Psychodynamic meaning / Psychodynamic definition The American Psychological Association Defines psychodynamic theory as: “a constellation of theories of human functioning that are based on the interplay of drives and other forces within the person, especially (and originating in) the psychoanalytic theories developed by Sigmund Freud and his colleagues and successors, such as Anna Freud, Carl Jung, and Melanie Klein. Later psychodynamic theories, while retaining concepts of the interworking of drives and motives to some degree, emphasize the process of change and incorporate interpersonal and transactional perspectives of personality development.” APA Dictionary Characteristics of Psychodynamic theory There is an unconscious As much as we want to be self-governing, rational beings, we mostly are not.  Starting from this assumption allows for a coherent understanding of why people act either irrationally and/or in ways that hurt us more than help us.   Most of the time we don’t have good reasons why we act the way we do.  The unconscious mind helps to explain this.  Consciousness has influence over things.  In fact, the subjective experience of consciousness does an …