Sigmund Freud: Psychoanalysis Overview

Study Notes

Name is Sigismund (Sigmund) Freud, born on May 6, 1856, in Freiberg, Moravia (now in the Czech Republic).
Youngest child of Jacob Freud and Amalia Natahnson, the eldest among 8 siblings, with complex familial relationships.
Unfavorable relationship with siblings and father, contrasted by a warm bond with his mother, influencing his theories like the Oedipus Complex.
Joined the University of Vienna Medical School with ambitions for scientific fame rather than a career in medicine.
Experimented with cocaine in medical school, initially calling it a miracle drug; later faced criticism for promoting it during the cocaine epidemic.

Transferred to Vienna at age 4, acquiring Austrian nationality.
Studied under neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot in Paris in 1885, learning hypnosis as a treatment for hysteria.
Developed the idea of psychogenic origins of hysterical symptoms, blending therapeutic techniques with emerging psychological concepts.

Collaborated closely with Josef Breuer, a prominent Viennese physician, learning about catharsis and refining his own therapeutic methods.
Initiated the practice of free association, replacing hypnosis as his primary therapeutic technique.
Experienced a professional rift with Breuer leading to estrangement, subsequently turning to Wilhelm Fliess for support.

The publication of Studies on Hysteria introduced the term "psychoanalysis" into the field.
Freud’s theory was shaped by a catalogue of personal attributes, including intense intellectual curiosity, ambivalence toward authority figures, ambition, feelings of isolation, and a critical view of American culture.
His seminal work, The Interpretation of Dreams, remains fundamental to understanding his impact on psychology.

Anna Freud, one of his six children, also pursued a career in psychology, significantly contributing to child analysis and psychoanalytic theory, becoming an influential figure in her own right.