Freud's relevance for contemporary psychoanalytic technique.

It is argued that Freud's influence on contemporary technique is best seen by separating Freud as a hermeneuticist from Freud as a natural scientist. Freud's hermeneutic work is elucidated by a depiction of his earliest model of technique and its application in The Interpretation of Dreams. The division of the latter work into the first 6 chapters as a hermeneutic and the last chapter as a metapsychology is used to show not only the split but the conflict in Freud between his hermeneutic of the mind and his attempt to found psychoanalysis as a natural science. It is shown that the shift in analytic thinking from the primacy of drives to the growth and transformation of the self has maintained interpretation as a necessary, although insufficient, condition for the therapeutic action of psychoanalysis and that interpretation continues to bear the stamp of Freud's hermeneutic of the mind. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Freud's memory erased.

In the past 20 years, much has been written about the death of psychoanalysis and, along with it, its founder, Sigmund Freud. In this article, it is argued that a great deal of what has been erased is Freud's thinking on the importance of memory and the uncovering of repression for the therapeutic process and for mental health. From the beginning of his psychoanalytic writings, Freud was interested in the function that memory played in psychoanalysis, both as theory and as therapeutic technique. Although he continued to develop and revise his theory well into his eighties, Freud never ceased to believe in the utmost significance of uncovering repression for the human psyche. The aim here is to revive what is believed to be some of Freud's most important contributions on the subject of memory and to offer some suggestions as to why these intellectual gems have been neglected in recent years or, when not neglected, divorced from their originator. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Freud, civilization, religion, and stoicism.

Freud's debt to stoicism has been seldom discussed. His attitude toward science had a distinct ethical slant taken from the ancient world, via Freud's humanistic education. Freud's method involved detachment but did not imply moral coldness and indifference any more than stoicism did. The stoics wanted to be therapists of the mind just as physicians cared for the body. For both Freud and the stoics, reason was in battle with the passions and required clear sight to have a chance of prevailing over them. In contrasting religious worldviews with the scientific approach, Freud failed to see his own approach as ethical. Freud made extensive forays at individual and collective levels but in the years since Freud's death, the psychoanalytic vision has narrowed. At 150 years after his birth, the authors can still admire Freud's exceptional ethical courage and recognize that if psychoanalysis is to survive, it needs to regain his cultural range and spirit of critical inquiry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Recent reformulations of Freud's development and abandonment of his seduction theory: Historical/scientific clarification or a continued assault on truth?

It is well known that, as part of Freud's early work with "hysteria," he reported making discoveries of sexual abuse that he interpreted first as genuine but subsequently as fantasy. Several writers now argue that Freud never made such discoveries; rather that he lied about them, only inferred abuse from his patients' symptoms, or suggested false memories to his clients. The present authors evaluate Freud's original work and these recent claims and conclude that (a) they are not new and are similar to the original reaction that Freud received; (b) the assertion that Freud did not make discoveries of abuse is unwarranted; and (c) these recent writers frequently have supported their positions by misrepresenting what Freud actually wrote, ignoring evidence that contradicted their position, failing to consider obvious and more plausible explanations for Freud's behavior, and going beyond the available data and stating with certainty what cannot be determined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Freud, religion, and the presence of projective identification.

This article contends that Freud's discourses on religion--particularly toward the end of his life--have the earmarks of projective identification. Evidence for projective identification is gleaned from these works and from Freud's letters to friends and colleagues. The author argues that the sources of Freud's projective identification lay in 2 distinct childhood traumas: the relative absence of emotional consolation from his mother and the failure of his father to protect him. Old age and approaching death threatened to evoke feelings of helplessness and anxiety, which Freud handled, in part, by attacking the foundations of religious experience. This enabled Freud to acknowledge disappointment and hostility toward religious believers, while disclaiming the loss of and need for emotional consolation and protection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Freud's case studies--Self-psychological perspectives.

