A significant contribution of
the psychoanalytic model is delineation of the stages of psychosexual and
psychosocial stages of development from birth through adulthood. The psychosexual
stages refer to the Freudian chronological phases of development,
beginning in infancy. The psychosocial stages refer to Erickson’s basic psychological
and social tasks to be mastered from infancy through old age.
This stage perspective provides the counselor with the conceptual tools for
understanding key developmental tasks characteristic of the various stages
of life.