Psychodynamic TheoriesFreud: Psychoanalysis

From ancient history to the present time, people have searched for some magic panaceaor potion tolessen painor to enhance performance. One such search was conducted by a young, ambitiousphysicianwho came to believe that he had discovered a drug that had all sorts of wonderful properties.After learning of the drug’s successful use in heart disease, nervous exhaustion, addiction toalcohol,morphine, and several other psychological and physiological problems, the doctor decided totry the drug on himselfMore importantly, however, was the drug’s therapeutic effect on his serious depression.

The young doctor wrote a pamphlet extolling the benefits of the drug, but he had not yet completed thenecessary experiments on the drug’s value as an analgesic.Impatient to be near his fiancée, he delayed completion of his experiments and went off to see her.During that visit, a colleague—and not he—completed the experiments, published the results, andgained the recognition the young doctor had hoped for himselfThese events took place in 1884; the drug wascocaine; the young doctor wasSigmund Freud.OVERVIEW OF PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORYFreud, of course, was fortunate that his name did not become indelibly tied to cocaine. Instead, hisname has become associated withpsychoanalysis, the most famous of all personality theories. Whatmakes Freud’s theory so interesting?First, thetwin cornerstones of psychoanalysis – sex and aggression– are twosubjects ofcontinuing popularity.Second, thetheorywasspread beyond its Viennese originsby an ardent and dedicated group offollowers, many of whom romanticized Freud as a nearly mythological and lonely hero.Third, Freud’s brilliant command of language allowed him topresent his theories in a stimulatingand exciting manner.Freud’s understanding of human personality was based on his experiences with patients, hisanalysis of his own dreams, and his vast readings in the various sciences and humanities. Evolutionarythough it was, Freud insisted that psychoanalysis could not be subjected to eclecticism, and disciples whodeviated from his basic ideas soon found themselves personally and professionally ostracized by Freud.Freud relied more on deductive reasoning than on rigorous research methods, and he madeobservations subjectively and on a relatively small sample of patients, most of whom were from the upper-middle and upper classes. He did not quantify his data, nor did he make observations under controlledconditions. He utilized the case study approach almost exclusively, typically formulating hypotheses afterthe facts of the case were known.BIOGRAPHY OF SIGMUND FREUDSigismund (Sigmund) Freud was born either on March 6 or May 6, 1856, in Freiberg, Moravia,which is now part of the Czech Republic. Freud was the firstborn child of Jacob and Amalie NathansonFreud, although his father had two grown sons, Emanuel and Philipp, from a previous marriage.Jacob andAmalie Freud had seven other children within 10 years, but Sigmund remained the favorite of his young,indulgent mother, which may have partially contributed to his lifelong self-confidence