Phobia

The treatment of phobias is either psychotherapy or medication. The most effective treatment is when there is a combination of psychotherapy and medications that are for the individual’s phobia (“Medication” 1). One type of therapy for mental disorders is desensitization, or else exposure therapy. It includes the supportive and gradual exposure of the individual to situations or objects that are similar to what he or she is phobic about. These circumstances can either be simulated with the help of technology or by actual anxiety-provoking stimuli (“Therapy” 4).

It has been found that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can often decrease phobic symptoms as it helps the sufferer change his or her way of thinking. To accomplish this goal, CBT uses three techniques (“Therapy” 2): Firstly, the didactic component educates the person about the different phobias and the treatment, it creates positive expectations for therapy and leads him or her to cooperate with a phobia. The second technique is the cognitive component.

This technique helps the individual to recognize which are the ideas and assumptions that influence his or her behavior. The third technique is the behavioral component. It makes use of techniques that have the purpose to modify the sufferer’s behavior in order to teach him or her strategies to deal with the phobia (“Therapy” 3). It is essential to most patients’ recovery.

Medications are also used for the treatment of phobias, with the drawback of the possible side effects that usually vary from person to person and depend on the type of medication (“Medication” 1). Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medications are often used for all types of phobias, mostly when desensitization and CBT are not effective. SSRI increases the levels of serotonin in the brain. Examples of these medications are fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), and paroxetine (Paxil). Common side effects of SSRI include dry mouth, sexual dysfunction, weight gain, nausea (“Medication” 2).

Sometimes phobias, are treated with beta-blocker medications. Beta-blockers can help with some of the physical symptoms that are associated with panic, such as increased heart rate, sweating, tremors, but cannot aid with the psychological symptoms. An example of a beta-blocker is propranolol. Side effects include insomnia, and they may cause heart and blood pressure problems (“Treatment” 2).

Phobias are also treated with benzodiazepines, or minor tranquilizers that cause relaxation. However, they are used with caution to treat phobias because there is a possibility of addiction and risk of overdose. Examples of such medications include diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax), lorazepam (Ativan), and clonazepam (Klonopin) (“Medication” 3).

Approximately 7% of American adults and 5.5% of teenagers are suffering from social phobias according to Mental Health America (MHA). The population with social phobias that experiences their first symptoms before adulthood is more than 75%, usually at 13 years of age (American Psychiatric 18). From those with social anxiety disorder, about 30% have a severe case and only 40% are being treated. There are more women than men who suffer from social phobia (about 2:1 ratio) (American Psychiatric 2). Sufferers are also prone to substance use disorder and major depressive disorder (American Psychiatric 15).

According to the graph from Dr. Roger’s lecture on psychological disorders, the most common specific phobias are these of snakes, heights, mice, flying on an airplane, being closed in a small place, spiders and insects, thunder and lightning, being alone in a house at night, dogs. Specific phobias appear mostly in early childhood, around age 7 (American Psychiatric 10). Approximately 9% of Americans, which means more than 19 million individuals suffer from a specific phobia, and many of them have more than one. The prevalence of specific phobias in adolescents is more than that of 15% and twice as many women as men have them (American Psychiatric 8).

Approximately 1.7% of teenagers and adults in the US are diagnosed with agoraphobia each year. Cases where agoraphobia and panic disorder are not connected are rare and are affecting 0.9%, or 1.8 million Americans. More than 40% of those who suffer from agoraphobia have a severe case. However, the ones who seek and receive treatment are less than half. The average age of onset is between 20 to 30 years old. In teenagers agoraphobia is not common, with prevalence of 2.4% from ages 13 to 18 (American Psychiatric 76).

Phobias are an anxiety disorder. They have three main categories which are social phobias, specific phobias, and agoraphobia. All three of these types have many aspects to them and include subcategories and fears, with specific phobias having no limitations. Most phobias effect women more than men. The symptoms of most phobias are often shown in younger ages, either in childhood, adolescence or early adulthood.

What causes phobias is yet to be determined, although theories suggest that there is a correlation between the environment of the person growing up, and the family history. However, phobias can be associated with a shocking or negative incident and/or experience. It is important that phobias are treated with psychotherapy, medication, or both. Through these methods the symptoms can be reduced and the person can have a functional life.

By considering children age groups and cultural differences, I shall explore the various approaches taken to building relationships with adults at different stages and discuss the influences and effects it has on a child’s development. I will also demonstrate the ways in which understanding children’s development contributes to building positive and successful relationships.

Children have emotional needs and are able to express and communicate them from birth. As research has shown “In order to have a secure base from which to explore the world, be resilient to stress, and form meaningful relationships with adults, babies need a primary adult who cares for them in sensitive ways and who perceives, make sense of the responds to their needs”. This attentiveness approach of interaction in a child’s early stages of development forms a bond of trust, promoting confidence and self-esteem within the child, which would contribute in building meaningful relationships with adults around him/her.

(from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/parenting_bonding_reactive_attachment_disorder.m)

However, different circumstances and experiences do not always allow adults to respond to the child’s needs accordingly, which can have a huge influence on a relationship. For example, Charlotte had a traumatic start in life as a consequence of her parent’s separation shortly after her birth. She was frequently moved between the two parents and lacked the appropriate care and attention she needed in order to form a secure bond. Her parent’s “were too busy fighting and arguing…..to worry about the children,” Charlotte’s mother, Emma, recalls. Emma also assumed and hoped that Charlotte “won’t remember that far back….because she was too young”, which indicates Emma’s limited knowledge and understanding of child development.

As the relationship between Emma and Charlotte was unpredictable, inconsistent and unstable, it resulted in Charlotte feeling very insecure and uncertain of her mother’s love. As we learn from ‘The Strange Situation Test’ (Understanding Children (2007) DVD Band 2) and by the age of two, Emma describes their relationship as “a constant battle of wills”.

