Psychology: The Ego Psychodynamic Approach

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Ego psychology is often identified with Anna Freud, the daughter of Sigmund Freud. She was encouraged by her father to continue his legacy and to extend the practice of psychoanalysis. This concept originated in Freud's ego, id and superego model. The idea of the ego psychology revolves around the point that healthy ego is independent of any mental divergence and is inclusive of independent ego functions like reality-testing and memory, it should be functioning without any interruption of any emotional conflict; this is an argument that some have presented. Others try to clarify Freud’s work by portraying the mind as divided into drives and structures. However, it was Heinz Hartmann who claimed that the healthy ego includes a sphere of self-governing ego functions that are independent of mental conflict. Memory, motor coordination, and reality-testing, for example; should be able to function without the interruption of emotional conflict. This was Hartmann’s revision of Freud structural theory. The Ego is developed throughout a …show more content…
Ego Psychology movement is the idea that psychological health involved not only having mature defenses but also being able to use a variety of defensive processes. Defense mechanisms arise to combat anxiety; if an individual only uses denial and projection to manage their anxious feelings; for example, one can be said to have Ego inflexibility. The purpose of therapy is to allow the individual to have several defense mechanisms in his or her collection when emotional conflict arises. Throughout the psychotherapeutic process, ego strength should improve, meaning a person’s capacity to accept reality even when it is extremely unpleasant. We all use these defense mechanisms at times, as all defense mechanisms can be adaptive and maladaptive, depending on the character style of the