Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytical theory explains that people’s unconscious psychological conflicts determine their behavior and thoughts. As for women, the leading theory’s assumptions include penis envy, the Oedipus complex, and various types of orgasms. These terms allowed Freud to emphasize the role of sexual development in people’s psychology and admit that women are passive and inferior to men, which results in theory criticism when considered through the modern lens.
It is not reasonable to apply the psychoanalytical theory to women and individuals from minority groups. It is so because the given approach appeared under the influence of a particular socio-cultural context. That is why Freud believed that women’s consciousness was less developed than that of men and that females were more passive and masochistic (Auld et al., 2005). The criticism of this thought relies on the fact that the idea is categorical and does not imply any variance. The same is with penis envy; it is not reasonable to believe that this assumption has an equally strong impact on all females (Auld et al., 2005). Thus, one can suppose that the psychoanalytical theory is standardized and stigmatized, making it inappropriate to apply to women and minority groups.
It is possible to suppose that the theory’s criticism above is present because it fails to abide by some social work values. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) (2008) stipulates that it is required to draw attention to ethnic diversity and individual differences and respect people’s dignity. Thus, the lens under analysis violates these rules because it considers all women as having the same background and problems. Consequently, Freud’s psychoanalytical theory is not consistent with values and ethics because it offers a discriminative and biased approach to analyzing individual psychology.
References
Auld, F., Human, M., & Rudzinski, D. (2005). Hos is therapy with women different? In Resolution and inner conflict: An introduction to psychoanalytic therapy (pp. 217-236). American Psychological Association.
National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Web.