{"id":121035,"date":"2020-11-19T11:00:40","date_gmt":"2020-11-19T11:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/?p=121035"},"modified":"2023-03-02T16:33:05","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T16:33:05","slug":"erikson-theory-eight-stages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/erikson-theory-eight-stages.htm","title":{"rendered":"Erikson Theory – Are You a Success at the \u2018Stages of Life\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Erikson

photo by: Gita Krishnamurti<\/p><\/div>\n

by Andrea M. Darcy<\/span><\/p>\n

Are<\/span> you on track in life, or do you have a sense you are<\/strong> less together<\/a> than others around you? Not sure where it all went wrong? It can help to learn Erikson Theory.<\/p>\n

What is Erikson Theory?<\/h3>\n

\u201cErikson Theory\u201d is a set of eight stages of psychosocial development<\/strong>\u00a0seen as essential to becoming a productive and well-balanced adult<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Created by developmental psychologist<\/strong> Erik Erikson, these life stages have maintained relevance for over fifty years.<\/p>\n

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The idea is that each stage presents a challenge to our growth, a battle of two opposites. We need the right support and environment to learn what we need to evolve and win the battle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A clear example is the first stage we go through as an infant, of<\/strong> \u2018Trust vs Mistrust\u2019.\u00a0 <\/span>Either we achieve the growth marker and trust others<\/a>, or we spend our lives feeling we can’t have confidence in anyone.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What is the point of the eight life stages?<\/h3>\n

If we achieve a stage’s goal, we also earn a benefit that Erikson called a \u2018virtue\u2019.<\/strong> He is using the word in the way the Greek poets did, to refer to a strength. So, to again use that first example of \u2018Trust vs Mistrust\u2019, the virtue we gain is \u2018Hope\u2019. If we don\u2019t learn trust, we end up feeling the opposite \u2014 hopeless<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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If as adults we have problems coping<\/a>, the eight life stages can help us see where things went wrong, and where we didn\u2019t get the right environment or support to thrive. From there we can see what we need to work on.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Who was Erik Erikson?<\/h3>\n

\"ErikErik Erikson was a tireless researcher, committed to<\/strong> understanding<\/strong>\u00a0 how exactly we become who we are. Even when he was already a well established and respected psychoanalyst<\/a> and professor he continued to do field work, such as studying the ways various Native American tribes parented.<\/p>\n

His restless pursuit of understanding might have been driven by his own childhood. <\/strong>Raised Jewish and with the name of his mother’s second husband, he was somehow tall, blonde and blue eyed. Teased, he always had identity issues<\/a>. He learned later in life he was actually the product of an affair his mother had in her first marriage with a non-Jewish Dane.<\/p>\n

What are the eight stages of psychological development?<\/h3>\n

The eight stages are:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. Trust vs Mistrust<\/li>\n
  2. Autonomy vs. Shame<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Initiative vs. Guilt<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Industry vs. Inferiority<\/li>\n
  5. Identity vs. Role Confusion<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. Intimacy<\/a> vs. Isolation<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. Generativity vs. Stagnation<\/a><\/li>\n
  8. Ego Integrity vs. Despair.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The stages in detail<\/h3>\n

    1.Trust vs. Mistrust.<\/span><\/h4>\n