Reviews the book, Freud's case studies--Self-psychological perspectives edited by Barry Magid (see record 1993-97398-000). The authors of the chapters demonstrate varying capacities to understand that all understanding is theory bound. The result is that some lean toward the position that self psychology offers us the true perspective through which we can understand a patient, whereas Freud was woefully lacking in any interest in immersing himself in the subjective experience of the patient. Empathy is seen by some authors as the exclusive domain of the self psychologists. By the end of this fascinating volume, one is newly excited by the depth psychology revealed via Freud's discoveries and by the possibilities of a continuing legacy of discovery. Familiar patients are revealed in new ways, giving evidence of the evolving nature of this complex science. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influences on Freud's Mourning and Melancholia and its contextual validity.

This article critically evaluates S. Freud's (1917) Mourning and Melancholia and challenges both the celebratory and reactionary views that treat this essay as an ahistorical and decontextualized "foundation-stone" of depression. Although many biographies have been written on Freud, the possible influences on his thinking in the area grief and depression have not been examined. Moreover, no reviews have investigated Freud's understanding of mourning and melancholia from the perspective of his own experiences with these difficulties. Following a brief overview of Freud's seminal paper, the historical psychiatric views on depression and the influences on Freud's conceptualization of mourning and melancholia are briefly discussed. Finally, an exegesis of the contextual validity of this model is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A return to the source: Rereading Freud in the midst of contemporary trauma theory.

In the current, often contentious, climate that surrounds childhood sexual trauma and its relation to adult forms of psychopathology, Freud's theorizing has received a great deal of attention. There has been much discussion and speculation about the role sexual trauma played in his thinking about psychopathology. While some theorists suggest that Freud overlooked and even suppressed his patients' reports of sexual trauma when he moved from his "seduction" theory to his "fantasy" theory, others suggest that his revision was an extension, rather than a reversal, of his early theorizing. This article will review in detail the development and revisions of Freud's thinking. It will also suggest areas of agreement between Freud's thinking and some contemporary trauma theory, as well as point to areas of divergence. The therapeutic implications of adopting some versions of contemporary trauma theory will also be developed. The aim is to stimulate further discussion about this issue in terms of its theoretical and therapeutic implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Freud's narrow escape and the discovery of transference.

Contends that Freud discovered transference in connection with material derived from his treatment of Emma Eckstein. The last chapter of Studies on Hysteria by J. Breuer and S. Freud (1895) in which Freud's 1st published use of the term transference occurs, can be read as a working through of the crisis that occurred when Eckstein nearly died. This concept, it is argued, explained Freud's patient's disturbed feelings toward him as a "false connection" and thereby helped to free him of feelings of personal involvement in her libidinal demands. The story of the troubled circumstances under which Freud discovered transference provides insight into the defensive nature of the concept. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The historical evolution of PTSD diagnostic criteria: from Freud to DSM-IV

The present study examined the evolution of the diagnostic criteria from the early writings of Sigmund Freud to the current DSM-IV. Freud's original model of neurosis, known as Seduction Theory, was a post-traumatic paradigm which placed emphasis on external stressor events. In 1897, due to a confluence of factors, he shifted his paradigm to stress intrapsychic fantasy as the focus of analytic treatment for traumatic neurosis. Freud's thinking influenced both the DSM-I and II classification of stress response syndromes as transient reactive processes. However, it is evident from his lectures in 1917-1918 that he understood the interrelatedness of what today is the four diagnostic categories in the DSM-IV.     

A bit more light on Ferenczi and Freud.

Further explores issues stressed by L. Aron and J. Frankel (see record 1994-41100-001) in commenting on J. K. Tabin's (see record 1994-05584-001) article on Freud's motivation for rethinking his seduction theory. The author presents material that confirms Freud's priority in citing the relationship between splitting of the ego and childhood sexual trauma; that describes signs of Ferenczi's considerable emotional difficulty during the last period of his life; and that shows that Freud's referring to Ferenczi as paranoid was a reaction to Ferenczi's hostility to him, significantly predating their public theoretical differences. An important aspect of the last matter is Ferenczi's explanation of his hostility: Freud never helped him with the negative transference that underlay his idealization of Freud. Freud defended himself by saying that negative transference was not understood when he treated Ferenczi. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The "defense" of Sigmund Freud.

