Freud's Article: Recommendations To Physicians Practicing Psychoanalysis

Improved Essays
During an era where mental health treatments were still rather primitive, Freud flourished as he developed a treatment style that was ahead of its time. In his article, “Recommendations to Physicians Practicing Psychoanalysis”, Freud discussed many necessities and ideas that therapists practicing within this framework should adhere to. Therefore, a comprehensive summary and interpretation will be conducted…
Freud began the article with a disclaimer that essentially warned other physicians that he arrived at these conclusions from unfortunate findings, and that physicians who do not share a similar perspective and orientation may not agree with these findings. His first finding surrounds the notion that a physician’s biggest challenge is
…show more content…
In addition, he stated that when a scientific agenda is the top priority, the outcomes usually suffer, as the most successful outcomes occur when there is no specific direction (Freud, 1912). To address the clinician’s mindset during therapy, Freud (1912) suggested that he/she puts their feelings aside and focus on completing the task, similarly to a surgeon. Freud (1912) argued that when clinicians become focused on curing the patient it can negatively impact his/her work. Therefore, if a clinician can create an environment free from emotional attachment, then it will protect the clinician and provide the client with the best chance for …show more content…
In addition, he argued that clinicians should not give client’s homework (e.g., organizing memories, collecting thoughts, etc.), because the client needs to understand that thinking and reflection do not cure mental illness (Freud, 1912). Rather, mental illness is cured by the psychoanalytic process, which highlights the exclusion of all criticism of one’s unconscious (Freud, 1912). Following this procedure is especially important for individuals who are avoidant and/or intellectual because Freud argued that they learn more effectively from personal experience (Freud, 1912). Freud (1912) also suggested against a clinician attempting to win a client’s parents’/families’ approval by giving them psychoanalytic books to read because it usually resulted in treatment never

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Internally, practicing individuals will defend the theory to the end with references to historians alike. Both sides are equally suspicious and destructive to the practice in a myriad of ways. The article notes that psychoanalysis is a method used to determine what drives are causing emotion or mental distress in a client. Human beings have a way of expressing themselves that is not always interpreted clearly, analysis provides insight and reason for investigation. Psychoanalysis will continue to gain scrutiny from the academic perspective, medical professionals and practitioners of the theory will experience doubt and emotions that are stirred as a result of the practice itself.…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Psychologists may sometimes forget to listen to a client and get wrapped up in their own agenda. They are often the cause of their own…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Simple State of Self-healing Marcia Angell 's, ”The Crazy State of Psychiatry”, is a review of books by experts in the fields of psychology, journalism, and psychiatry. All three of these works highlight different concerns and issues that are present in the medical field in regards to treating and diagnosing mental illnesses. The themes that are present in Angell’s article consists of, but are not limited to, the self, co-dependency, corruption, pharmaceuticals, over-diagnosis, questionable results, and child victims. Angell does a phenomenal job of letting the experts do the talking and portray their emotions of sadness, anger and discontent, and only reinterprets the information to bring clarity and give examples to further the reader 's comprehension. Like Angell states in her closing argument, “ In view of the risks and questionable long-term effectiveness of drugs, we need to do better” I too believe that there are alternative forms of self-healing that have the potential to be as effective if not more so than a little pill that promises happier days.…

    • 1568 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Psychology is a very complex and broad concept. When treating patients, there are various ways of approaching each case while keeping in mind all of the circumstances. It is important for psychologists to change their method regarding the treatment for specific patients. For example, in a case study involving Dr. Williams and his patient Juan, there were others ways to improve the approach Dr. Williams took. Case Summary This case study involves a patient, Juan, along with both of his parents and Licensed Psychologist, Dr. Williams.…

    • 992 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Week Eight: Psychodynamic psychotherapy in the 21st century: Antique or shabby relic? Psychoanalysis has been around for over a hundred years old, and it still being use in today society when helping clients with their issues. Meyer, Moore and Viljoan (1989) gave us a detailed introduction to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. Even though some parts of the theory are no longer accepted by psychologists anymore, it is still important for us to have a deep understanding of it.…

