SELF-ANALYSIS K. HORNEY

Without diminishing the importance of other representatives of psychoanalytic works and schools, we, considering our task of non-medical orientation, will focus on the analysis of another method that is used spontaneously by each person, and Karen Horney is introduced and substantiated as a scientific method.

Much has been written about Karen Horney: about her theory of “basal anxiety”, about the “neurotic personality” and about “female psychology”, and about her contribution to the feminist movement.

Sigmund Freud believed that psychoanalytic self-analysis can not give reliable results and therefore (precisely from the standpoint of classical psychoanalysis) is impossible. Although, in fairness, it is worth noting that Freud developed many of the ideas and techniques of psychoanalysis precisely as a result of introspection. But he considered this only as an early research stage in the formation of psychoanalysis, and not as a method that can be offered and made available to others specifically for the purpose of psychotherapy.

Karen Horney (1895-1952), a spokeswoman for neo-Freudianism , believes that self-analysis can be effectively applied with the obligatory observance of the following requirements:

1. The client must have a strong and stable motive for self-knowledge. This motive should not weaken during the long and difficult process of self-knowledge.

2. When embarking on self-analysis, the client must be armed with the necessary minimum of knowledge about the unconscious and its influence on the mental states and behavior of a person, as well as on the basic methods of psychoanalysis techniques. For this you need to undergo appropriate training under the guidance of an experienced psychoanalyst. The client must be convinced of the need for a ruthlessly frank look at himself, his problems and their true causes.

The real benefit of psychoanalysis, conducted by an experienced psychoanalyst, can bring in conjunction with the individual homework.

And yet, as practice shows, self-defense mechanisms (unconscious self-deception) during self-analysis prevent penetration into the subconscious and often distort the idea of ​​the true causes of the problem, which prevents its solution.

However, we believe that in relation to our psychological and educational psychotherapy tasks, self-analysis can be quite an effective tool for self-correction and self-improvement with the indispensable correction of one’s self-esteem, when comparing it with more objective indicators (opinion of others, analyzing specific behavior and activities).

We will not go deep into the theory and practice of K. Horney’s self-analysis here, since it represents mainly the theory and practice of psychoanalysis (which you have already briefly familiarized with) in relation to yourself. Therefore, let it be your task for self-preparation.