Freud vs Adler Theories essays

Freud vs Adler Theories essays Sigmund Freud has held the distinction as the Founder of Psychoanalysis in contributing a revolutionary concept that emphasizes on the human unconscious (Boerre 1997). His theory on the energy sources he and his associate, Josef Breuer, called the id, ego and superego, make up the human psyche. They formulated that the id as the unconscious part that works on the eros or sexual life energy and the tanatos or anger/death energy. The ego energy source balances these energies, that is why people, in general, can function and coexist in society (Boeree). The ego is strong enough to control them. Freud and Breuer's theory, however, suggested that, sometimes, the id becomes more dominant and gets to control human behavior, such as during sleep when suppressed desires are revealed in dreams. The theory also holds that the superego is a person's mental image of his or her ideal self, which includes all the values and norms learned and internalized from the person's environment. The superego energy is, therefore, directly opposed to and by the id, and the ego endeavors to satisfy and keep both extremes balanced (Boeree). Freud also proposed that mental disorders develop in early childhood and go through the oral, anal, phallic, latent and genital stages. The phallic sub-theory that is well-known explains how sex-identity develops in an unconscious level (Boeree 1997) between the child and each parent, the boy developing the Oedipus Complex and the girl, the Electra Complex. Both concepts were unacceptable to the people of Freud's time, but his revolutionary analysis of the dynamics of the human psyche was nonetheless valued and remains popularly used (Pietersen 2004). His clinical research method has been widely applied in conversations with patients in analyzing and gaining insight into their behavioral pattern (Boeree). But Freud's theory has been criticized as not supporte...