Young children are subject to constant and inevitable changes, which would influence their development. For instance, the transaction of children into the reception class in school is a major change, where the expectations and values they gained at home are challenged (Rai and Flynn 2004, p.86). This can have a negative affect on a relationship between a child and his carer, where the child is struggling to adjust to its new surroundings and his/hers behaviour becoming challenging, since many children become unsettled when starting school. (Rai and Flynn 2004, p.63). As young children at this stage of development have limited experiences, talking about their feelings, their fears and concerns can come out in ways that can be misunderstood and misinterpreted by the adult as misbehaving. For example, Ryan’s reluctance to keep to a specific bedtime caused problems in the relationship with his parents.

During the parent strategies exploration of responses to deal with the child’s difficulty, Jodie and Eamon’s approaches to the ‘problem’ were different. Initially they inflicted power over Ryan by threatening to smack him, shouting and punishing him, which resulted in a conflict in their relationship. On seeking advice, they discovered a more collaborative approach, such as spending special time with Ryan before bedtime. By doing so, it promoted his confidence and encouraged him to express his feelings, which enabled Jodie to have a better understanding of Ryan’s thinking process. This account demonstrates the significance of experiences that occur in a child’s life, which should not be underestimated by the adult. It also shows, that in order to resolve family conflict it is best to have a direct and open communication where young children are concerned, which helps in achieving a successful relationship. (Rai and Flynn 2004, p.84-85)

As with the parents, schools also have a responsibility to deal with children’s emotional welfare, as well as their physical health and are encouraged to do so by using activities, which enable children to understand their own feelings and by building their confidence to learn, such as ‘circle time’. (Rai and Flynn 2004, p.105 {DfEE, 1999, p.16}) This approach focuses on the children themselves, contributing to their self-esteem through development of their listening, speaking and co-operation skills. By using this activity the children’s relationship with their teacher is built on trust and respect. (Rai and Flynn 2004, p.106)

As children grow and become young people, they are expected to take on more responsibilities at home as well as spend more time on schoolwork. Involving children with different chores around the household would help them gain independency by developing a range of skills. Activities’ such as, cooking, cleaning, shopping and even looking after other members of the family, helps children develop their communication, intellectual, self-help and practical skills. (Rai and Flynn 2004, p.144)

In considering cultural differences, South Asian children are also expected to contribute to the family economy, which helps to develop their business skills. For instance, Sammy is expected to help out in the family take-away business and accepts this as part of her cultural up bringing. (Rai and Flynn 2004, p.137). Furthermore, in societies where the main concern of the family is survival due to poverty, children work alongside adults by necessity (Rai and Flynn 2004, p.65) as we can learn from Bilkis’s and Tinco’s daily lives. (Understanding Children {2007} DVD band 6)

However, with these great expectations of expanding children’s responsibilities, parents are still reluctant to involve children with matters that affect their lives due to their limited life experiences. (Rai and Flynn 2004, p.116-117) Nevertheless, studies have shown that by this age, children understand and accept the complexities of family life and want to be part of this, by being consulted and want to participate in decisions making. (Rai and Flynn 2004, p.133). Therefore, in order to maintain a successful relationship, it is crucial for adults to understand children’s needs as well as their responsibilities by maintaining an open communication and not taking children’s contributions to family life for granted.

Conclusion

Building successful relationships with children is a complex process. It requires patience and attentive care by adults from infancy through to adulthood. By understanding normal child development, it enables the adult to respond to the child’s need positively and establish a secure attachment. Furthermore, as children are subjected to constant changes, their adjustment to these changes is determined by understanding, the expectation and approaches of the adult, in order for the child to deal and respond positively. To achieve this, adults must maintain open and consistent communication, which will contribute to the child’s confidence and self-esteem where they will feel valued and important members of society. Therefore, to achieve successful relationships with children, it is crucial for caretakers to have an understanding of child development.

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Task 2

Since I started this course, I feel that my organisational and efficiency skills have improved through learning to work under pressure and to a deadline in producing and submitting an assignment. I must say that during this course, the concept and understanding of academic studies, such as writing and structure of an essay, was a real eye opener for me, as in my past studies where children are concerned, my written evidence findings were based on own practice and personal experiences.

The strengths of my study skills are in understanding the written materials. Being a single mother, I not only relate to the course subject ,but I have also gained positive and negative feedback from my own experiences in raising two young boys from the given information, as I am essentially living and practising it.

With the help of my tutor’s written and telephone feedback, my academic writing skills have improved considerably from the first to the second essay. However, I feel I have only touched the surface and still find it difficult to gather and select relevant evidence to back up my work, which I consider to be my weakness.

In order to make further improvements, I would like to continue to undertake further relevant academic courses and develop my confidence with writing skills, as it is said, ‘practice makes perfect!’.

Phobias and Addiction PSY 300 October 22, 2012 Phobias and Addiction Learning a behavior is gaining knowledge or skills through experience, practice, or conditioning. For example, most people learn to wake up at the sound of an alarm clock. Through the process of conditioning, he or she awakens at the sound of the alarm. The alarm becomes the signal to start the day. Often what happens is that some people condition themselves to awaken at the same time every day without even hearing the alarm.

In the late nineteenth century Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, was the first to systematically study classical conditioning (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). Classical conditioning is a process when a neutral stimulus brings forth a reaction corresponding with a stimulus that automatically brings forth that reaction (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). Pavlov effectively produced a conditioned reaction in dogs to a specific stimulus in systematically planned procedure (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). Produced in a similar process are phobias, addictions, and the process of extinction.

The following considers how phobias develop through classical conditioning, how addictions develop through operant conditioning, how these two types of conditioning differ, and finally covering the process of extinction and how it is achieved in both types of conditioning. Classical and Operant Conditioning Classical and Operant conditioning are processes in which the brain connects and understands different things. Both depend on the modifications that arise in behaviors when derived from the setting or the behavior itself and necessitate a systematic process.

Classical and operant conditioning, otherwise known as associative learning, developed from the behaviorist perspective (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). Both procedures share “common features such as extinction, prepared learning, discrimination, generalization, and the possibility of maladaptive associations” (Kowalski & Westen, 2011, p. 193). In classical conditioning the stimulus that gives off a reflexive response is substituted with a different stimulus (Kowalski & Westen, 2011).

