psychoanalysis /sī′kō·ənal″isis/ [Gk, psyche + analyein, to separate parts] , a branch of psychiatry founded by Sigmund Freud, devoted to the study of the psychology of human development and behavior. From its systematized method for investigating the processes of the mind evolved a system of psychotherapy based on the concepts of a dynamic unconscious. By using such techniques as free association, dream interpretation, and analysis of defense mechanisms, emotions and behavior are traced to the influence of repressed instinctual drives in the unconscious. Treatment consists of helping the individual become aware of the existence of repressed emotional conflicts, analyzing their origin and through the process of insight bringing them into the consciousness so that irrational and maladaptive behavior can be altered. See also psychosexual development.
