To many people, the name Sigmund Freud brings to mind the image of a

scholarly psychiatrist, with a patient on his couch, taking notes as the patient
tells stories of his or her unhappy childhood. While this common form of
psychotherapy is Freuds most obvious legacy, he has, in fact, left behind
numerous theories regarding the inner workings of the human mind that have
become commonly accepted, as well as other theories that are debated to
this day. Freuds keen intellect was apparent from an early age, and his
research and study spread through his publications, lectures, and
collaboration with other great minds to ensure that the psychoanalytic
science he pioneered continues to see use nearly a century after his death.
Sigmund Freud was born in 1856, in Freiberg, Moravia (Sigmund par. 3), to
a Jewish family in an area that strongly favored Catholicism (Sigmund par.
4). Freuds parents recognized his intellectual ability early on, and did their
best to provide him with opportunity to make use of his talents (Sigmund
par. 6). When he was four years old, Freuds family moved from Freiberg to
Vienna, Austria, where Jews held rights equal to other citizens, and
opportunities for social and professional advancement were greater than in
their homeland (Sigmund par. 3-4). As a child in Vienna, Freud proved
himself to be well-suited to scholarly pursuits, excelling at his studies and
gaining acceptance to the University of Vienna at the age of seventeen
(Sigmund par. 6). At the university, Freud was initially attracted to the study
of law (Sigmund par. 7), but ultimately chose to enroll in medical school,
with an emphasis on biology, physiology, and neurology (Lerner and Lerner
113). After completing his residency at the General Hospital in Vienna (Lerner
and Lerner 113), where he spent five months in the psychiatry department
(Sigmund par. 9), Freud departed for France to pursue postgraduate studies
in psychiatry and neurology with Jean Charcot and, later, Hippolyte Bernheim
(Lerner and Lerner 113). These men introduced Freud to the use of hypnosis
in treating mental disorders, which Freud ultimately felt to be only a
temporary treatment. When Freud returned to Vienna in 1886, he established
a private practice in neuropsychiatry and began his research into a more
effective method of treatment (Lerner and Lerner 113).
In his research, Freud worked closely with Joseph Breuer, a colleague with
whom he had studied medicine in the past (Lerner and Lerner 114).
Influenced by Breuers earlier work, which made use of hypnosis, the two
found that patients who were asked to speak freely about their symptoms
eventually attained some degree of relief from their neuroses (Lerner and
Lerner 114). It was during this period of collaboration that Freud first put forth
the theory that many patients neurotic symptoms stemmed from
psychological trauma, the memories of which patients had repressed. Freud
came to believe that facilitating the recall of these traumas allowed his
patients to examine and overcome them, thereby relieving their symptoms

(Lerner and Lerner 114). Freuds new method discarded hypnosis in favor of
free association, which involved the patient lying on a couch, relaxing, and
talking about whatever came to mind (Lerner and Lerner 115). In 1895, Freud
and Breuer published the book Studies in Hysteria, making their research
available to the worlds medical community for the first time (Lerner and
Lerner 114). Not long thereafter, the partnership broke up over a difference of
opinion regarding Freuds emphasis on sexuality (Lerner and Lerner 114), an
issue that would resurface on numerous occasions throughout Freuds career.
By 1896, Freud had begun using the term psychoanalysis to describe his
new clinical method (Lerner and Lerner 115).
In time, Freuds psychoanalytic theories and methods became a
psychoanalytic movement. In 1902, he became an associate professor at the
University of Vienna, and established the Psychological Wednesday Society
(Lerner and Lerner 115). This new society eventually became the
International Psychoanalytic Association, attracting members such as Alfred
Adler and Carl Jung (Lerner and Lerner 115). As Freud continued to publish
and gain followers, his notoriety grew, and the first International
Psychoanalytic Congress, held in Salzburg in 1908, signaled the beginning of
international interest in his theories (Lerner and Lerner 115). In 1909, he was
invited to deliver a series of lectures in the United States (Lerner and Lerner
115). Freud traveled in America with Carl Jung, but their close association was
clearly not meant to be. The two men split in 1913: as in his previous break
with Joseph Breuer, Freuds emphasis on sexuality proved to be a barrier to
further collaboration (Lerner and Lerner 115).
As Freuds ideas continued to spread throughout the world, they met with
both acclaim and dissent, but were nonetheless adopted by professionals in a
variety of fields when traditional approaches did not seem to work (Burnham
603-604). In Germany, for instance, although Freuds works had been
referenced in textbooks and psychiatric journals since the turn of the century,
there were no psychiatrists known to have adopted his methods until 1907,
when Karl Abraham started a new practice implementing Freuds
psychoanalytic theories (Decker 589-591). In 1910, the Berlin Psychoanalytic
Society was founded, and by 1920, the Berlin Psychoanalytic Polyclinic had
opened its doors to teach a new generation of psychoanalysts (Decker 591).
Freud died in 1939 after a years-long struggle with cancer (Sigmund par.
18-19). As noted by Noel Sheehy: at the time of his death, Freud was
regarded as one of the major scientific thinkers of his age, one whose
intellectual stature was equal to that of Darwin and Einstein (89).
While debate still continues over some of Freuds methods and theories,
particularly those that emphasize the role of sexuality in psychological
development, some of his ideas are now widely accepted by psychiatrists
around the world (Lerner and Lerner 116). The basic psychoanalytic approach

in which a patient talks to a therapist in a relaxed environment has become

not just common practice, but the very symbol of psychiatric treatment in
popular culture.