Freud Biography, Essay Example

Sigmund Freud is best known as the father of modern psychology. Although a majority of his scientific findings were generated by conducting case studies, many of these theories were validated in large scale, statistically verified projects. Modern psychologists and social researchers therefore utilize and build upon the theories that Freud himself had uncovered in their modern practice. Many of the psychological theories that Freud had built were derived from experiences that he faced in his own life (Cloninger, 2012). By applying these understandings to the treatment of others, he found that he was able to break through to patients with psychological disorders in a unique way.

Sigmund Freud had the unique opportunity to make many breakthroughs in psychology due to his role as a physician. As such, he was regularly exposed to mental health patients and had a large amount of time to consider whether he believed the treatments they were given would be effective. It was through this understanding that Freud both discovered and propagated the understanding that symptoms of mental illness stem from the unconscious mind. It is through helping an individual cope with having these unconscious thoughts or reprogramming them altogether that real treatment can occur.

The discovery of psychoanalysis, which is possibly one of Freud’s best known contributions to modern mental health treatment, resulted from the fascination that the doctor has with hypnosis in the treatment of patients (Frosh, 2004). To further explore hypnosis as a treatment potential, he partnered with neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot, who had observed that hypnosis is a treatment method that is effective in patients with hysteria. It is likely that if this meeting had not occurred between Freud and Charcot, Freud would not have continued his interest in studies of the unconscious to treat patients with psychological disorders. This meeting provided Freud with insight into the field, with which he wished to continue to apply in a variety of other situations to determine the extent of the value of this application.

Freud’s interest in hypnosis continued to develop when he opened his first private practice in 1886. At this time, Freud met Josef Breuer, a neurophysiologist who was also interested in using hypnosis as a treatment method. He learned from Breuer that French methods of hypnosis differed in that it did not use methods of suggestion from the therapist in order to guide the patient’s flow of thoughts. Using this new form of hypnosis, Freud was able to cure one of his first patient’s, Anna O., who became cured through her ability to simply discuss the traumatic incidents associated with the onset of her symptoms while hypnotized (Biography.com, n.d.). Freud recognized that hypnosis was not a necessary component of this process, and adopted a term known as “free association” that he would allow patients to use to uncover the source of their trauma.

A majority of the theories that Freud had established to define more accurately how psychoanalysis worked stemmed from his own traumatic experiences as a child. He claimed that many people who suffer these negative events attempt to repress these memories, which manifest as the symptoms that we identify with mental distress. In order to ensure that these symptoms dissipate, Freud would talk to his patients to allow them to make the connection between their past difficulties and their current behaviors. A striking example of how this realization was connected to Freud’s own life occurred during a time in which he was suffering from nightmares, heart irregularities, and periods of depression. He recognize that these issues followed the death of his father. Upon analyzing his relationship with his father, he noted that he was jealous of his relationship with his mother, and that he generally felt hostile towards him.

This personal experience of Freud’s, coupled with the experiences of his patients, and Greek and Roman literature, allowed him to develop the Oedipus Complex Theory, which states that babies and young children have an unavoidable attraction to their opposite sex parent, causing them to be competitive towards their same sex parent for attention. An additional theory that Freud developed based off of observations from his clients is known as the Seduction Theory, in which unconscious memories of sexual molestation as a child contributed to the psychoses evident in hysteria and obsessional neurosis (Forrester, 1990). In this way, both Freud’s personal life and observations made as a physician contributed to the idea that events that occur to people during their early lives can remain in their unconscious mind in their adult lives, thereby impacting their behavior. This is a psychological principle of primary importance that a majority of modern psychologists utilize as a foundation for treatment today.

Based on the success that Freud had in his implementation of the Oedipus Complex and the Seduction Theory in his understanding of his patients, he created additional techniques that could be used to gain a greater analysis of unconscious thoughts and their meaning to those exhibiting psychological distress (Octave, 1971). He therefore published a book entitled The Interpretation of Dreams, which served to analyze the current medical understanding of dream analysis and to provide his own examples pertaining to how this information could be used. Freud believed that dreams acted as keys into the unconscious mind, and that various objects that appear in dreams can serve as symbols that can be used to gain a greater understanding. He believed that this method was particularly useful due to the analyses he had conducted using his own dreams. This allowed him to gain a greater idea of why his former relationship with his father was causing him such a degree of distress in his adult life.

Modern psychologists are fortunate that Freud was able to draw extraordinary connections between his own unconscious mind and behaviors, as these techniques have helped millions of patients since their development. He was uniquely able to understand why he acted certain ways, which he believed would be a useful application in the treatment of others. Ultimately, these techniques were validated prior and consequently to his application of them. The concept of the Oedipus Complex had existed for thousands of years, although no one had bothered to interpret them in a manner that was relevant to human psychology. Furthermore, psychoanalysis and the utilization of dream sequences as symbols is still used as an effective treatment for patients today. Most importantly, Freud has laid the foundation for modern researchers to further develop his techniques and modify them for a new understanding of medicine. Freud had an impressive insight into the workings of the human brain, despite the lack of technology and understanding that was available during his time. Therefore, he can easily be considered one of the greatest thinkers of the 19^th century.

References

Biography.com. (n.d.). Sigmund Freud – Full Biography. Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/sigmund-freud-9302400/videos/sigmund-freud-full-biography-9577539960

Cloninger, S. (2012). Theories of Personality: Understanding Persons. NY, NY: Pearson.

Forrester, J. (1990). The Seductions of Psychoanalysis. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Frosh, S. (2004). Freud, Psychoanalysis and Anti-Semitism.The Psychoanalytic Review, 91: 309.

Mannoni, O. (1971). Freud: The Theory of the Unconscious. London, England: NLB.