Psychodynamic Theory and Counseling Practice Psychodynamic theory, also known as Freudian psychoanalysis was an original theory of human psychology introduced by Viennese psychologist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) shortly before the turn of the 20 Century (Mitchell & Black, 1995). Its central theoretical construct is that abnormal human psychology is the product of frustrations and other psychologically traumatizing experiences occurring very early in life. According to Freud, the principal mechanism of psychological dysfunction was the suppression or repression of frustration and anger into the psychological subconscious and the subsequent re-emergence or expression of those reactions through perceptions and behaviors (Mitchell & Black, 1995). More specifically, Freud suggested that frustrations occurring during infancy, particularly in the area of mother-infant bonding (Lewis & Feiring, 1989) and in connection with predictable stages of early development set the stage for latent psychological problems, many of which manifest themselves in...