The name of any model
helps us attach meaning to the method, but this name says more than
most. The prefix
psycho-
means "mind", and the suffix
-dynamic
means "action". This literally is the study of the actions of the
mind. Sometimes we don't see our mind as an active agent in the
experiences of our lives, but proponents of this theory teach us that
the mind not only plays an important and active role in everything we
do consciously, it also has a significant role in things we do
unconsciously.
This model originated with Sigmund Freud, and has
been expanded upon and modified by Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Erik
Erikson, Helene Deutsch, Karen Horney, and Eric Berne. It is
sometimes called "the grandfather of models", because it is the first
organized way of studying the actions of the mind, and all other models
owe some concepts and principles to this model. Even though the
ancient Egyptians and Greeks speculated on the mind as an active agent
in our lives, Freud and the other psychodynamic theorists were the
first to explore the process in a systematic and scientific way.
Each man who followed Freud altered some concepts into what he
personally considered a more accurate explanation of the process.
For instance, Freud attributed a great deal of our dysfunctions to
sexual conflicts within our personality, but Adler chalked them up more
to our need to establish superiority over others.
Some primary terms associated with this model are:
Inner Conflict,
Unconscious Mind,
Defense Mechanism,
Transference,
Repression,
Sublimation,
Analysis,
Free Association,
Projective Testing,
Dream Analysis, and
Case Study.
The most basic theory at the heart of psychodynamics
is that your personality and motivations are based on the interactions
between three elements of your mind that were first identified by
Freud. The
Id is a
childish aspect of us that wants only two things: Sensual Gratification
(this is pleasure for
any
of our 5 senses) and Aggression Release. Early in our lives,
these two desires occupy most of our sensations. We are happy
when we get to eat, touch a soft teddy bear, or poop our pants.
If we don't get our way, we scream and cry until our needs are met
(don't let that diaper be dirty for
too long). Football
players are trying to bring out their
Id
when they pound their thighpads and yell, "kill, kill, kill!"
Obviously, if we were dominated by our all day, every day, we'd get
into lots of trouble with adults and other authorities. Our
Ego is like our personal
referee. It tries to keep the
Id
out of trouble by using a variety of techniques known as
defense
mechanisms. By sublimation, for example, the
Ego
turns the
Id's desires into
socially acceptable or valuable outcomes. You
love Reese's Cups, but your
Ego gets you to ask "Please"
or buy them from the store, where your
Id would just snatch up every one
you saw. By repression, as another example, the
Ego
"holds down" the
Id,
basically saying, "You can't have what you want right now, so shut
up!" You can see a chart that shows many common real-life
examples of defense mechanisms if you click
HERE.
The third element is the
Superego.
This aspect judges the struggles between your
Id and
Ego, and decides whether your
Ego is doing a good job keeping the
Id under control. The
Superego is a harsh judge, and the
Id is a devious and powerful force,
so the
Ego is constantly
"under fire" from both sides. This is a losing proposition, so
even when the
Ego overcomes
the
Id, the
Superego usually judges that the
Ego did not do well enough, and we
end up with a guilty conscience, or feeling like a failure. It
may seem astounding to imagine all this going on inside your head, but
the structure does help us understand why we sometimes feel
"conflicted". [As an example of how these concepts have changed
over time, Eric Berne, the developer of Transactional Analysis, labels
these aspects with more "user friendly" terms: "Child" for
Id, "Adult" for
Ego, and "Parent" for
Superego.]
The second major element of psychodynamics is the
action of our unconscious mind. The theory is that most of the
conflict noted above goes on in a place where we cannot (or choose not
to) follow it closely. [You should be able to imagine the sorts
of odd behavior that a person struggling openly with those conflicts
might exhibit. We've all seen sitcoms in which some character's
Id,
Ego, and
Superego argue out loud, and it
seems pretty funny.] In addition, many of the feelings that get
repressed become trapped down in the unconscious. Since these
feelings can be
very
strong, it seems likely that under the proper conditions, these
conflicts and feelings will eventually resurface, causing us much more
pain and anxiety. For Freud and other psychodynamic therapists,
these conflicts and feelings could reappear in dreams, mispoken phrases
("Freudian slips"), and unusual behaviors. While these actions
might seem humorous on a TV show, if we were experiencing them
personally, they would be very dreadful.
The therapeutic process most commonly used in
psychodynamics is called "analysis". Through this process, the
Analyst looks at the person's behavior patterns, to try to discover how
past experiences have led to the current
dysfunctions. If they are
having problems, it is because they either misinterpreted our past
experiences, or they chose the wrong defense mechanisms, which haven't
worked. It is important to the Analyst that the person know
themself well, so the source and effects of the dysfunction will be
accurate. The Analyst may use free association, dream analysis,
or projective testing to help identify the source of these
dysfunctions. The Analyst must be
very careful not to imagine
that
every problem the person
is having is part of some deepseated and metaphoric cause. A
tennis player who always beats the females they play against, but never
defeats a male opponent does not necessarily have some inner hatred of
women or irrational fear of men. Psychodynamics is a personal
therapy, and each individual's behaviors must be looked at as a very
unique set of causes and effects. In order to be effective, it
requires a patient who is introspective, can face themselves honestly,
and truly
wants to
change.
Psychodynamics is not very popular as a sports
psychology for several reasons: it usually requires a long time for the
intervention process to be worked out and implemented, and athletes are
usually seeking more immediate results; processes in the unconscious
mind are not cause-effect relationships, and almost all athletics
is; it is not very good for
predicting the future for
athletic performances; there is not a lot of agreement on what a
healthy sports mind really looks
like, since some sports require superior
Ego control and other require a
relatively unleashed
Id; and
it carries the weight of a public opinion that thinks it works great
for
sick people, but not so
well for
healthy ones.
In spite of all that, Psychodynamics has led us to
understand some important "truths" about athletics and competition:
they give us a very wide range of emotions to experience; they satisfy
inner needs that are not met by other activities; they open us to
insights that can be applied to daily life; they increase our
self-sufficiency, allowing us to depend upon ourselves for resources
rather than always relying on others; and they help us find a role in
society. Perhaps best of all, sports is an antidepressant.
It relieves our aggressive impulses in an acceptable way; we can use it
to exchange mild physical pain for our emotional pains; and it helps us
recognize that no failure is
ever
a
total loss. These are
insights that can certainly help us lead a healthier, more balanced
life.
By using the principles of PsychoDynamics to work
through our past conflicts, we can actually relieve ourselves of much
of the guilt we carry around, and come to feel much better about
ourselves and our activities. Just as we would practice our golf
swing more precisely if we recognized a flaw that was leading to bad
shots, we must practice strategies that will help us improve our mental
state if we recognize flaws in our inner dynamics.
ASSIGNMENT
Write a journal that answers each of these
PsychoDynamic-related questions regarding your own athletic life, and
put it in your notebook:
~ What "internal conflicts" do I have relative to my sport
and/or my performance in it?
~ What mental attitudes do I carry with me that are not
helpful to my athletic performance?
~ How do these mental attitudes and conflicts effect my
ability to achieve my goals?
~ How can I improve my play if I improve my strategy for
dealing with my attitudes and conflicts?