Different perspectives on behavioral patterns and personality developments in the historical process are presented with the psychoanalytic theory developed by Freud. Psychoanalytic theory initially emerged as a method of treatment, psychoanalysis. Over time, the method of psychoanalysis has been perceived as a theory . Using dream analysis method, Freud claimed that human behaviors and personality are guided by unconscious elements and that individuals' behaviors are based on innate instinctual foundations ;he associated individuals' behavior with innate aggression and sexual urges; drew attention to four basic elements in defining personality and behavior: topographic model, structural model, psychosexual developmental stages and defense mechanisms. The psychoanalytic theory, also called the medical model, has been used in the practices of the social work profession, which aims to improve individuals' problem solving, coping skills, and increase their developmental capacity and social functionality . In the first practices, the source of the problems of the individuals was sought in the individuals themselves in line with the psychoanalytic theory. Social services profession G Over time, the idea that the individual's behaviors and personality development have an environmental effect and that it would not be right to act with an individual focus in these developments began to be accepted, and the effect of psychoanalytic theory began to decrease when the ecological model acting with the concept of '' individual within its environment '' started to be accepted. In this review article, the historical development of psychoanalytic theory, its foundations, treatment methods, and its relationship with the social work professional discipline will be examined.