A Psychodynamic Approach To Mary's Case

Scenario
Mary is now happily married after an unhappy childhood, when she was eight years old, her mother committed suicide. After this suicide incident, Mary stayed with her aunt where she was brought up under cold and strict conditions. At the moment, Mary does not work and has a daughter who is five years old, Mary is married to John a successful banker who has to work long hours hence only allowing him less hours to see and be with his family. Of late, Mary has been feeling depressed and has secretly been indulging in shopping sprees and drinking in order to cheer herself up.
Mary’s feelings and behaviour might be explained by psychologists as in these theoretical approaches.
Biological approach
Given Mary’s current feeling and behaviour,
A psychodynamic viewpoint would look at Mary’s case with interest vested in Mary’s mother and the aunt in the sense that the aunt provided little support and comfort to Mary during her childhood. From this, Mary’s depression can be related to the poor quality substitute parenting provided by her aunt and the fact that she was never helped to grieve her lost mother and these feelings may have been regressed. This strict and authoritarian parenting that Mary experienced when she lived with her aunt may as well have caused Mary to suffer from low self esteem and low self
Her shopping spree behaviour might be explained as the result of freedom of which she has all the time for herself and can therefore give herself some treat.
Cross-cultural/ socio-cultural Approach
This approach captures the position of Mary in relation to both other individuals and the society. Since Mary does not work, she has to stay at home and take care of the home, she might be seen as disempowered given the male dominated society, hence unfulfilment because she is forced to remain at home while her husband pursues a fulfilling career. Society as well expect women to show their feelings passively, Mary’s dissatisfaction would be expected to show itself as a depression rather than resentment.
Because of Mary’s unhappy childhood and her isolation as a housewife in adulthood, she has never had an opportunity to develop a healthy self image resulting in the failure to grow into the person she could be. This makes her unfulfilled, This lack of personal fulfilment from the past and present life can be the result of Mary’s