psychoanalysis - Definitions from Dictionary.com

6 results for: psychoanalysis

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

psy·cho·a·nal·y·sis

Audio Help [sahy-koh-uh-nal-uh-sis] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	a systematic structure of theories concerning the relation of conscious and unconscious psychological processes.

2.	a technical procedure for investigating unconscious mental processes and for treating psychoneuroses.

[Origin: 1905–10; < G Psychoanalyse. See psycho-, analysis

]

—Related forms

psy·cho·an·a·lyt·ic

Audio Help [sahy-koh-an-l-it-ik] Pronunciation Key, psy·cho·an·a·lyt·i·cal, adjective

psy·cho·an·a·lyt·i·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
psychoanalysis

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

psy·cho·a·nal·y·sis Audio Help (sī'kō-ə-nāl'ĭ-sĭs) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. psy·cho·a·nal·y·ses (-sēz')

1. The method of psychological therapy originated by Sigmund Freud in which free association, dream interpretation, and analysis of resistance and transference are used to explore repressed or unconscious impulses, anxieties, and internal conflicts, in order to free psychic energy for mature love and work.
2. The theory of personality developed by Freud that focuses on repression and unconscious forces and includes the concepts of infantile sexuality, resistance, transference, and division of the psyche into the id, ego, and superego.
Psychotherapy incorporating this method and theory.

psy'cho·an'a·lyst (-ān'ə-lĭst) n., psy'cho·an'a·lyt'ic (-ān'ə-lĭt'ĭk), psy'cho·an'a·lyt'i·cal (-ĭ-kəl) adj., psy'cho·an'a·lyt'i·cal·ly adv.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
psychoanalysis

1906, from Ger. Psychoanalyse, coined 1896 by Freud from Gk. psykhe- "mental" (see psyche) + Ger. Analyse, from Gk. analysis (see analysis). Freud earlier used psychische analyse (1894). Psychoanalyst and psychoanalyze both first attested 1911. Psychobabble is first recorded 1976.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

psychoanalysis
noun
a set of techniques for exploring underlying motives and a method of treating various mental disorders; based on the theories of Sigmund Freud; "his physician recommended psychoanalysis"

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
psychoanalysis

A method of treating mental illness, originating with Sigmund Freud, in which a psychiatrist (analyst) helps a patient discover and confront the causes of the illness. Many psychiatrists believe that these causes are buried deep in the unconscious of the patient and can be brought to the surface through such techniques as hypnosis and the analysis of dreams. Psychoanalysis emphasizes that mental illness usually originates in repressed sexual desires or traumas in childhood.