In operant conditioning the preferred behavior results according to consequences whether positively or negatively reinforced making that behavior occur more or less frequently (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). It is through these processes that some humans develop phobias and addictions. Phobias through Classical Conditioning According to “Kowalski & Westen”, (2011), “a phobia is an irrational fear of a specific object or situation (p. 167). When someone reacts to this irrational fear, his or her response is extreme anxiety such as hyperventilating, increased heart rate, extreme emotions, and sometimes fainting (Kowalski & Westen, 2011).

A famous example of the creation of phobias in classical conditioning occurred during the Little Albert experiment conducted by John Watson and Rosalie Rayners (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). For example, though Albert did not initially fear white rats, when a loud noise occered with the white rat the conditioned response became fear (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). This created a phobia of white rats and other objects used during the experiment (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). For Albert, classical conditioning created these behaviors.

Addictions through operant Conditioning Another difficult and often destructive behavior is addiction. The results of addictions can often be poor health, disease, crime, mental illness, and even death. According to the “American Psychological Association” (APA), (2012), addiction is defined as “is a condition in which the body must have a drug to avoid physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms” (Addictions). The “drug” to an addict is not always a substance; it is sometimes an activity such as gambling, sex, or eating.

Addiction is often associated with operant conditioning (Antczak, 2011). A person has natural survival methods, the pleasure or pain response, which either causes the feeling of pleasure when the action is to survive or pain in the actions that decrease to chance of survival (Antczak, 2011). These responses occur as a result of the release of neurotransmitters in the brain (Antczak, 2011). Pathways form in the brain and neurotransmitters reinforce them with the experience of pleasure or pain (Antczak, 2011).

Using drugs for example often result in both pleasure and pain responses. Initially the drug creates the feeling of pleasure. This “high” can cause the person to seek out this altered state therefore creating an addiction. After the high an addict often experiences ill feelings or pain. Often, the addict will seek out those feelings of pleasure to avoid the pain and distress when they are not using the addictive substance. This pattern of a connection between behavior and consequence is operant conditioning (Antczak, 2011).

Extinction In classical conditioning learned responses can be extinguished, which is the process of extinction (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). After extinction, recovery is often short term. Extinction initially weakens the remaining association to the learned response, but extinction does not occur unless the reactions of consistent. For example, a parent seeks to have his or her child fall asleep on their own at night and eventually succeeds after having the child cry to sleep on his or her own for a period of time.

If this process is consistently repeated, the child eventually will fall asleep on his or her own. After some time, if one parent rushes to the child when he or she cries, the parent will once again struggle to get the child to fall asleep in his or her own and fail to extinguish the behavior. According to Kowalski & Westen, (2011) extinction in operant conditioning occurs if enough trials pass in which the operant is not followed by the consequence previously associated with it (p. 78). If the behavior does not emit either a positive or negative consequence, eventually the behavior will not occur (Kowalski & Westen, 2011). Conclusion Associative learning covers both classical and operant conditioning and both succeed in a number of settings. To maintain positive behaviors sustain and reinforce connections or extinction ultimately will occur. People learn from experience, and associations made and the resulting behaviors have a powerful influence in the brain.

Some associations result in phobias or addictions and although extinction can occur, the process of changing a response is difficult. Classical and operant conditioning allow people to survive, thrive, and adjust to a continually changing situation.

References American Psychological Association. (2012). Retrieved from http://www. apa. org/topics/addiction/index. aspx Antczak, A. (2011). Yahoo! voices. Retrieved from http://voices. yahoo. com/classical-operant-conditioning-phobias-addictions-10159457. html Kowalski, R. , & Westen, D. (2011). Psychology (6th ed. ). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Analysis of a Phobia in a Five-Year-Old Boy – Little Hans Chronological Summary of Events 1903 Hans born. (April) 1906 3 to 3 ? First reports. 3 ? to 3 ? First visit to Gmunden. (Summer) 3 ? Castration threat. 3 ? Hanna born. (October) 1907 3 ? First dream. 4 Removal to new flat. 4 ? to 4 ? Second visit to Gmunden. Episode of biting horse. (Summer) 1908 4 ? Episode of falling horse. Outbreak of phobia. (January) 5 End of analysis. (May) Background Little Hans (Herbert Graf) was born in April 1903 to Olga Graf (mother) and Max Graf (father).

He undertook four months of treatment, which was conducted by Hans’ father himself, and supervised by Freud, who took somewhat of a backseat. Freud wanted to explore what factors led to the phobia and what factors led to its remission. He believed children face subconscious emotional conflicts just as adults do, and their future adjustment depends on how well the conflicts are solved. It was the first ever psychoanalytic treatment on a child. Freud believed that the sexual impulses in a child would be fresh and naive, unlike when conducting the analysis on an adult, where the impulses have to be ‘dug out’.

Freud hypothesised that the analysis would correspond with his previous work in the ‘Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality’. Overview First observations were taken at three years, where Hans’ spirit of enquiry towards ‘widdlers’ became apparent with his initial observation that the presence or absence of a widdler differentiated between inanimate and animate objects [p. 9]. He also assumed that all animate objects were like himself and possessed this important bodily organ – thus allowing him to arrive at a genuine abstract knowledge: ‘A dog and horse have widdlers; a table and chair haven’t. He was not deterred from this notion despite noting the lack of a ‘widdler’ on his sister Hanna [p. 11]. Hans had begun to practise the commonest – and most normal – form of auto-erotic sexual activity; Giving himself pleasure by touching his member. The castration complex was first planted in to Hans’ head at three and a half years when his mother told him the doctor would come and chop his widdler off if he didn’t stop playing with it. [p. 7-8]. At the present time he was unfased, and suggested he could wee out of his bottom.

His mothers threat made Hans believe it was possible to lose your genital organs, which he would later subconsciously believe would happen for repressing oedipal desires. This concern for the loss of his widdler was initially dismissed from his thoughts but made its effects apparent at a later period. Taking pleasure in his own sexual organ soon turned in to scopophelia, in active and passive forms with his main fantasies and dreams being aimed around widdlers, widdling and wishing that the girls in Gmunden would help him widdle [p. 19]. At age 3 ? e asked his father ‘Daddy, have you got a widdlers too? ’ When he asked his mother if she had a widdler, she replied with ‘why of course’. He also repeatedly expressed the desire to see his mother and fathers widdlers in order to draw comparison. Hans had observed that larger animals had correspondingly larger widdlers and formulated the hypothesis that this was the case with his parents. For example; his mother he thought must have a widdlers ‘like a horse’. This reflection could be interpreted that a child’s wish to be ‘bigger’ had been concentrated on his genitals.

