The theory that our learning team studies is the psychodynamic approach or what is sometimes called the psychoanalytic approach. The main contributors to psychodynamic approaches were the founder Sigmund Freud (1859-1939), Anna Freud (1895-1982) made a significant contribution to the psychodynamics of adolescence and Erik Erickson (1902-1994) called the "new" Freud but with an emphasis on ego (conscious) forces, called psychosocial theory (Craig & Dunn, p 11-13). Psychodynamics is the explanation or interpretation (such as of behavior or mental states) in terms of mental or emotional forces or processes (www.merriam-webster.com). Through case studies, the psychodynamic approach was developed by Sigmund Freud. Freud visited Charcot, a Paris laboratory that investigates people suffering from hysteria. There, Freud began case studies of patients (Crain, p. 254). Freud developed 5 stages of human development called oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital stages. The oral stage extends from birth to 18 months. This stage involves oral activities such as sucking. Then, the anal stage begins around the age of 18 months to 3 years. Freud suggests that during the anal phase, the child focuses on the pleasure of purging himself from the rectal area. Phallic stages, none like the masturbation stage, when a child takes pleasure in focusing on their genital areas, usually occur between ages 3 and 6. After the Phallic stage come the Latency stages. Latency occurs when children ages 6 to 12 are working to develop cognitive and interpersonal skills that suppress sexual interests, but those ages 12 and older fall into the genital stages. During the genital phase, these repressed sexual interests re-emerge and the need to find gratification depends on finding a partner (Craig & Dunn, p 12). In addition to Freud's stages of development, his best-known concepts are those of the id, ego, and superego (Crain, p. 268). The id personality called "the unconscious" is the personality that focuses on maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain through reflexes and drives such as hunger or bladder tension (Crain, pp. 268- 269). The concept of the id is impulsive, chaotic and unrealistic. Although the id stage represents “untamed passions,” it is balanced by “reason and common sense” called the ego (Crain, p. 270). The ego evaluates situations by comparing them to what happened in the past and makes realistic changes by planning for the future. This is called “secondary process thinking.” The ego considers the possibilities of the act in question giving the possibility of making safe and judicious choices.