Psychoanalysis in the workplace

Any mention of the word ‘psycho’ in general conversation and people will usually jump to the conclusion that you are talking about a mad person, and yet psychoanalysis is a serious subject and has been around since the early 1890s..

Psychoanalysis was founded by Sigmund Freud, the Austrian neurologist who lived from 1856 to 1939. He developed a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies in the psyche (personality) through dialogue between the patient and the psychoanalyst and introduced the idea of the unconscious mind.

So where does this fit in to modern day business?

The conscious brain is used for new situations. It is rational, careful, analytical, slow, deliberate and understands exceptions. However many of our brain functions are emotional responses, and cognitive processes fall outside of our conscious awareness. They are natural traits or things that we just do, and these come from the unconscious mind.

Freud was a pioneer. In 1923 he proferred the idea that the human psyche was made up of three parts which he defined as the Id, the Ego and the Superego that were responsible for instincts, reality and morality. Freud suggested that it was the ego in each of us that is the realistic part of your psyche that mediates between the primitive and instinctual part of the mind and the the ethical component of your personality that is concerned about long-term benefits and consequences of actions.

His original learnings were later expanded upon in different directions by students and most noticeably a collaborator in the form of Carl Jung. - It is the basis of these learnings that many management tools have been developed to help businesses analyse their personnel from the point of introduction and interview through to team-building and outcomes.

Psychoanalysis remains a controversial discipline, but the fact that it celebrates its 100th birthday this year must surely stand for something.