The sexual aim in which he pursued his girl playmates had ‘found it’s way into object love’ in the usual manner from the care he had received as an infant. It’s suggested that this sudden erotic urge originated from the pleasure derived from the cutaneous (skin) contact of sleeping next to his mother (Hans would crawl into bed most mornings). This caused sexual arousal or ‘Satisfaction of the instinct of concentration [Moll (1898). Cf &SE;, 7, 169 n. 2. ]. This facilitated his increased interest in other girls (wanting to sleep with Mariedl Etc. and ultimately wanting to see their widdlers. Little Hans showed affection towards both genders of children indiscriminately and once described Fritzl as ‘the girl he was fondest of’ [p. 16]. This contributed to Freud’s idea of ‘object-choice’ and ‘homosexuality in children’ suggesting that most children have homosexual tendencies as they are only acquainted with one kind of genital organ. Freud intimates that because little Hans had a widdler, and gave so much importance to it, he chose to have this ‘familiar feature’ as his sexual object.

It is also important to note that in his future development he demonstrated ‘an energetic masculinity with traits of polygamy; he knew how to vary his behaviour, too, with his varying feminine objects—audaciously aggressive in one case, languishing and bashful in another. His affection had moved from his mother on to other objects of love, but at a time when there was a scarcity of these it returned to her. ’ Hans demonstrates elements of the sexual relations of a child to his parents discussed in Interpretation of Dreams [1900a, in Section D (? ) of Chapter V; Standard Ed. , 4, 248 ff. ] and in Three Essays [1905d, Standard Ed. 7, 222 ff. ] with regard to being a little Oedipus who who wanted to have his father ‘out of the way’, to get rid of him, so that he might be alone with his beautiful mother and sleep with her. This wish had originated during his summer holidays at Gmunden and had developed with the alternating presence and absence of his father (due to work commitments). Hans identified that his fathers’ absenteeism gave him the opportunity of increased intimacy with his mother; which he longed for. This desire for his father to ‘go away’ then later developed into a desire for him to permanently go away – to die.

This caused great conflict within Hans as it contradicted the deep love he also felt towards his father. For example; hitting his father then immediately kissing the place he had hit [p. 42]. Freud goes on to comment that ‘the emotional life of man is made up of pairs of contraries such as these. ’ And that ‘…they usually go on supressing each other until one of them succeeds in keeping the other altogether out of site. ’ Children offer the exception to this in that they can exist peaceably side-by-side for some time. Baby Hanna and the Stalk The most important influence upon the course of Hans’ psychosexual evelopment. Hans wathed how Hanna was cared for and this stimulated trace memories of his own early experiences of pleasure. His fever a few days after Hanna’s birth was an indication of how little he liked the addition to the family [p. 11]. Although affection came later his first thoughts were hostility and fear that yet more brothers and sisters might arrive – further eroding the time and affection mother would devote to him. Freud states that it is clear within Hans’ unconscious he treated his sister and father in the same way – wanting them permanently out of the way.

Interestingly Hans did not associate the same guilt towards his sisters death wish as that of his father. He subconsciously wanted mummy to drop Hanna in the bath so she would be gone, which consequently caused Hans great anxiety when having a bath himself, fearing it would happen to him as a punishment for thinking such things. Again, this wish would mean he could have his mummy all to himself. This hostility is represented by a fear of the bath [p. 66]. The use of a Stork to explain the origin of Hanna was in conflict with the childish sexual theories he had begun to apply to the material in front of him.

There is a clear progression from his initial acceptance of his fathers explanation; ‘he declared with conviction: “The stork’s coming to-day. ’ to a growing awareness that ‘Everything he says shows that he connects what is strange in the situation with the arrival of the stork. He meets everything he sees with a very suspicious and intent look, and there can be no question that his first doubts about the stork have taken root. [p. 10] Causes of anxiety and the beginning of the phobia Little Hans suffered an anxiety-dream shortly before the start of the phobia, in which mummy had gone and he had ‘no mummy to coax with’.

This, combined with his separation from his mother at the time of Hanna’s birth [p. 96] led to a sudden surge of wanting mummy. Initially he would show signs of distress when away from her but it soon became evident that he was still afraid even when his mother went with him. Freud suggested Little Hans had now concentrated his libido on her. His want to be with her constantly now changed into anxiety producing the phobia. He was initially scared of a big white horse biting him in the street, and his father worried this was connected to the fear of big widdlers, which he had once taken great pleasure in examining.

His fear was so strong that he struggled to leave the house, even more so without his mother. Whereas Little Hans once loved the fact that big animals had big widdlers, he now repressed it and was scared. This was thought to be due to him being so dissatisfied with his own. Anxiety was caused by mixing his ‘former pleasure’ of big widdlers with his ‘current un-pleasure’ of them. Little Hans admitted to placing his hands on his widdler every night which resulted in some kind of sexual pleasure or satisfaction (something which Freud later distinguished as a normal form of auto-erotic sexual activity).

Yet at this early stage of the illness when his anxiety was heightened he expressed a fear that ‘the horse will come into the room’ [p. 24]. His father worried that this masturbation was not helping the phobia. Freud suggested that it was his affection for his mother that he was trying to replace with his fear of horses [p. 28]. His libido was attached to seeing his mother’s widdler and masturbation was giving him gratification. Attempts were made to stop this act, and daddy told Hans that mummy did in fact not have a widdlers [p. 31], which calmed the phobia for a short while.

Freud believed that accepting women do not have widdlers risked destroying Hans’ self-confidence and heightened the castration complex, so he resisted the information. After a short time an episode of illness caused the phobia to return. Freud finding similarity between the psychological structure of these phobias and that of hysteria termed this ‘Anxiety-hysteria’ concluding that such hysterias are the most common of all psychoneurotic disorders and goes on to state they are par excellence in the neuroses of childhood. Little Hans’ outbreak of anxiety-hysteria was by no means as sudden as it first appeared.

