The Psychoanalytic Approach to Psychology

Describe and critically evaluate the Psychoanalytic approach to Psychology.
Sigmund Freud was born in Frieberg, Moravia in 1856, but when he was four years old, his family moved to Vienna. Freud introduced the 'psychoanalytic approach' to therapy known as 'Psychoanalysis' to the world. In the early 1900's, Freud studied people and their neurotic disorders. He developed his own way of treating these disorders, this was known as 'Free Association'. (Hayes 1994)
The concept of Free-Association is the name given to what happened when a patient looks at particular images and expresses in their own words what each picture means to them, no matter how out of the ordinary. He also noticed that minor slips of the tongue (this is where the term 'Freudian slips' comes from) could also be monitored, as this was also part of the unconscious mind. Freud believed that Free-Association often revealed hidden memories from childhood experiences. The patient would have difficulty remembering this experience, but by use of Free Association, he would encourage the patient to remember this and help them come to terms with it (Walmsley 2003).
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