    • 1229 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Psychoanalytic perspective is defined “[p]ersonality development is driven by unconscious forces that are later tamed by the conscious”, and Sigmund Freud was the first to introduce the psychoanalytic perspective(Friedman,2012). He created a set of psychological and psychotherapeutic theories that are used now by many other organizations to treat patients. The treatment focuses on exact theories that deal with relationships between conscious and unconscious mental processes. Though the basis of the psychodynamic perspective is to understand and interpret what’s going on in individual minds, and unconscious part of the mind. Some ideas state that childhood problems will affect adult’s behaviors and emotions in their life, and conflicts that occur in a person’s childhood growth outlines their personality.…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “According to Freud (1920), if the overt symptom is successfully treated and the underlying conflict not, then the patient is likely to either suffer a relapse of the prior symptom, or develop another…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    For example, in order for these methods to be convincing as therapy, one must first believe Freud on how the mind works, including his views concerning the id, ego, and superego, and repression, as well as the link between the physical symptoms of a patient and the unconscious desires and memories. So, it is very obvious that Freud 's views on the mind where absolutely vital in relation to his methods as a therapist. Bibliography The Essentials of Psycho-Analysis, Sigmund Freud, penguin books, 1986 Raymond E.Fancher, Freud and Psychoanalysis Topics in the History of Psychology, volume 2, G.A.Kimle, K. Schlesinger The Psychopathy of Everyday Life, Sigmund Freud,1901 Becoming Freud: The Making of a psychoanalyst.…

    • 1517 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Stalker Behavior Research

    • 1369 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Rather than seek the causes in biological processes or anomalies, it attempts to look deep into the mind of the individual”, (Akers, p. 68). Psychoanalysis, broken down, is just basically an approach in which a therapist helps a patient better understand using examination of deep personal feelings, relationships, and events that have shaped motivations and behavior. It dives deeper into the mind and the unconscious of the individual. Sigmund Freud (1856 to 1939) is considered to be the father of Psychoanalysis.…

    • 1369 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Psychodynamic Therapy

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Introduction The purpose of this paper is to explain the elements of Psychodynamic therapy. We will discuss the fundamental key concepts, goals of therapy, therapy structure, role of the therapist, mechanisms of change, and influence. Fundamental and Key Concepts Psychodynamic therapy was born from psychoanalysis and has its roots on several fundamental key concepts. Many of the concepts are drawn from Freud’s work on sexual development, mechanisms of defense, dreams, transference and free association (Higdon et.…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    a) Contrast the medical model of psychological disorders with the bio-psychosocial approach to disordered behavior. b) Describe the goals and content of the DSM-IV and c) discuss the potential dangers and benefits of using diagnostic labels. The medical model of psychological disorders shows us that people can be diagnosed on the basis of their symptoms, where they can be cured through various treatments like therapy, which takes place in the hospital. Thus, a person who has a mental illness will have to be sent to the hospital to be diagnosed for treatment.…

    • 1416 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Within a decade, the combination of psychoanalysis and new psychotropic drugs helped to improve the field of psychology and to be more beneficial to the mental health of the…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Marx invented the Freudian notion af a symptom. So, what is a sympton? We usually think of a symptom as a negative biological effect as getting sick, or a psychological one such as getting anxious. These symptoms points towards an underlying problem. This is not always the cause, a cough does not always mean you have the flu, but it serves as a guideline.…

    • 197 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    American Anxiety Essay

    • 1963 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Average American Anxiety and Stress Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease usually from something that is about to happen or an event that you have no idea what the outcome will be. Anxiety is the anticipation of an upcoming threat. Stress is a state of mental strain from anything that comes from a demanding situation. Anxiety and stress are the leading causes of American panic disorders, generalized anxiety disorders, phobic disorders, chest pains and heart disease. Psychoanalytic Criticism tells us how to better understand human behavior and how to treat it.…

    • 1963 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Introduction This essay will compare and contrast two theorists who were considered to be the founding fathers of their area of psychology . Sigmund Freud who was the founder of psychoanalysis and Carl Rogers who founded the humanistic approach. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was a physician who specialized in neurology and eventually devoted his life to the treatment of mental disorders using a procedure he developed called psychoanalysis. Psychoanalysis states that all behaviour is driven from the unconscious mind and early childhood experiences, this approach brings up emotions from the hidden mind for analysis. (Carl Rogers (1902-1987) was a Humanistic psychologist.…

    • 1507 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays