ABSTRACT
Traditional psychoanalytic conceptualizations of psychopathology have tended to emphasize dynamic propositions regarding disrupted homeostasis, frustrated or inhibited instinctual strivings and anxiety associated with the topographic compromise of the psyche ( Baker, 1985a). These notions were central to Freud’s classic theory of neurosis and were derived primarily from his clinical work with hysterical patients and his psychodynamic model of personality. Traditional psychoanalytic ideas about the therapeutic action of psychotherapy reflect this emphasis on the dynamic flex of libidinal energy in psychological functioning and relate improvement in treatment to the discharge of tension, the abreaction of traumatic experience, and the restoration of intrapsychic balance and stability (Loewald, 1960). For this reason, classic psychoanalytic technique has tended to focus on catharsis, transference-based regression for uncovering, interpretation with its potential to facilitate insight, and working through. Each of these technical processes is predicated on the core issues of “discharging” conflictual tensions and “freeing-up” psychic energy for adaption and growth.
