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Content
of a Psycho-Analysis
The links in the table on the left take you to sub-headings in this article.
Beginning with Observation One way of getting a psychoanalysis started is to reflect on how you view other people. Note what faults and virtues you like in them. It is highly probable that the faults that you see in other people are reflections (or projections) of the same faults in yourself. And the virtues that you admire in people are usually ones that you also possess or would like to. Then try to identify these attitudes in your own social relationships by learning to observe yourself. This is a process that takes time to mature, since we prefer to avoid facing up to any unpleasant aspects of our personality. It is usually easier to learn observation whilst engaged in social activities rather than by sitting in solitary meditation. |
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Sub-headings |
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| Need for ideas | |
| Depths of analysis | |
| Idealism & will | |
| Re-structuring belief systems | |
| 1st & 2nd Rules | |
| Disappointments | |
| 3rd Rule | |
| Group work | |
| References |
One major difficulty in analysis is that any problem is not usually restricted to one region of consciousness. Typical regions are those of ethics, politics, sexuality, religion, social relations, and mental disorder. A problem in sexuality will tend to spread into the person’s attitudes to all other regions ; problems of ethics are difficult to separate from politics and power. Solving a problem in one region of consciousness may not automatically solve it in other regions, though they will be affected.
For example, self-deception enables a person to restrict the problem of power to politics and to ignore its role within the family.
To attempt the elimination of a major problem means that attitudes to sexuality, politics, religion, ethics, social relations, even mental disorder, will all need to be explored. We need insights into the grounds of all our important beliefs. The important point is that the person has to follow an insight wherever it leads. If, for example, the person decides to refuse to explore their beliefs in any field, say religion, this will inhibit the analysis and prevent depth of understanding being attained.
Ideas in the subconscious mind link together by association. The association of ideas generates the association of beliefs. An inspiring religious vision may uplift one’s attitudes to social relationships : the religious vision can generate noble beliefs that can then ennoble social beliefs. Conversely, a psychotic experience that originates from traumatic social relationships may give rise to psychotic religious views. A person’s beliefs are not necessarily based on truth ; any confusion that originates in one region of consciousness can spread into other regions, through the mechanism of association of ideas.
The Need for Ideas
What is required in order to eliminate confusion as much as possible is a wide study of life in general, rather than deep knowledge of a single speciality. The person needs ideas, especially ideas on human nature. Ideas are needed in order to understand personal problems. Without such study a psycho-analysis may not yield many worthwhile results. The onus for making a psycho-analysis successful rests mostly on the client ; the therapist is only a guide and occasional support. Hence the person should be encouraged to develop wide reading habits and to cultivate an extensive intellectual vocabulary.
The reading of biographies and autobiographies is especially helpful. The person begins to understand that his problems are not unique to himself and that people tackle similar problems in a variety of different ways. Biographies and autobiographies help the person to cultivate insight. If the book depicts a situation that is similar in some ways to his own situation, empathy and insight occur to link the associated ideas. Understanding the themes in the book helps the person to understand his own responses ; he learns to use the book as a mirror to himself.
This broadening of one’s perspective on life has a very important role : it helps to strengthen one’s ability to handle emotions. To change one’s fixed beliefs means to re-structure one’s mind, and this produces confusion, distress and sorrow (the effects of abreaction). [¹]. Therefore a person cannot change their beliefs until they are emotionally strong enough to withstand the stress of mental change. Premature realisation of one’s weaknesses can be very damaging. So the person needs to avoid any therapist who has a reputation for aggressive confrontation.
Depths of Analysis
There are levels to the depth of analysis that is achievable. During an analysis a person may achieve a broad understanding of their problems, sufficient to maintain a moderate composure of mind in their daily living. The problems may seem to have ended. The person may then choose to end the analysis.
However, if they decide to delve deeper into their subconscious mind, the former problems reappear but at a lower level of intensity. But now that awareness is more acute the person finds that these minor troubles irritate him / her almost as much as when they were major troubles, though his / her awareness was less sharp then. These irritations will only die down when they are worked through at that level of analysis.
