Sigmund Freud

Key figures in Counseling and Psychology by Michel Jacobs

Sigmund Freud

In the 1920s, the world was changing dramatically. Underground salons were built, new architecture was used and modern dance was introduced. If it were not for certain people, the world would not be the way it is today. In the twenties, new theories and ideas in science and psychology were being presented daily. Sigmund Freud changed the world of psychology by presenting new and controversial ideas on psychology and having his theories published. Freud broke cultural boundaries as he fought scientists opposed to his books and continued to study the human mind. Freud truly helped change the world in the 1920s and his influence remains today.

Sigmund Freud was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1856. His father was a small time merchant. Freud’s family moved to Vienna when he was one of four children. Freud was very ambitious and a good student. In 1873, Freud entered the medical school of the University of Vienna. Freud was mainly interested in science and hopped to become a neuropsychological researcher. However, because of his financial situation, he was unable to pursue his desired career. Researchers in the twenties had to be wealthy because they were paid based on their findings. While in medical school, Freud developed a friendship with Josef Breuer, another physician and psychologist. One of Breuer’s patients was Anna O. Anna O. was a young woman who had a serious case of hysteria. She had temporary paralysis and could not speak her native language, though she could speak German. Breuer discovered if he hypnotized Anna O., she was relieved of her symptoms. Breuer and Freud discussed this case frequently. This case seemed to have a lasting affect on Freud. He later went to Paris to study under Jean-Martin Charcot, a neurologist known throughout Europe for his use of hypnosis. Charcot was Freud’s mentor and inspired him in many ways. Freud soon married and returned home. He started a private practice of specializing in hypnosis but he eventually dropped that technique over time. After several years, Freud and his ideas became well known.

Freud became a well-known, respected physiologist. His new idea of relaxing the patient (on the couch) and allowing him to say whatever the patient wanted, allowed Freud to break new grounds. In 1900 Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams was published. In this book, Freud introduced the wider public to the notion of the unconscious mind. In 1901, Freud’s The Psychopathology of Everyday Life in which he stated his philosophy about slip of the tongue (“Freudian slips”). Freud continued to publish work over the next years, including “Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality” (1905). In 1902, Freud was appointed a professor at the University of Vienna. In 1906, he formed a psychoanalytic society. Sigmund Freud’s group fell victim to political infighting. Freud lost some of his best friends and supporters because of this fighting. Freud continued working though, developing new philosophies and writing stunning work. In 1909, he presented his theories in a lecture in Massachusetts. His name was soon used everywhere. From political discussion to teatime, the name Freud was heard. Freud continued to present new facts and ideas to the world