Authority & Autonomy

This is the stage when toddlers develop a sense of control over physical skills. They learn muscle control and learn to walk. Holding on and letting go are important in toilet training. Successful resolution of this stage leads to autonomy and failure might result in feelings of shame and doubt in their abilities at later life stages.

Difficulties associated with anal stage can be the following: individuals can be over-tidy or disorganized. Obsessional rituals may also occur. Clients who had some stuckness at the anal stage may have rigid self-control or inability to let go is typical. (e.g. hoarding) Fear of soiling is also a theme. Inability to take risks, wanting rules can also be considered characteristic. Being a workaholic and inability to play or relax can be experienced too. Other themes are: rejecting authority, being overprotective of self or others, over conformity to peer groups, explosive anger as a result of bottling it up. In extreme situations, people can be sadistic, masochistic or obsessive compulsive.

Similar issues can occur in the counselling relationship with anally retentive clients: holding back feelings, withholding anger, intellectualising, vagueness or monotonous talk, displaying shame and guilt or blaming others and denying own responsibility. Using imagery of soiling and mess, fear of criticism or judgement or being critical of the counsellor and seeing the counsellor in a paternal/ authority role might occur too.

The psychodynamic counsellor can help clients who got stuck at the oral stage by the following: avoiding becoming an actual authority figure, linking the fear of counsellor as an authority figure to the way the client felt about the parental figure in the past (Triangle of Insight), bringing out feelings hidden behind intellectualising and working with other defences and resistance. Enabling clients to distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate shame and guilt, locating client’s projected fear or criticism.

Bibliography:

Jacobs, M. (2012) The Presenting Past: The Core Of Psychodynamic Counselling And Therapy, Open University Press

Erikson’s Eight Stages of Development:

https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/psychpedia/erikson-eight-stages-development

https://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html