The anxiety dream he had where his mother had gone away and he was left with ‘no-one to coax with’ [p. 26] was proceeded by two examples of attempts to seduce her [p. 19 ; 23]. Hans dreamt of ‘exchanging endearments and sleeping with her; but all of the pleasure was transferred into anxiety – causing a punishment and repression. The catalyst for suddenly turning this sexual excitement into anxiety is speculated upon by Freud suggesting that mothers’ rejection of his advances could be one possibility. His fear of horses was traced back to an impression he had received at Gmunden [p. 9] when his father warned him ‘‘Don’t put your finger to the horse; if you do, it’ll bite you. ’ The words, ‘don’t put your finger to’, which Hans used in reporting this warning, resembled the form of words in which the warning against masturbation had been framed. ’ Hans attempted to communicate his feeling towards his mother, in what was still a distorted form, with the phantasy of the two giraffes. Little Hans’ story of the big giraffe and the crumpled giraffe was interpreted by his father and Freud. His father was indeed the big giraffe and mummy was the crumpled giraffe.

Subconsciously, little Hans wanted to take possession of mummy, by taking her away from daddy. Hans loved getting in to bed with mummy in the morning, it gave him pleasure, but the big giraffe calling out was his father dislike of him getting in. Immediately after the giraffe fantasy Hans disclosed two others; ‘forcing his way into a forbidden space at Schonbrunn, and the other of his smashing a railway-carriage window on the Stadtbahn [p. 40-41]. In each case the punishable nature of the action was emphasized, and in each his father appeared as an accomplice. This again links to the oedipal characteristic of taking possession of his mother.

This combined with his burgeoning childish sexual theories that ‘taking possession’ would involve some form of consummation which gave rise to the elusive thought of something violent and forbidden – which the dreams allude to. Freud states that the dreams were therefore ‘symbolic phantasies of intercourse’ and that his father plays accomplice within the dreams as Hans has very astutely deduced that ‘I should like’, he seems to have been saying [to his father], ‘to be doing something with my mother, something forbidden; I do not know what it is, but I do know that you are doing it too. The giraffe fantasy resulted in Freud and father deciding it was the right time to inform Hans ‘he was afraid of his father because he himself nourished jealous and hostile wishes against him’ and thus ‘partly interpreted his fear of horses for him: the horse must be his father— whom he had good internal reasons for fearing. ’ [p. 42] Subconsciously he was extremely fearful that his father would find out, as he feared if he did he would castrate him. When an internal situation such as this one cannot be processed, it becomes pathological, and a compromise-formation needs to happen, which becomes apparent at the very end of the analysis.

Enlightening Hans on this subject had cleared away his most powerful resistance against allowing his unconscious thoughts to be made conscious; for his father was himself acting as his physician. As a result Hans became more aware/willing/confident to describe the details of his phobia; ‘He was not only afraid of horses biting him—he was soon silent upon that point—but also of carts, of furniture-vans, and of buses (their common quality being, as presently became clear, that they were all heavily loaded), of horses that started moving, of horses that looked big and heavy, and of horses that drove quickly.

The meaning of these specifications was explained by Hans himself: he was afraid of horses falling down, and consequently incorporated in his phobia everything that seemed likely to facilitate their falling down. ’ [p. 46-7]. Hans described going for a walk with his mother and witnessing a bus-horse fall down and kick abut with his feet [p. 49]. He was terrified thinking the horse was dead and that all horses will fall down. He then associated this with the wish for his father to ‘go away’ and wanted him ‘to fall down in the same way and be dead. When confronted with this notion Hans did not dispute it and later went on to play a game of biting his father; symbolically accepting the theory that he had identified his father with the horse he was afraid of. [p. 52]. Upon questioning Hans’ father uncovered an impression which lay concealed behind that of the falling bus horse of an event that occurred during their summer at Gmunden. While they were playing horses Fritzl had hit his foot against a stone and fallen down. [p. 58].

Seeing the bus horse fall while walking with his mother had reminded him of this although Hans initially denied this [p. 82]. Freud commented that ‘It is especially interesting, however, to observe the way in which the transformation of Hans’s libido into anxiety was projected on to the principal object of his phobia, on to horses. ’ Hans regarded Fritzl as a substitute for his father, particularly as Fritzl competed with Hans for the attention and affection of the girl playmates at Gmunden in a similar way to the manner in which Hans competed with his father for his beloved mothers affection.

Freud also states that ‘When repression had set in and brought a revulsion of feeling along with it, horses, which had till then been associated with so much pleasure, were necessarily turned into objects of fear. ’ The ‘Lumf’ Complex Hans became unexpectedly preoccupied with ‘lumf’ showing disgust at anything that reminded him of evacuating his bowels [p. 55]. Hans had been in the habit of insisting upon accompanying his mother to the W. C. [p. 63]. His friend Berta filled his mother’s place, until the fact became known and he was forbidden to do so [p. 1]. His father speculated that there was a link between the symbolism of a loaded horse cart passing through some gates (which Hans had observed in the Customs House opposite their home) and the passing of faeces out of the body [p 66-68]. Hans further clarified the symbolism of lumf with an additional phantasy of the plumber; ‘Daddy, I thought something: I was in the bath, and then the plumber came and unscrewed it. Then he took a big borer and stuck it into my stomach. ’ [p. 65]. Freud interpreted this as ‘With your big penis you “bored” me’ (i. . ‘gave birth to me’) ‘and put me in my mother’s womb. ’ His fantasy regarding the plumber unscrewing the bath and then struck him in the stomach with a big borer was further interpreted later on in the analysis. He was remoulding a ‘fantasy of procreation’, distorted by anxiety. The big bath was his mother’s womb and the borer was his fathers penis; giving a connection to being born. We must also consider Hans’ earlier confession that he wished that his mother might drop the child while she was being given her bath, so that she should die [p. 72].