In other words, as the problems decrease in magnitude this is offset by his / her sensitivity to them increasing as well. The development of awareness also develops sensitivity. The person finds that, paradoxically, even though the problems diminish, he / she is never free of anxiety about them. Anxiety about a problem only disappears for good when that problem is solved in all its complexity and subtlety. [²]
Idealism & Will
A psycho-analysis is never a pleasant experience until it is completed. Negative memories and attitudes cannot be analysed until they are brought into consciousness. So the person is always focusing on the dark side of their character. To persevere in this procedure over a long period of time requires an intense idealism founded on strength of will. Idealism is as important as will power to the successful culmination of the analysis.
It is the person’s idealism that enables him / her to integrate the distressful insights about themself that the analysis yields.
It is the person’s will power that enables him / her to carry on the analysis, despite experiencing confusion and sorrow.
When the person’s will power is stretched to the limit then the analysis will usually have to end, either temporarily or permanently. If he goes beyond his will power then his distress will overwhelm him.
Re-structuring Belief Systems
A psycho-analysis takes a long period of time since the re-structuring of the person’s mind, which means the re-structuring of their belief systems, requires a long time too. After a major insight occurs, then the major re-structuring, major re-orientating, of their state of mind can take many months to work its effects throughout their consciousness.
For example, if, through insight, the person reduces their anxiety over the issue of power, then any aspect of power within their beliefs and attitudes about politics, sexuality, religion, morality, etc will be affected ; and this change will take time to happen. Fixed ideas are not easily created nor easily dislodged – the subconscious mind is highly resistant to change. [The longest period of time that I needed to assimilate such a re-structuring was about ten months, when I understood and worked through some aspects of self-pity]. [³]
I have identified three rules that apply in dynamic psycho-therapy. The first one is described in the previous article, Process of Psycho-Analysis, and I repeat it here for convenience.
The first rule of dynamic psycho-therapy
In order to make a small, real change in a person’s character,
that person as to wade through a great amount of psychological rubbish.
The time effect leads to another rule, which can be called the second rule of dynamic psycho-therapy.
The second rule of dynamic psycho-therapy
When a person changes a major belief through insight then it takes a long period of time for the effects of that change to work their way through the person’s consciousness.
When a problem is solved, what characterises it ? . The absence of anxiety about it ! . Or the reduction of anxiety to an acceptable level if there are still subtle aspects of the problem left unresolved. This means that the memory that was disturbing the person is no longer doing so – the valuation of the memory has changed from negative to neutral or to positive. Likewise, when an analysis reaches a satisfactory conclusion, the general level of anxiety has been reduced.
However, in any form of therapy, not just in psycho-analysis, the complete elimination of anxiety is not possible. Anxiety is attached not only to memories, but also to desires. Anxiety can be eliminated when it is attached to memories, but not when it is attached to desires. This is explained in the articles on abreaction. [4]
In a psycho-analysis, repressed memories are brought out into the open. The bringing of hidden parts of the mind into consciousness has the effect of enlarging that consciousness. This effect can have a beneficial influence on the person’s idealism : as he / she becomes aware of how easily mis-understandings cause psychological problems, he / she becomes more tolerant of other people and more accepting of human frailty.
When resentment and bitterness repeatedly occur over a long period of time, with a regular intensity, then they can lead to disappointments over the way that the psycho-analysis is going. The person laments ' Will it ever end ?' [5]
Confusion, mental conflict and character weaknesses imply problems that affect the ego, and problems that affect the ego always generate abreaction. Therefore such problems always produce resentment and bitterness. When a problem is being worked through, the resolutions of resentment and bitterness do not occur piecemeal. Even though separate factors may be resolved, overall the resentment and bitterness still persist. However, as separate factors are resolved, the overall level of anxiety drops to some extent ; this drop may or may not be noticed (the drop may be camouflaged by other serious problems). These effects make it difficult to determine how near to a complete and successful resolution the person is. These effects make it difficult to evaluate a psycho-analysis that is still in process.
