Compare and Contrast Psychoanalytic and Person-Centered Therapies
Running Head: Compare and Contrast Paper
Compare and Contrast: Psychoanalytic and Person-Centered Therapies
Leslie A. White
Central Missouri State University
` The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the differences and similarities associated with Carl Roger’s Client-centered theory and Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory. The focus of the comparisons will fall into the three main topic areas: that of optimal personality development, that of the nature of problem formation, and that of the process of learning and change. The two theorists differ in approach in that Psychoanalytic theory is basically deterministic while Person-Centered therapy is rooted in humanistic and existential philosophies. Freud concurred that behavior was determined by both unconscious motivators and through instinctual drives that evolved during the first six years of life (Corey, 1996). The deterministic view focuses on the belief that past experiences unconsciously are reflected in present behaviors. Freud proposed that only after the client gained insight into the unconscious could he or she operate by choice rather than that of habit (Corey, 1996). Person-Centered therapy is more humanistic in nature and has some traits associated with existentialism, apparent in the lack a specific set of techniques. A difference between the humanistic view and the deterministic view is that humanism is based on the concept that the client has the freedom to make conscious choices and will automatically grow in positive ways (Corey, 1996). The deterministic philosophy assumes that behavior is driven by a source of unconscious motivation.
Optimal Personality Development Psychoanalytic personality development revolves around the idea that human functioning is motivated by unconscious drives. These instinctual drives, called the life and death instincts, are sexual and aggressive drives that humans feel an innate need to satisfy. According to Freud,
Compare and Contrast: Psychoanalytic and Person-Centered Therapies
Leslie A. White
Central Missouri State University
` The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the differences and similarities associated with Carl Roger’s Client-centered theory and Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory. The focus of the comparisons will fall into the three main topic areas: that of optimal personality development, that of the nature of problem formation, and that of the process of learning and change. The two theorists differ in approach in that Psychoanalytic theory is basically deterministic while Person-Centered therapy is rooted in humanistic and existential philosophies. Freud concurred that behavior was determined by both unconscious motivators and through instinctual drives that evolved during the first six years of life (Corey, 1996). The deterministic view focuses on the belief that past experiences unconsciously are reflected in present behaviors. Freud proposed that only after the client gained insight into the unconscious could he or she operate by choice rather than that of habit (Corey, 1996). Person-Centered therapy is more humanistic in nature and has some traits associated with existentialism, apparent in the lack a specific set of techniques. A difference between the humanistic view and the deterministic view is that humanism is based on the concept that the client has the freedom to make conscious choices and will automatically grow in positive ways (Corey, 1996). The deterministic philosophy assumes that behavior is driven by a source of unconscious motivation.
Optimal Personality Development Psychoanalytic personality development revolves around the idea that human functioning is motivated by unconscious drives. These instinctual drives, called the life and death instincts, are sexual and aggressive drives that humans feel an innate need to satisfy. According to Freud,