His own anxiety attached to bathing was a fear of retribution for this evil wish and of being punished by the same thing happening to him. Hans moved on to draw the natural conclusion that little Hanna was a lumf herself and that all babies were lumfs and were born like lumfs. We can thus deduce that all furniture-vans, drays and buses were only ‘stork-box carts’, and were therefore symbolic representations of pregnancy; and that when a horse fell down it can not only be seen as his dying father but also his mother in childbirth – a conflicting desire and fear.

As discussed during the stork analysis Han’s had noticed his mothers pregnancy and had ‘pieced the facts of the case together’ without telling anyone. Which was demonstrated by his sceptical attitude towards the stork explanation given by his father and his description of Hanna joining them at Gmunden a year before her actual birth. Hans justified this phantasy, and in fact deliberately embellished it as an act of revenge upon his father. against whom he harboured a grudge for having misled him with the stork fable. Freud eloquently summarises Hans’ subconscious feeling on the matter; ‘If you really thought I was as stupid s all that, and expected me to believe that the stork brought Hanna, then in return I expect you to, accept my inventions as the truth. ’ Hans continued to seek revenge within the phantasy of teasing and beating horses [p. 79]. This phantasy, again, had two constituents. Firstly to reinforce his pleasure at the teasing he had submitted his father with the recollection of Hanna at Gmunden; and secondly, it reproduced the obscure sadistic desires directed towards his mother. Hans even confessed consciously to a desire to beat his mother [p. 81].

Hans discloses further phantasies which seem to confirm his growing confidence to communicate his conscious wish to ‘get rid’ of his father and that the reason he wished it was that his father interfered with his own intimacy with his mother. As Freud states this clearly shows Hans’ ‘progressive development from timid hinting to fully conscious, undistorted perspicuity. ’ Overcoming his fears – Concluding phantasies Freud describes the first of these as a triumphant, wishful phantasy, and with it he overcame his fear of castration’ in which the plumber gives Hans a new and, as his father guessed, a bigger widdler [p. 98].

His second phantasy confessed to the wish to be married to his mother and to have many children by her [p. 96-97]. Significantly this phantasy also provided an acceptable [to Hans] resolution to the unacceptable conflict within him caused by his desire to kill his father. Instead he promoted him to marry Hans’ grandmother. Thus resolving the alternating emotions of love and hate towards his father and the evil thoughts he’d harboured towards him. Hans had made up for the loss (reduced care and attention received from his mother) he experienced as a result of the birth of his sister by ‘imagining he had children of his own. And so long as they were at Gmunden he could really play with his children and therefore found an acceptable [to him] outlet for his affections. The families subsequent return to Vienna refocused Hans’ attention on his mother resulting in him gaining satisfaction by ‘a masturbatory stimulation of his genitals. His desire to have children was twofold: He considered Hanna to be born like passing a lumf and therefore identified with his own feelings of pleasure in passing stool. Secondly the compensatory pleasure of passing his affection onto them. The conflict within Hans arose by his inability to cognise his fathers ole in Hanna’s (and therefore his own) birth. Hans could understand that he and Hanna were his mothers children – after all he now knew she had bought them into the world. But what role had his father played and what gave him the right to say they were his? As discussed Hans considered his fathers presence detrimental to his relationship with his mother for example by preventing her from sleeping with him. This revelation further reinforced Hans’ hostility towards his father which was compounded by stork lie which Hans perceived to be a conscious decision by his father to ‘keep Hans from the knowledge he was thirsting for. This, Hans concluded, was therefore putting him at a disadvantage on two fronts. Despite hating his rival he was the same father whom he had always loved and was bound to go on loving, who had been his model, had been his first playmate, and had looked after him from his earliest infancy; thus giving rise to his first conflict. Freud therefore states that the ‘hostile complex against his father screened [the] lustful one about his mother. ’ Summary ; Conclusions Witnessing the horse falling down carried no ‘traumatic force’.

It acquired significance due do Hans’ former interest in them and the earlier event in Gmunden which lead to the association of horses from Fritzl to his father. This was then compounded by the additional association of the horse falling with his mother in childbirth. Freud describes this ‘return of the repressed’ as returning in such a manner that the ‘the pathogenic material was remodelled and transposed on to the horse-complex, while the accompanying affects were uniformly turned into anxiety. Hans’ phobia was also further distorted by the warning he had been given about masturbation and its link to the hostility he felt towards his father. Hans was later affected by a ‘great wave of repression’ giving up masturbation and turning away in disgust at everything that reminded him of excrement and of the pleasure he had previously derived from observing other people performing their natural functions. This repression, considered natural by Freud [Three Essays [1905d, Standard Ed. ]], was not however the ‘precipitating cause of the illness. The two key conditions leading to Hans’ phobia were tendencies within Hans that had already been suppressed and had therefore never been able to find uninhibited expression: i) Hostile and Jealous feelings towards his father ii) Sadistic impulses (premonitions of copulation) towards his mother. These repressed ideas forced their way into Hans’ consciousness as the (distorted) content of the phobia. As Freud describe this was however a ‘paltry success’ as the forces of repression ‘made use of the opportunity to extend their dominion over components other than those that had rebelled. The purpose of the phobia was therefore to restrict his movement: Keeping him closer to his mothers affections. Hans had always taken pleasure in movement ‘I’m a young horse’, he had said as he jumped about’ [p. 58]. This pleasure in movement had however included the instinctive impulse to copulate with his mother and resulted in Hans causing his symbol of movement (the horse) to develop into a conscious anxiety. Alfred Adler suggested that anxiety arrises from the suppression of an ‘aggressive instinct’ [Adler, ‘Der Aggressionstrieb im Leben und in der Neurose’ (1908)].

However Freud disagrees with this notion and goes on to state that this aggression is an ‘indispensable attribute of all instincts. ’ Or to simplify; ‘each instinct [has] its own power of becoming aggressive. ’ Frued identifies the two instincts which became repressed in Hans as ‘familiar components of the sexual libido. ’ Freud seemed to hold Hans in high regard describing him as ‘well formed physically, and was a cheerful, amiable, active-minded young fellow who might give pleasure to more people than his own father. He went on to observe that it is ‘by no means such a rare thing to find object-choice and feelings of love in boys at a similarly early age. ’ Signigficantly he also goes on to speculate that ‘sexual precocity is a correlate, which is seldom absent, of intellectual precocity, and that it is therefore to be met with in gifted children more often than might be expected. ’ This is demonstrated by Hans’ ability to cognate abstract reasoning; particularly towards his childish sexual theories relating to the origin of his sister Hanna.

