In the world of psychology, very few are as widely known as Sigmund Freud. Credited for his theories on the subconsciousness, dream interpretation and his creation of psychoanalysis, Freud had many notable achievements in his lifetime. From his first study co-authored with Josef Breuer in 1895, Studies in Hysteria (Boeree, 2009), his commitment to deepening humanity’s understanding of the human mind lead to many noteworthy theories that are still considered today.
Freud was born in Austria on May 6th, 1856, and relocated with his family to Vienna when he was four. Originally deciding to study medicine at the University of Vienna, he specialized in the nervous system and after graduating he opened his own medical practice. His interest, however, quickly changed. Freud became fascinated with psychological disorders. With the help of French neurologist Jean Martin Charcot, Freud began to practice neurology privately (Boeree, 2009). This lead to his development of psychoanalysis, the theory he was most famous for (American Psychoanalytic Association, 2009). Freud was married and had six children. His youngest, Anna, followed in his footsteps through psychoanalysis and was one of the many scientists that carried on Freud’s work after his death in 1939 (Boeree, 2009).
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Psychoanalysis is the theory that a person may have past events in his subconscious that are affecting his behaviour or mental state without his awareness. Freud believed that by looking at these hidden factors, he could help cure neurosis. Freud also believed strongly in hypnosis and dream interpretation. These were tools that could be used to tap into a patient’s subconscious to search for any factors that may be causing him distress. When these ideas were brought to light, the patient could confront them intellectually and emotionally. This was meant to rid him of the neurotic symptoms (Biography,