Argues that Freud abandoned his seduction theory, not (as J. Masson [1984] asserted) owing to his colleagues' hostility, but because he could not accept the strong possibility that he and his siblings had been seduced as children, possibly by their father. Freud developed the Oedipus complex as an acceptable defense against such a realization; however, the defense was not completely effective, and he persisted in many of his neurotic symptoms. Freud's belief that he suffered from hysteria was most pronounced during self-analysis, which corresponded to the period during which he abandoned the seduction thesis. Eventually Freud (1931) was able to state that seduction causes neurosis, and that sexual abuse of children is not uncommon, but the seduction theory never regained the status of primary causal agent for many of the neurotic disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fresh Freud: No longer lost in translation.

The new translations of Freud into English highlight the question as to the nature of Freud's quest and achievement. They show a livelier Freud than the Strachey translations (Freud, 1953-1974), who used everyday language in his work instead of trying to establish a new technical vocabulary for an esoteric new discipline. However, with the new Penguin editions thus far, fresh Freud is no longer lost in translation. The Standard Edition was created importantly to create an authoritative international trademark and was made more natural "scientific" in appearance. The fresh translations show a Freud in tune with Karl Popper's (1976) approach in his later work that viewed science as essentially problem solving. The example of "Mourning and Melancholia" (Freud, 1917/ 1964, 1917/1981, 1917/2005) is discussed as an exercise in exploration, conjectures, criticism, construct formation, and problem solving. Translation issues are discussed. Instead of being a particular trade mark, the very fact of there being new and different translations opens Freud's works to further questioning about their meanings and intents in the marketplace of ideas and practices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Why Freud failed: Some implications for neurophysiology and sociobiology.

Many parallels have recently been drawn between Freud's early work and the goals of the contemporary neurophysiology of mind and sociobiology. In this article it is argued that the portrayal of Freud as a reductionist and a biological determinist is incorrect. As a consequence, so is the perceived alignment of Freud with neurophysiology and sociobiology. But it is also true that, in his early work, Freud faced many of the same problems and issues that confront those interested in theories of mind and of human nature, and an understanding of how Freud faced these issues may inform our increasing interest in views of mind and behavior emanating from the life sciences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sigmund Freud and Minna Bernays: Primal curiosity, primal scenes, primal fantasies--And prevarication.

Attacks on Freud's theories on sexuality began when Freud launched his studies on hysteria in the last decade of the 19th century and are still ongoing. The latest cavil is embedded in a sensation exploded in the summer of 2006 by Franz Maciejewski of Heidelberg, Germany. It was publicized in front-page reportage by New York Times columnist Ralph Blumenthal (2006): "A Century-Old Swiss Hotel Log Hints at an Illicit Desire That Dr. Freud Didn't Repress," additionally editorialized as adequate "to impugn [Freud's] reputation" (p. A4). In this article, arguments ad hominem, bordering on Freud-bashing, concerning Freud as a person and his relationship with his sister-in-law Minna Bernays, are separated from arguments ad rem, regarding the merits of Freud's theory of the Oedipus complex. The evidence presented by Maciejewski is found to be flawed and to not rise above the level of conjecture. Similarly, his construction that the alleged sexual affair between Freud and his sister-in-law was tantamount to incest, and thus source of theory of the Oedipus complex, has no standing either. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Will the real Freud stand up, please?

