanalysis, the Oedipus complex, and it m ...

Jouissance ''Jouissance'' () is a French language term implying "enjoyment"; the term jouissance connotes ''jouir'' 'to come' as in sexual parlance and has the meaning "orgasm" in french. In continental philosophy and psychoanalysis, ''jouissance'' is the ...

L

* Lack (psychoanalysis) * Laius complex *

Lapsus In philology, a lapsus (Latin for "lapse, slip, error") is an involuntary mistake made while writing or speaking. Investigations In 1895 an investigation into verbal slips was undertaken by a philologist and a psychologist, Rudolf Meringer and ...

Libido In psychology, libido (; ) is psychic drive or energy, usually conceived of as sexual in nature, but sometimes conceived of as including other forms of desire. The term ''libido'' was originally developed by Sigmund Freud, the pioneering origin ...

Love and hate (psychoanalysis) Love and hate as co-existing forces have been thoroughly explored within the literature of psychoanalysis, building on awareness of their co-existence in Western culture reaching back to the “odi et amo” of Catullus, and Plato's ''Symposium''. ...

M

* Madonna–whore complex *

Matheme The matheme (, from "lesson") is a concept introduced in the work of the 20th century French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. The term matheme "occurred for the first time in the lecture Lacan delivered on November 4th, 1971 ..Between 1972 and 1973 ...

* Medusa complex *

Mirror stage The mirror stage () is a concept in the psychoanalytic theory of Jacques Lacan. The mirror stage is based on the belief that infants recognize themselves in a mirror (literal) or other symbolic contraption which induces apperception (the turning ...

* Mortido

N

Name of the Father The name of the father ( French ') is a concept that Jacques Lacan developed from his seminar ''The Psychoses'' (1955–1956) to cover the role of the father in the Symbolic Order. Lacan plays with the similar sounds in French of ' (the name of ...

Narcissistic defences Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive preoccupation with oneself and one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism, named after the Greek mythological figure ''Narcissus'', has evolv ...

Narcissistic elation Narcissistic elation or narcissistic coenaesthetic (cenesthetic) expansion were terms used by Hungarian born psychoanalyst Béla Grunberger to highlight 'the narcissistic situation of the primal self in narcissistic union with the mother'. Narci ...

Narcissistic injury In psychology, narcissistic injury, also known as narcissistic wound or wounded ego, is emotional trauma that overwhelms an individual's defense mechanisms and devastates their pride and self-worth. In some cases, the shame or disgrace is so sig ...

* Narcissistic mortification * Narcissistic neurosis *

Narcissistic personality disorder Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a life-long pattern of grandiosity, exaggerated feelings of self-importance, an excessive need for admiration, and a diminished ability to empathy, empathize w ...

Narcissistic supply In psychoanalytic theory, narcissistic supply is attention or admiration that is pathologically or excessively needed from codependents, or such a need in the orally fixated, that does not take into account the feelings, opinions or preferences of ...

* Narcissistic withdrawal *

Negative transference Negative transference is the psychoanalytic term for the transference of negative and hostile feelings, rather than positive ones, onto a therapist (or other emotional object). Freud's preference In his pioneering studies of transference phenomena, ...

O

Objet petit a In the psychoanalytic theory of Jacques Lacan, ''objet petit a'' (French for "object little a") stands for the unattainable object of desire, the "a" being the small other ("autre"), a projection or reflection of the ego made to symbolise othern ...

Oceanic feeling In a 1927 letter to Sigmund Freud, Romain Rolland coined the phrase "oceanic feeling" to refer to "a sensation of 'eternity, a feeling of "Nonduality (spirituality), being one with the external world as a whole", inspired by the example of Rama ...

Oedipus complex In classical psychoanalytic theory, the Oedipus complex is a son's sexual attitude towards his mother and concomitant hostility toward his father, first formed during the phallic stage of psychosexual development. A daughter's attitude of desire ...

* Ophelia complex * Organ language *

Overdetermination Overdetermination occurs when a single-observed effect is determined by multiple causes, any one of which alone would be conceivably sufficient to account for ("determine") the effect. The term "overdetermination" () was used by Sigmund Freud a ...

P

Pansexuality Pansexuality is sexual, romantic, or emotional attraction towards people of all genders, or regardless of their sex or gender identity. Pansexual people may refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are not de ...

* Parataxic distortion * Parataxical Integration *

Penis envy Penis envy () is a stage in Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychop ...

Phaedra complex The Phaedra complex () is an informal, non-scientific designation to the sexual desire of a stepmother for her stepson, though the term has been extended to cover difficult relationships between stepparents and stepchildren in general. Origins Th ...

Pleasure principle (psychology) In Freudian psychoanalysis, the pleasure principle () is the instinctive seeking of pleasure and avoiding of pain to satisfy biological and psychological needs. Specifically, the pleasure principle is the animating force behind the id. Precur ...

Polymorphous perversity Polymorphous perversity is Sigmund Freud's descriptive term for the non-specific nature of childhood sexuality in its primordial form. In psychoanalytic theory, infantile sexual energy (libido) is yet to be definitively channelled into specific a ...

Postponement of affect Postponement of affect is a defence mechanism which may be used against a variety of feelings or emotions. Such a "temporal displacement, resulting simply in a later appearance of the affect reaction and in thus preventing the recognition of the m ...