During a psycho-analysis a person’s problems may get very difficult to handle. The psychological pain may be very intense. The analysis may appear to be going nowhere, despite the person’s best efforts. Should he / she abandon the psycho-analysis ? . This is an issue that cannot be easily decided. A psychological problem never disappears gradually (if it did the person could see that he / she was making progress). It only disappears at the final piece of resolution, as the last piece of the jigsaw is put in place. Success comes at the end of the drama. It does not come piecemeal during that drama. Freud discovered this effect and my experience verifies it.
So a person never knows how near to final success he / she actually is whilst they are working out that problem. The person can still feel completely immersed in that problem even when success is only a few moments away. To use an athletics analogy, the runner may be inches away from the finishing tape, yet still feel that they have many miles to run.
This effect gives rise to a principle, which may be called the third rule of dynamic psycho-therapy :
The third rule of dynamic psycho-therapy
When a person is working through a problem, there is no sure way of ascertaining how near he / she is to a successful resolution of that problem.
Group Work
A person can work singly with a therapist or in a group [to work on one’s own, without any therapist, requires intense idealism and good intellectual capability]. A group experience is good as an introduction to analysis and to discover the hidden dynamics of family relationships, but never for advanced work. This is because any mental violence that is generated in a group, such as ridicule or anger or hatred, will cause psychological damage to anyone who is managing to develop sensitivity. Sensitivity is required in order to cultivate self-consciousness, but it is a major difficulty when the person is trying to assimilate distressful insights. Anger easily de-stabilises a sensitive person, even if that anger is not directed at himself ; just being in the presence of an angry person is upsetting enough. A person’s response to anger will be either fear or the generation of their own anger. It is the fear that does the damage.
There is an even more important reason for abandoning group work when undertaking an advanced analysis. In any group, whether therapeutic or idealistic or merely social, we soon establish an ‘identity ’ which is ‘us’. If after a while the person tries to change, the other members usually resist it ; change usually upsets the group because its norms are being challenged in some way. How often have we heard someone say that a friend or a relative of theirs is acting peculiar !
If a person wants to experience thorough-going change in themself, then they have to leave all their groups whilst they are undergoing that change. A group is mutually supportive, that is its function. Whereas the aim of an analysis is to enable a person to rely on themself as much as possible ; but receiving support in a group prevents this. This lack of support produces the sorrow of loneliness, which can become very intense.
To clarify these differences :
In a group I experience the world (the world of relationships with other people).
But only as an individual can I experience myself !
In advanced work the therapist needs to be non-judgemental. This is because the client has to come to terms with their own ambivalence to authority. The concept of authority always generates subconscious conflict, and the client has to solve it to their own satisfaction and not to the satisfaction of the therapist.
The number in brackets at the end of each reference takes you back to the paragraph that featured it.
[¹]. My in-depth analysis of the process of abreaction is given in the five articles on Abreaction. See home page. [1]
[²]. Anxiety is an emotion. My definitions, descriptions, and analysis of emotions are given in the three articles on Emotion. See home page. [2]
[³]. I analyse the effects of abreaction as therapy in section 5. See the List of Articles. [3]
[4]. Abreaction occurs in two modes : feeling mode and insight mode. Insight removes anxiety, but feeling mode generates anxiety any time a desire is aroused. See the third article on Abreaction : Catharsis and Suggestion, section Suggestion. [4]
[5]. See the fourth article on Abreaction : Resentment and Bitterness. [5]
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The articles in this section are :
Characteristics of a Psycho-Analysis
Content of a Psycho-Analysis
Copyright
© 2002 Ian Heath
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The copyright is mine, and the article is free to use. It can be reproduced anywhere, so long as the source is acknowledged.
Ian Heath, London UK
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