Nina's Psychodynamic Case Study

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Nina's struggle seems to represent the inner conflict between the Id, the ego and the superego. Key to the psychodynamic approach is the idea that there's a link between present day behaviours and early infant development. Freud believed that the human personality is governed by unconcious processes of the human psyche. Freud asserted that the human psyche is organised into 3 different aspects ,these are :
The Id : This is what Freud refers to as the pleasure principle ,governed by instinctual ,sexual and aggressive survival drives. It is also here where many unconcious repressed memories are kept.
The superego : This can be described as the inner imposer of rules ,which have been conditioned by the external environment and introjected . The superego has a harsh ,strict-like quality ,whereby rules and regulations must be carried out to perfection. The ego : The ego may be described as the mediator between the Id and superego.,which are in conflict with one another , as they pull in opposing directions. The 3 constantly interact with one another and form a whole In order for the ego to bring harmony and regulate the conflict various aspects of the Id must be repressed and buried in the unconcious so as to protect the individual from the anxiety caused by the inner conflict .However even if a memory is repressed it will find a way to express in other forms which are usually unconscious. In Nina's case the Id seems to be urging her to follow her sexual urges , follow this pleasure principle , however her superego appears to be telling her it is wrong to do so.
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She appears to have a strict superego ,which has never allowed her veer off and 'fuck up or do something wrong ' What does she mean by doing something wrong ? It would appear that in this case it is something of a sexual nature. She feels bad and guilty about wanting to have this experience. Hence there are 2 opposing pulling forces: one pulling her to explore her sexual boundaries and the other telling her this is wrong, this is expressed by the guilt she experiences. The ego tries to mediate between these two forces by telling her that the man she wants to pursue is only a hollow man ,possibly one who has nothing to offer, perhaps in an attempt to discourage her from pursuing her sexual passions. On another level , one wonders how she knows this chair is such a hollow chair ,from the conversation it would appear she does not him very well. And even if she does , one wonders what hollow means to her …show more content…
She resolves the conflict by projecting this part of herself onto the man she desires. At a deeper level it might also mean that if Nina were to follow her sexual impulses , she might also be faced with having to deal with this part of herself she has repressed and denied This would may imply that she may have to see herself as someone who is hollow and just wants to feel pleasure and if this were true, how could she come to terms with this reality ? Her whole inner world might collapse and need to be changed . This is why perhaps she wishes she could 'just reject him and move on " for in so doing she would be able to deny this part of herself that she does not approve of and needs to

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