What were Freud's ideas?

Answer 1

Shortened 'cliff notes' version on Freud:

He believed that the mind is like an iceberg, mostly hidden -- that our 'unconscious' mind is the key to all our angst.

* Personality has three structures: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id, a reservoir of unconscious psychic energy, operates on the pleasure principle, seeks immediate gratification, and is not restrained by reality. It operates solely at the unconscious level. The ego, which develops in early childhood, operates through the reality principle, which seeks to gratify impulses of the id realistically and to bring long-term pleasure without pain. The ego operates at both the conscious and pre-conscious levels. The superego, a third structure, emerges as children reach 4 or 5 and internalize the morals of parents and society. The superego acts as a voice of conscience and operates mostly at the preconscious level of awareness. People also possess and are driven by a psychological energy called the libido. * * Children pass through a series of psychosexual stages during which the id seeks pleasure from body areas, erogenous zones, that change during development. If children have difficulty passing through a particular stage, they are said to have become fixated.Fixation at the phallic stage may create an Oedipus complex for a boy (jealousy of a son toward his father in competing for his mother's attention) or an Electra complexfor a girl (who competes with her mother for her father's attention). Children resolve these conflicts by identifyingwith the parent of the same gender. * * During a child's development, the ego strategically uses defense mechanismsto deal with the anxiety produced by conflicting impulses from the id (operating on the pleasure principle) and the superego (using internalized representation of the parents' value system. * Psychoanalysis is the vehicle that a Freudian Psychologist would use to help a patient unlock his unconscious desires. Psychoanalysis has fallen from favor in the sense that there are fewer practitioners nowadays and going through the process of psychoanalysis can take years and years!

Clients (as well as insurance companies) favor 'brief therapy' techniques such as behavior modification, talk therapy and/or the use of medication for therapeutic purposes monitored by a Psychiatrist.

Answer 2

Freud's ideas included the idea that the human mind had three levels and that dreams could be analyzed. Freud also believed that many psychoses came from sexual repression.

Answer 3

Cocaine was the cure all drug of choice that he would give to his patients.

Answer 4

He believed in boys