Question

A central concept in most psychodynamic theories is a belief in the importance of the unconscious in understanding the human psyche” (Corsini & Wedding, 2014). Discuss how a counselor, who works with recent refugees from war-torn countries, might view the explanation for unexplained physical problems refugees are experiencing such as temporary blindness, episodic memory loss, and insomnia.

Answer 1

Freud hypothesized that intra-psychic conflict causes many illness and physical ailments. Several aspects of his theory can be applied to individuals experiencing trauma and its main presenting symptoms. From a psychodynamic perspective, refugees from war-torn counties maybe experiencing unexplained physical problems due to a complex unconscious attempt on their part to resolve an internal psychological conflict. Unable to express himself via conventional means, the refugees maybe resorting to a set of physical problems in order to communicate their distress to others.