Preconscious In psychoanalysis, the preconscious is the locus preceding consciousness. Thoughts are preconscious when they are unconscious at a particular moment, but are not repressed. Therefore, preconscious thoughts are available for recall and easily 'c ...

Primal scene In psychoanalysis, the primal scene () is the theory of the initial unconscious fantasy of a child of a sex act, between the parents, that organises the psychosexual development of that child. The expression "primal scene" refers to the sight of ...

Projective identification Projective identification is a term introduced by Melanie Klein and then widely adopted in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Projective identification may be used as a type of defense, a means of communicating, a primitive form of relationship, or a ...

* Psychic apparatus * Psychical inertia *

Psychological projection Psychological projection is a defence mechanism of alterity concerning "inside" ''content'' mistaken to be coming from the "outside" Other. It forms the basis of empathy by the projection of personal experiences to understand someone else's su ...

Psychological resistance Psychological resistance, also known as psychological resistance to change, is the phenomenon often encountered in clinical practice in which patients either directly or indirectly exhibit paradoxical opposing behaviors in presumably a clinically ...

R

Rationalization (psychology) Rationalization is a defense mechanism (ego defense) in which apparent logical reasons are given to justify behavior that is motivated by unconscious instinctual impulses. It is an attempt to find reasons for behaviors, especially one's own. Ra ...

Reaction formation In psychoanalytic theory, reaction formation () is a defense mechanism in which emotions, desires and impulses that are anxiety-producing or unacceptable to the Ego (Freudian), ego are mastered by exaggeration of the directly opposing tendency.Char ...

The Real In continental philosophy, the Real refers to reality in its unmediated form. In Lacanian psychoanalysis, it is an "impossible" category because of its inconceivability and opposition to expression. In depth psychology The Real is the ...

Regression (psychology) In psychoanalytic theory, regression is a defense mechanism involving the reversion of the ego to an earlier stage of psychosexual development, as a reaction to an overwhelming external problem or internal conflict. Sigmund Freud invoked the noti ...

* Reparation (psychoanalysis) *

Repetition compulsion Repetition compulsion is the unconscious tendency of a person to repeat a traumatic event or its circumstances. This may take the form of symbolically or literally re-enacting the event, or putting oneself in situations where the event is likely ...

Repressed memory Repressed memory is a controversial, and largely scientifically discredited, psychiatric phenomenon which involves an inability to recall autobiographical information, usually of a traumatic or stressful nature. The concept originated in psych ...

Repression (psychoanalysis) Repression is a key concept of psychoanalysis, where it is understood as a Defense mechanisms, defense mechanism that "ensures that what is unacceptable to the conscious mind, and would if recalled arouse anxiety, is prevented from entering into ...

Resistance (psychoanalysis) In psychoanalysis, resistance is the individual's efforts to prevent Repression (psychoanalysis), repressed drives, feelings or thoughts from being integrated into conscious awareness. Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalytic theory, develo ...

S

* Screen memory * Self-envy * Signorelli parapraxis * Sinthome *

Sublimation (psychology) In psychology, sublimation is a mature type of defense mechanism, in which socially unacceptable impulses or idealizations are transformed into socially acceptable actions or behavior, possibly resulting in a long-term conversion of the initia ...

Symbolic equation Symbolic equation is the term used in Kleinian psychoanalysis for states of thinking which equate current objects with those of the past, rather than finding a ''resemblance'' between the two sets. Origins Hanna Segal developed the concept of the ...

The Symbolic In Lacanian psychoanalysis, the Symbolic (or Symbolic Order of the Borromean knot) is the order in the unconscious that gives rise to subjectivity and bridges intersubjectivity between two subjects; an example is Jacques Lacan's idea of desire as ...

T

Taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

Transference Transference () is a phenomenon within psychotherapy in which repetitions of old feelings, attitudes, desires, or fantasies that someone displaces are subconsciously projected onto a here-and-now person. Traditionally, it had solely co ...

* Transference neurosis *

True self and false self The true self (also known as real self, authentic self, original self and vulnerable self) and the false self (also known as fake self, idealized self, superficial self and pseudo self) are a psychological dualism conceptualized by English psycho ...

U

Uncanny The uncanny is the psychological experience of an event or thing that is unsettling in a way that feels oddly familiar, rather than simply mysterious. This phenomenon is used to describe incidents where a familiar entity is encountered in a frig ...

Unconscious cognition Unconscious cognition is the processing of perception, memory, learning, thought, and language without being aware of it. The role of the unconscious mind on decision making is a topic greatly debated by neuroscientists, linguists, philosophers, ...

Unconscious mind In psychoanalysis and other psychological theories, the unconscious mind (or the unconscious) is the part of the psyche that is not available to introspection. Although these processes exist beneath the surface of conscious awareness, they are t ...

Undoing (psychology) Undoing is a defense mechanism in which a person tries to cancel out or remove an unhealthy, destructive or otherwise threatening thought or action by engaging in contrary behavior. For example, after thinking about being violent with someone, one ...

V

* Vanishing mediator

References

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Terminology Terminology is a group of specialized words and respective meanings in a particular field, and also the study of such terms and their use; the latter meaning is also known as terminology science. A ''term'' is a word, Compound (linguistics), com ...

Psychological concepts Wikipedia glossaries using unordered lists

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See also

References