Freud continues to say that Hans ‘is not the only child who has been overtaken by a phobia at some time or other in his childhood. ’ In fact such phobias can be ‘extraordinarily frequent. ’ Typically ‘Their phobias are shouted down in the nursery because they are inaccessible to treatment and are decidedly inconvenient. In the course of months or years they diminish, and the child seems to recover; but no one can tell what psychological changes are necessitated by such a recovery, or what alterations in character are involved in it. He therefore concludes that ‘Hans’ illness may not have been any more serious than that of many other children who are not branded as degenerates. As discussed in previous papers [For example; last section of the third of Freud’s Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality(1905d), Standard Ed. , 7, 225. ] psycho-analytic analysis of adult neurotics regularly identifies infantile anxiety as the ‘point of departure. ’ Freud goes on to discus wider societal issues stating that we ‘concentrate too much upon symptoms and concern ourselves too little with their causes. An issue arguable still as relevant today as it as at the time of Freud’s writing. Freud’s concern was that ‘In bringing up children we aim only at being left in peace and having no difficulties, in short, at training up a model child, and we pay very little attention to whether such a course of development is for the child’s good as well. ’ It can therefore be argued that the phobia was in fact an advantage for Hans as it directed his parents to ‘unavoidable difficulties’ in ‘overcoming the innate instinctual components of the mind. With his father assistance Hans now longer carries the repressed complexes other children still have to bear. It is also fair to state (as Freud does) that such complexes (as the origins of babies) are not only repressed by children but dreaded by their parents. Freud also looked to counter potential criticism that by bringing Hans’ ‘wicked instincts’ into his conscious he might act upon then. For example; acting out his evil wishes against his father?

In his Postscript (1922) Freud scornfully comments that some readers of the case study had foretold ‘a most evil future’ for little Hans who had been a ‘victim of psychoanalysis’ thus ‘robbing him of his innocence. ’ He triumphantly reports that none of these predictions had come true and that the analysis actually facilitated Hans’ recovery. It had in fact helped prepare him for the emotional turbulence of his parents separation in subsequent years. A further point to consider from the postscript is teenage Hans’ apparent ‘infant amnesia’ towards the challenges of his early years.

He also argues in favour of ‘full disclosure by telling him about the ‘vagina and copulation’ allowing him to put an end to his ‘stream of questions’ without loosing ‘love for his mother [or] his own childish nature. ’ In his conclusion Freud discusses a number of principles common to modern psychotherapy. For example: ‘A number of individuals are constantly passing from the class of healthy people into that of neurotic patients, while a far smaller number also make the journey in the opposite direction. ’ ‘A child’s upbringing can exercise a powerful influence for good or for evil upon the disposition’ they subsequently exhibit. The origin of pathogenic complexes… deserves to be regarded by educators as an invaluable guide in their conduct towards children. And subsequently ‘At what cost has the suppression of inconvenient instincts been achieved? ’ He also passes comment on the psychoanalytic process itself. Specifically relating to this analysis he states: ‘Previously, his father [the therapist] had been able to tell him [Hans] in advance what was coming, while Hans had merely followed his lead and come trotting after; but now it was Hans who was forging ahead, so rapidly and steadily that his father [the therapist] found it difficult to keep up with him. This alludes to the significant challenge the therapist faces in containing and interpreting the information and emotions the patient transfers onto them. In the case of Hans this is compounded by the conflict produced within the father-son/therapist-patient diad. Something Freud refers to when discussing the considerable barrier in bringing Hans’ hostility towards his father into the little boys conscious. This is summarised beautifully by Freud in the following paragraph: ‘The physician is a step in front of him in knowledge; and the patient follows along his own road, until the two meet at the appointed goal. ‘Beginners in psycho-analysis are apt to assimilate these two events, and to suppose that the moment at which one of the patient’s unconscious complexes has become known to them is also the moment at which the patient himself recognises it. They are expecting too much when they think that they will cure the patient by informing him of this piece of knowledge; for he can do no more with the information than make use of it to help himself in discovering the unconscious complex where it is anchored in his unconscious. ’

Name: Shiva Kheiri Date: 4/5/2012 Instructor: Mrs. Deborah The Normalized Child Normalization is one of the most important goals of Montessori, but what does normalization mean? Most importantly, when does this process occur? Dr. Maria Montessori used the term normalization to describe a unique process she observed in child development. The process of normalization takes place in any Montessori-group at the beginning of the school year that children enter a new unknown environment. However, there are many characteristics that describe a normalized child. 1] Generally, normalization considered to be the transformation to a higher level of development, and the first step of education. However, in the process of development there are many different bodily functions that are formed in a child, and these developments depends on brain development. These developments occur mostly when children interact with each other, and in a different environment than their home. Maria Montessori observed that when children are allowed to be free, and interact with their environment, they blossom.

On the other hand, there were children who had no idea what to do, how to speak, and their thoughts were beyond reality. That is where normalization makes the correction. As Maria Montessori said, normalization is the most important single result of our whole work. However, what are the wonderful characteristics of a normalized child? In general, there are eleven characteristics of a normal child; following paragraphs are dedicated to these characteristics. A love of Order, we may think children do not pay attention to details, but once something is out of order, they will start asking questions about it.

For example, if the teacher asks the children to take a nap before lunch time, they will question the teacher. So, the child has a desire to keep an order and to have his/her daily routines. Love of Work, describes the activity that children involve not just because it is fun, but also it provides education. It brings a form of self-expression and corresponding joy. For example, when we see a child chooses an activity, and keeps doing it over and over again with full concentration and never tires; that is love of work. Normalized children never see work as punishment. Profound Spontaneous Concentration, basically it is isolation of children rom their environment due to their concentration on an activity. It occurs when a child is fully engaged in his/her work, and it involves his intelligence. We can also call it the attention of life, or a phenomenon of growth which brings us to the next characteristic. Attachments to Reality refer to bringing out children from their dream land, and encounter them with reality. However, there is always place for imagination but in a limited time and place. In fact, children should be exposed to reality before fantasy. For example, video games can teach so many fantasized stories that children might confuse them with their real life.