Comments on an article by T. Parisi (see record 1987-21061-001). Parisi's article is helpful in placing Freud's theory construction in an accurate historical context. He correctly argued that views of Freud that portray him as a wrong-headed neurophysiologist, a frustrated physicalist, or a biological reductionist are wrong. B. Silverstein takes issue with Parisi on his view of Freud, without arguing for or against the Freudian position. Parisi pointed out that Freud's research and clinical experience helped him to see more clearly than anyone before or since that a theory of mind would have to successfully incorporate two fundamentally different classes of phenomena: the physical (biological) and the mental. While avoiding mysticism, Freud did hold to a dualistic position. Very early in his career, Freud espoused a dualistic-interactionist position in which equal but qualitatively different status was granted to the physical and to the mental. Even though Freud could not conceive of the mechanism that allowed mind and body to interact, he believed causal efficacy could flow in both directions. With psychoanalysis, Freud developed a theory of relationships between mind and body without providing a metaphysical or mechanical account of how the mind-body interaction that the theory assumed must occur did occur. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Conscious and unconscious: Freud's dynamic distinction reconsidered.

Reviews the book, Conscious and unconscious: Freud's dynamic distinction reconsidered by Patricia S. Herzog (see record 1991-97475-000). Patricia Herzog's book is a critical examination of the way in which Freud presented the conscious/unconscious distinction. Herzog is a philosopher, and she provides the careful, analysis of Freudian concepts that good philosophers can, but which is unfortunately often missing from psychoanalysis. Her concerns are not empirical or therapeutic bur conceptual: the consistencies, inconsistencies, and interrelations in the family of Freud's theoretical concepts which has conscious and unconscious as key members. Herzog has provided a scholarly, close-to-the-text treatment of Freud's conscious/unconscious distinction, most surely a central aspect of the theory of psychopathology. But her presentation makes it hard work to grasp and integrate the points, and the reader is left to struggle alone to discover the links between her critique of Freud and themes in modern psychoanalytic or other psychological theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Freud as Pegasus yoked to the plough.

In a letter to Fliess at the time of Freud's father's death, Freud referred to himself as "Pegasus yoked to the plough." Meanings condensed in this phrase have remained unexamined for over 30 years. Part I identifies and analyzes references embedded in the phrase and proposes an interpretation: Important early experiences, stirred up by his father's death, were grasped momentarily and expressed in an image from a poem by Schiller (1796). I believe that in writing the phrase, Freud revealed a well-kept secret: that his early experiences included maternal seduction and the primal scene. Part II examines the fate of the memories of these traumatic experiences and discusses the implication of their repression for Freud's rejection of the Seduction Theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Clinical interaction and the analysis of meaning: A new psychoanalytic theory.

Reviews the book, Clinical interaction and the analysis of meaning: A new psychoanalytic theory by T. Dorpat and M. Miller (see record 1992-98407-000). This text views psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy from the perspective of the newly proposed concept of "Meaning Analysis." The authors purport to advance psychoanalytic theory and technique by taking a fresh perspective on two important aspects of analytic encounter: the interaction between the analyst and analysand (therapist and patient) and how interactions in this relationship affect transference and countertransference. This book also examines the analysis of meaning and how treatment can assist in the understanding and reconstruction of client beliefs. The authors present a reanalysis of Freud's theory and the goal of the book is to elucidate the "flaws" in his work. The reviewer believes that many readers will be intrigued by the criticisms of Freud and the blending of more recent research into analytic models. This book is recommended for both analytically oriented therapists and interested readers who want to learn more about analytic treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What Freud called "the psychology for neurologists" and the many questions it raises.

Freud wrote his Psychology for Neurologists (which Strachey called A Scientific Project) in 1895. He wrote it in a feverish state within a month, yet quickly buried it. His intensity in writing it and in suppressing it has not been explained, but intriguing hints about it from Freud's correspondence with Fliess are discussed here. The work remains, however, foreshadowing many of Freud's important psychological concepts. Further, although it is often dismissed because of archaic neurological ideas, many neurological guesses that Freud presented in Psychology for Neurologists are in keeping with neuroscience of today. Aspects of mechanisms of the brain, understanding dreams, developmental perspectives and clinical ramifications all relate to what Freud said in this draft for a monograph. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)