Sigmund Freud's development of psychoanalysis and the talking cure

Sigmund Freud

"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar"

(Freud, as cited in Associated Press, 2006, ¶ 22).

"Father of Psychoanalysis"

During the 1890s, when an individual living in Vienna experienced a "nervous disorder," he may have secured the professional services of neurologist, Sigmund Freud. In the 1890s, Freud, born in Frieberg Moravia, May 6, 1856, then a young doctor, teamed up with Dr. Joseph Breuer in Vienna; to specifically treat patients with nervous disorders. The encyclopedia article, "Freud, Sigmund" (2008), published in the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences asserts that Freud and Breuer treated nervous disorders "through the use of a 'talking cure.' The method initially consisted of patients under hypnosis recalling memories associated with their symptoms. This recall, accompanied by the affect connected with the memories, resulted in the elimination of symptoms" ("Freud, Sigmund," the birth of… Section, ¶ 1). During this paper, the researcher examines Sigmund Freud, as well as a number of aspects relating to his "talking cure," which ultimately led to Freud becoming known as "The Father of Psychoanalysis" (Associated Press, 2006). The researcher relates information regarding Freud as a person, his perspectives and his contributions to psychiatry.

Anna O., one of the first patients Freud treated with the "talking cure," initially presented with symptoms of paralyses. Anna reported experiencing the inability to drink any liquid that did not have an organic base. During treatment sessions, Anna recounted what she considered a "disgusting" scene from her childhood. Anna stated that her disorder began after she witnessed her governess's dog drinking from a cup that people drank out of, instead of a bowl meant for animals. After Freud treated Anna, she recovered and could once again drink again normally ("Freud, Sigmund," 2008, the birth of… Section, ¶ 1).

If Freud were still alive, he would be 154 years old this year, 2010. After suffering for several years with mouth cancer, he died in England on September 23, 1939. A myriad of controversies regarding the credibility of his theory, which began during his practice of the "talking cure," continue to exist, along with "…controversies over the credibility of his theory and the promise of psychoanalytic treatment" ("Freud, Sigmund," 2008, Criticism of…Section, ¶ 4). Despite the ongoing controversies regarding Freud, Peter Kramer, PhD., biographer of Freud, relates the reason Freud continues to maintain a prominent place in the study of psychoanalysis: "He made psychology popular" (Associated Press, 2006,¶9). Most in the field of psychology agree, however, with that Freud's work qualified him to become known as "The Father of Psychoanalysis."

Person

In 1876, at the start of Sigmund Freud's scientific career, Freud had not yet developed his theory regarding the id, the ego, and the superego. At this time, as his 20th birthday approached, Freud traveled to the zoological station at the University of Vienna to in his quest to secure the eel testicles he needed to complete certain experiments. Claudia Kalb (2006), feature writer for Newsweek magazine, explains in the article, "The Therapist as Scientist; before inventing psychoanalysis, Freud dissected fish and studied the anatomy of the human brainstem," that Freud's research which involved him dissecting four hundred eels, did not reveal the eel's mating habits, a mystery that had reportedly "confounded scientists, including Aristotle" (Kalb, ¶ 1). This time Freud invested did not prove pointless. After he completed this research project, Freud wrote his first scientific paper, "Observations on the Form and the Finer Structure of the Lobular Organs of the Eel, Organs Considered to be Testes." This effort also stimulated Freud's interest for work in science even more.

Next, Freud studied the nervous systems of lamprey and crayfish. Kalb (2006) explains that Freud even devised "his own novel staining method so he could see the details of living cells more clearly under the micro-scope. By the early 1880s he had moved on to the human brainstem" (Kalb, 2006,¶4). In his work, Freud also created detailed, elegant drawings, of fiber pathways and spinal neurons of the brain. In May of 1885, Martha Bernays, Freud's fiancee, received a letter from him in which he wrote, "I think brain anatomy is the only legitimate rival you have or will ever have" (Freud, as cited in Kalb, 2006, ¶ 4). In its own rite, nevertheless, brain anatomy, Freud discovered did not provide enough money to provide for a family.