Therefore, there is always a limitation on fantasizing, and what they do as activity is based on reality not on their belief. Love of Silence and working alone, it definitely does not mean children like to be hermit, but it refers to the first step of independence. In many times children are willing to do their work with no assistance which basically means they want to test their own ability to get the work done alone, and most of the time their work requires concentration in a silence environment. For example, we do a game called “silence game” which requires children to listen to a sound and analyze it on their own.

So, they learn to control their concentration, and work in a peaceful environment with respect to others. Elimination of the Possessive Instinct, the attitude of normalized children to their environment is not possessive, but it is intense love. The point of this tittle is to eliminate children’s selfishness. Some children believe everything belongs to them, and take advantage of what has been given to them. So, our purpose is to change their possessive instinct to three things: to know, to love, and to serve. For example, the same children who tore plants in the class learned to watch it grow.

Power of act from Real choice and not from Curiosity Obedience Independence and Initiative Spontaneous Self-Discipline Joy At the end, we can conclude that normalization of children takes place according to the stages of child normalization described by M. Montessori. The level of normalization mainly depends on the years of staying with Montessori classroom. On the other hand, Dr. Montessori believed that if a child is placed in a well prepared environment, he/she would blossom, and show his total social potential. However, it is up to us, as teachers to prepare the environment in a way that children can freely develop their personality

In the novel The Darkest Child the author Delores Phillips displays the activities and likely hood of growing up in the still racist Deep South. The main character Tangy Mae encounters hardships and tribulations amongst her family. Her mother Rozelle Quinn displays negative habits of a mother by being over controlling of her kids. Rozelle often beat and called her children names out of frustration and rage. Tangy Mae and her siblings must step up to the plate in order for the family to make a living without a father figure while dealing with their scolding mother.

In the story the Darkest Child the mother Rozelle Quinn is a thirty – five year old tall slender lady with dark grey eyes and so fair-skinned that she can pass for white is the mother of ten children including Tangy Mae who all lived in fear of her moods and temper. Rozelle favors her light-skinned kids, but insists that they all love and obey her unquestioningly. Tangy Mae is her smartest and darkest colored child, and her mother treated her different because of that.

Tangy Mae went to school longer than all of her other siblings and wanted to continue but her mother wouldn’t allow her to because she wanted her to work like the rest of her siblings. Her mother would often beat her and her other siblings an example from the book is “The belt looped through the air in a rush, but instead of striking Martha Jean it cut into my shoulders, neck, and back. It knocked me off balance. ”(Phillips 119) Her mother would always tell her things like she was ugly.

She would talk to her kids anyway she would like and always threatened them to get her point across for example “Effortlessly, Mama wrapped her other arm around Martha Jean’s neck and breathed into her ear, dumb bitch. You no-good, dumb bitch. I’ll break yo’ goddam neck. ”(Phillips 118) But somehow through all the stressful situations Tangy somehow still managed to keep her head up and stay strong through it all. Their mother had a mental illness she would “Satan’s in here, she said in a hollow voice, her gaze darting about the room.

While I was gone, one of yall let satan in my house. Who was it? No one spoke. Don’t sit there like idiots. I wanna know who did it. ”(Phillips 69-70) This shows that Tangy Mae’s mother suffers from an mental illness. Tangy Mae and her siblings have been through it all from racism to being baldly mistreated by their mother. Their mother wanted to be in control of their whole life and if her kids ever went against something she said and didn’t obey her rules she would brutally hit them and call them all types of names.

There are colours and vibrancies in the world of children. Their activities are full of energies and attract attention of others. The mischiefs, dream world, away from worries are very dear memories of childhood that have lasting impact on one’s life. Such happiness doesn’t play its part for some children. Slum children have to face the life’s hardships during early age. These children are compelled to work and have to struggle for their existence. They are easily manipulated because of their docile nature.

The plight of slum children is they are forced to do work i. e. to act as slaves, picked up for domestic help, involved in hazardous work, trafficked and even compelled to be part of illegal transactions. For survival they are put into shameless act such as pornography and prostitution. These tortures at an early age not only affect their mental and physical health but they are even exposed to harmful disease such as HIV AIDS. Slum children appearances are deformed, and are enforced to beg to earn for their survival.

Cruelties faced during tender years affect their natural growth and they become indifferent towards life. Government and local bodies are running many programmes to raise the status of such children but its outcomes are very less. There is need to do lot of work. To educate slum children many educational institutions and NGOs have shown interest. These institutes face lot of problems in educating slum children and also to cut down the dropout rates. Present requirement is to not only to make the education interesting but also to give basic skills training required for earning.

Right to education is now the basic right, according to Article 29 of Indian Constitution. An education cannot be denied to child on caste or creed basis or due to lack of funds. Studies are done by government organisations and NGOs to know the cause of unwillingness towards education and high dropouts from schools by slum children. The studies show that parent’s ignorance and discouragement towards education, fight to meet their basic ends meet and children helping hand in running the household of lower socio income group act as a catalyst in not joining educational process.

These people face discrimination of the society which discourages them to be a part of growth factor of society. Various innovative ideas and creative approach developed by government, NGOs, and educational institutions are streamlined to bring about these slum children as an enterprising people. The meaning of education is not only to make them accustomed to 3 R’s but also to give training in basic skills needed for earning a living. Computer education is also provided to prepare them to stand high with the fierce competition of the world.

NGO’s and educational institutions assist the slum children in getting enrolled with nearby government schools and help in giving tuitions to cope up with school work. Schools are even run on wheels i. e. mobile schools to educate slum children in various states “Education for all” is the movement which is spreading with the help of media to educate deprived children. This has inspired lot of citizens to work for the good cause. Right direction is required to trace the slum children potentials.