Essay 7: Re-Working Freud's Ego, Id, and Superego Theory (Part 2)

One thing that I have come to understand when I am reading Freud: Specifically, never underestimate him. Love him, hate him -- but never underestimate him. Because whenever I think that I have something spectacularly new to add to Freudian theory, I find that in one shape or form, Freud has usually and/or in essence -- been there first.

I want to be clear that even in my most critical moments of taking Freud to task for something that he has written or not written, done or not done, I am not some kind of anti-Freudian who wants to put Classical Psychoanalysis on the shelf -- permanently --  and/or into some Vienna and/or London museum -- with all psychoanalysts under the strict order to cease practicing it.

Sure I want to reformulate Freudian theory, revise it, and integrate it with other brands of Psychoanalysis and Neo-Psychoanalysis. However, first and foremost, I want to take everything inside of Strachey's 24 Volume Standard Edition of Sigmund Freud's Complete Works -- and I want this to be my main arena or work forum for my reformation of Classical Psychoanalysis into what I will call a  'Multi-Integrative-Dialectic (MID) Psychoanalysis and Neo-Psychoanalysis'. 

Be clear that all schools of 'neo-psychoanalysis' were originally created by theorist and therapists who were originally 'psychoanalysts' and belonged to psychoanalysis -- so it is not a far stretch to say that if Freud had not been so 'anal-retentive' and 'anal-righteous' relative to all (male) psychoanalysts belonging to his 'secret society' and subscribing to only his perceived, core, essential ideas and assumptions/presumptions relative to the evolution of psychoanalysis, well, today psychoanalysis would probably own an almost complete monopoly of all schools of psychology and psychotherapy (except for perhaps behavior theory and therapy).

The other name that I have been using in one form or another, longer or shorter version, is 'GAP-DGB Quantum Psychoanalysis'. Both names I have been using at different times for quite a while now.

The name 'GAP' has two connotations. One it is an acronym standing for 'Gestalt-Adlerian-Psychoanalysis'. And two, the idea of 'gaps' in memory was with Freud almost from day one -- the idea of 'making the unconscious, conscious' to the client, and thus filling in the client's 'gap in memory', or his or her 'functional amnesia' that holds 'the neurotic symptom or symptoms' in place because of the client's lack of 'associative connection' between the memory (and/or fantasy) and the symptom.

Thus, according to Freud, the troublesome symptom has taken the place of the underlying, unconscious 'etiology-memory-fantasy-id ideas and impulses (in the form of a  'fixation' and/or 'regression' that is 'neurotic' meaning 'maladaptive', 'dysfunctional', 'self-destructive and/or destructive') that has in effect been 'dissociated, disowned, avoided, denied, suppressed, repressed, projected, displaced, transferred, sublimated'...from our conscious, working, thinking, problem-solving, conflict-resolving self or ego...

I would even go so far to say that sometimes -- indeed, oftentimes -- even when the 'symptom' is laid bare in term of its 'etiological (biological-trauma-fantasy-transference) predispositions' and current here-and-now 'trigger causes' -- still, the neurotic symptom may persist because it has been a long ingrained and 'conditioned' response-habit that is not likely going to change overnight simply because of some 'aha' insight and/or emotional catharsis.

This is where the idea of 'working through' (the resistance and the old conditioned response, and 'learning a whole set of new conditioned responses') generally becomes essential to the overall success of any psychoanalytic and/or any other school of psychotherapy....

Coming back to my goals here, I want to bring Freud's old 'reality-trauma-seduction theories' into line with his post 1896, evolving biological instinct (or impulse) and fantasy theories, and after that, even elements of Object Relations, Self-Psychology, Bionian Psychoanalysis, Lacanian Psychoanalysis, Ferenczi, Reich...as well as all the different 'neo-psychoanalyses' of such noted theorists as Adler, Rank, Horney, Sullivan, Erickson, Fromm, Berne, Perls, Janov....

Obviously, this is a big project.

But one step at a time.

First, I want to do something as far as reformulating Freud's id and ego theory that hopefully is not too painful to my pro-Freudian readers.