1. Psychoanalytic psychotherapy is a dynamic, continually developing method of helping people solve psychological problems. What evidence supports this contention? What aspects of the Freudian revisionists and the contemporary psychoanalytic writers do you find of the most value to you?
2. The psychoanalytic approach underscores the importance of early psychosexual development. Do you see evidence that one's current problems are rooted in the significant events of one's first 6 years of life? To what extent do you believe people can resolve their adult problems that stem from childhood experiences without exploring past events?
3. Contrast Carl Jung's view of human nature with Freud's view, especially with respect to the influence of the past on the development of present personality structure. What are the implications for the counseling practice of these two perspectives of human development?
4. Psychoanalytic techniques such as free association, dream interpretation, probing the unconscious, and interpretation and analysis of resistance and transference may not be appropriate, or they may be beyond your level of training. However, many of the concepts of the psychoanalytic approach can provide you with a useful framework for deepening your understanding of human behavior. What psychoanalytic concepts do you see as being potentially useful in your work as a counselor? Why?
5. This approach places considerable emphasis on therapists' awareness of their own needs and reactions toward clients (or awareness of countertransference). At this time, what kind of client behavior do you think you'd find most difficult? Are you aware of any of your vulnerabilities, unresolved personal concerns, or unmet needs that might interfere with your objectivity and effectiveness as a therapist? What are you willing to do to address any of these personal areas that could affect your professional work?
6. The psychoanalytic view of anxiety is that it is largely the result of keeping unconscious conflicts buried and that ego defenses develop to help the person curb anxiety. What implications does this view have for your work with people? Do you think defenses are necessary? What are the possible values of defense mechanisms? What do you think might happen if you were able to successfully strip away a client's defenses?
7. What are some of the main characteristics of brief psychodynamic therapy? How useful do you find this approach?