Sigmund Freud was an important Austrian neurologist of Jewish origin.
He is considered the father and founder of psychoanalysis, a current within psychology. In addition, he is one of the most prominent figures of the twentieth century in the field of psychology and psychiatry.
In this article we will know who Sigmund Freud was. We will briefly review his biography and career and mention some of the theoretical contributions of this Austrian physician, the father of psychoanalysis. In addition, we will make a final reflection on how his work was valued.
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Sigmund Freud: origin
Sigmund Freud was born into a Jewish family in the town of Freiberg, located in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. Nowadays this locality is called Príbor, and it is located in Moravia (Czech Republic). He was born on May 6, 1856 and died on September 23, 1939, at the age of 83.
Freud soon moved with his family to Vienna.. The reasons were financial problems. There Freud began studying medicine at the university when he was 17 years old. He finished it in 1881, and between 1883 and 1885 he worked at the Vienna General Hospital, where Theodor Meynert, an important German neurologist, supervised him.
Only one year later, in 1886, Sigmund Freud decided to open his own private practice.
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Beginnings of his career
Soon Freud was doing research in different fields of medicine and mental health.. His first investigations were on cocaine, as he believed that it could be used for therapeutic purposes. According to him, it could be beneficial in cases of migraines, asthma, as a mental stimulator or as a cure for morphine addiction.
As a result of these investigations he published an article (“Über Coca”, which means “About Coca”), where he talks about the characteristics and properties of cocaine.
Some authors believe that Freud consumed cocaine; for example, the American Howard Markel, physician, historian and professor at the University of Michigan, published this in his book “An anatomy of addiction”.
Apparently, Sigmund Freud, with the arrival of his father’s death in 1896, abandoned cocaine. It is believed that he used it for up to twelve years. However, many authors consider that he never got hooked on such a substance.
Freud as the Founder of Psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud is especially known for being the father and founder of psychoanalysis, a current of psychology that emphasizes the power of the unconscious and aims to bring out the unconscious.a stream of psychology that emphasizes the power of the unconscious and aims to bring this part of our mind to light (making it conscious).
How did Sigmund Freud get into psychoanalysis? First he spent more than ten years treating and investigating neurosis (e.g. hysteria) through two fundamental methods: the cathartic method and hypnosis.
Later, he began to use another method: free association, a basic tool in psychoanalytic psychotherapy, which consists of the patient expressing everything that comes to his mind without censoring himself. This can be memories, images, desires, fears, expectations, dreams, etc., i.e., anything he wants.
Freud’s free association technique was developed by Freud between 1895 and 1900. On the other hand, one of Sigmund Freud’s most outstanding works (along with many others) was “The Interpretation of Dreams” of 1899. In fact, it is considered his most important work; some believe that through this work Freud finished developing his psychoanalytic theory.
Wednesday Psychological Society
As a curious fact, in 1902 a group of people interested in Freud’s theories was formed; this group was called the Wednesday Psychological Society, and met at Sigmund Freud’s house to discuss psychological issues.
Later this group changed its name to the Viennese Psychoanalytic Association. It ended up incorporating well-known members in psychology and psychiatry, such as Carl Gustav Jung and Alfred Adler.
Acknowledgements
Sigmund Freud became a very prominent figure in the twentieth century for his contributions in the field of mental health, and for breaking many taboos, such as including sex in most of his theories. According to him, we all have a libido (sexual energy) that we transform and invest in a great variety of things and people.
Thanks to his contributions, Freud was granted recognition as the creator of psychoanalysis; thus, he was appointed Professor Extraordinary in Vienna. This was his first recognition, and it happened in 1902.
Seven years later, in 1909, he was awarded the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa at Clark University (USA). (United States).
Six years later, Sigmund Freud was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine. It was William Alanson White who proposed him. From then on, he was presented as a candidate up to twelve times, but he never won a Nobel Prize. Many believe that the reasons were the fact that psychoanalysis was not considered a science, in addition to the distrust and criticism that his theories had aroused.
Evaluation of his theory
As Freud was such an innovative and groundbreaking author, he was followed by many, but he also had many detractors. This is due to the fact that he generated many controversies and controversies, especially on the sexual theme, which was very taboo at the time.
Those who criticized him thought that his theories were not scientific; many others thought that the author gave too much importance to childhood and sex as determinants of many pathologies. Today the controversy is still raging, and Sigmund continues to arouse love and hatred in equal parts.
In any case, the mark Freud has left on psychology and psychiatry, although controversial, is undeniable.and his contributions have generated a great deal of subsequent knowledge. On the other hand, psychoanalysis has continued to develop and “modernize”, with different currents emerging from the original one.
Death and legacy
After a great academic, intellectual and working career, and after having revolutionized psychology to a great extent, Sigmund Freud was diagnosed with cancer of the palate. This cancer caused him many complications, and he even underwent more than thirty operations. Nevertheless, Freud continued to work.
At that time he was living in Austria. As a result of Nazism and the wars, much of Freud’s work was burned. In addition, his sisters were sent to concentration camps and his children were persecuted, as both he and they were of Jewish origin.
Finally, Freud, although he had always been reluctant to “flee”, decided to leave Austria and went into exile in London. At the age of 83, and when he had only been in London for a year, Sigmund Freud died as a result of cancer of the palate from which he suffered. His death occurred on September 23, 1939.
Freud’s work and legacy is extensive, important and still valid today.. His contributions continue to be studied worldwide, especially those referring to the conscious, preconscious and unconscious, and to the “I”, “it” and “super-ego” (the three parts or forces into which the human mind is divided).