Mark Solms, director of the International Neuro-Psychoanalysis Centre in London reports that Freud then started to study live patients (Kalb, 2006). Kalb reports:

He [Freud] diagnosed cases of cerebral hemorrhage and spinal inflammation. He published volumes on cerebral palsy and aphasia, a loss of language due to brain injury. and, after studying with the neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot in Paris, he began treating adults with "hysteria," a catch-all diagnosis for symptoms which had no clear physical explanation, like hallucinations and temporary blindness. "This is when Freud began to realize that the study of the mind was important," says Dr. Regina Pally, a psychoanalyst at UC Los Angeles. "He discovered when he talked to patients that there were emotional conflicts going on that were being expressed in symptoms." Something bigger -- the unconscious -- Freud posited, must be at work. (Kalb, 2006, ¶ 5).

Figure 1 shows a photo of Freud.

Figure 1: Sigmund Freud (Thornton, 2005).

As a physiologist, medical doctor, and psychologist, Sigmund Freud, dramatically influenced "talk therapy." As he collaborated with Joseph Breuer, Freud "elaborated the theory that the mind is a complex energy-system, the structural investigation of which is proper province of psychology" (Thornton, 2005),, ¶ 1). Due to Freud's articulation and refining in the field of psychoanalysis, its fundamental premises, even though the focus of critical debate and controversy, may be directly traced back to Freud's original work.

Psychology

According to James Hansell, PhD., University of Michigan, one of Freud's most popular theories stressed the value of parents being supportive of their children, rather than simply strict disciplinarians. Freud argued that experiences in a person's childhood affected him even in his adulthood.

Colleagues and theorists who followed Freud, including individuals he worked with, consequently altered his theories and the way psychoanalysis is practiced.

Some, such as Carl Jung, reconceived the nature of the unconscious, while others, such as Melanie Klein, replaced drives or instincts with interpersonal ("object") relations as the pivot of the psyche. Others, such as Alfred Adler, placed relatively greater emphasis than Freud did on the ego, while lessening the emphasis on the sexual drives. In Freud's wake, many varieties of talking therapy were created, some ultimately with little connection to the tenets of psychoanalysis, save the notion that people's ways of thinking about their lives, cultivated by their previous experience, may taint their happiness more than do the external events that befall them. Diverse therapies also share the belief that giving expression to one's concerns may both begin to lift the burden they impose and promote self-enlightenment (Freud, Sigmund, 2008, Criticism of…Section, ¶ 3).

Table 1 depicts some of these theorists and how they altered or changed Freud's theories.

Table 1: Changes to Freud's Theories (adapted from Freud, Sigmund, 2008, Criticism of…Section, ¶ 3).

Theorists

Thoughts or Changes to Freud's Theories

Carl Jung

Reconceived the nature of the unconscious.

Melanie Klein

Replaced drives or instincts with interpersonal ("object") relations as the pivot of the psyche.

Alfred Adler

Placed relatively greater emphasis than Freud did on the ego, while lessening the emphasis on the sexual drives.

Freud's talking therapy has also been expanded upon, using less of a connection to the principles of psychoanalysis. In his early years, Freud regularly used cocaine as he perceived it to potentially possess cure-all properties. Freud also believed that medication might one day replace psychoanalysis. In time, albeit, although psychiatrists do prescribe drugs to compliment "talk therapy," it generally has not relinquished its status as a treatment to drugs (Associated Press, 2006). Cognitive-behavioral therapy, one form of contemporary talk therapy, coupled with an antidepressant, reportedly works better for depression than merely prescribing pills for the depressed patient, Dr. Joseph Coyle, Harvard psychiatrist, asserts. This type therapy is not psychoanalysis, however Coyle credits Freud with laying the foundations for today's clinicians to develop effective talk-therapy type of interventions (Associated Press, 2006).

The researcher credits Freud with recognizing that not everything, as the quote starting this paper asserts, has an underlying meaning. Or does it? The researcher ponders: Is a cigar just a cigar? After all, it may have constituted a contributing component of Freud's mouth cancer.