Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is a school of Psychology developed by Sigmund Freud in the early 20th century. (The other schools of Psychology were Behaviorism and Gestalt Psychology.) It is both a theory and a method of psychotherapy.

As a theory, the focus of Psychoanalysis is the study of the nature of the unconscious. The unconscious is a collection of early childhood's forbidden sexual and aggressive impulses that were driven out of conscious awareness, but continue to influence thoughts, feelings, and behaviors starting adolescence. The unconscious manifests itself in dreams, slips of the tongue, and mannerisms. As with the subconscious in Gestalt Psychology, the unconscious further enriched the idea of consciousness and mental processes.

As a psychotherapy, the focus of Psychoanalysis is to devise strategies to unearth the unconscious and bring to awareness. One such method is Free Association, whereby a patient is allowed to speak freely until the unconscious manifests itself.