A silent antipode: The making and breaking of psychoanalyst Wilhelm Stekel

Wilhelm Stekel, one of Freud's earliest followers , was expelled from the psychoanalytic movement in 1912 ostensibly because he did not know how to behave himself. Although he remained active as a psychoanalyst, his post-1912 work was mostly neglected, and consequently his historic import is seriously undervalued. The author reviews recent literature, reexamines the Freud-Stekel break, and focuses on Stekel's role as silent antipode. Freud's reference to an unnamed individual in his 1907 Gradiva paper (S. Freud, 1907/1959b) - commonly believed to be Jung - is now identified as Stekel. This not - unimportant correction of the historical record begins the exploration of a hitherto-undocumented antagonistic dialogue between Stekel and Freud.     

Current comments on Freud's treatment of "The question of lay analysis"]

The author gives a review on Freud's basic thoughts on lay analysis from 1926 and proceeds with the question why the Deutsche Psychoanalytische Vereinigung (German Psychoanalytic Association) admits only such candidates for psychoanalytic training who are physicians or psychologists. This corresponds with the policies of German health insurance agencies, which include only physicians directly or psychologists indirectly in their plans. He suggests that this attitude derives from a limited view of psychoanalysis, for which he names three different reasons: historical, institutional, and those that grow out of the specifics of psychoanalytic practice.     

A shadow concept

The author focuses on the signifi cance of preconscious thinking, and its relationship to what we think of as unconscious fantasies. He reopens Freud's forgotten struggle with preconscious thinking, while he explores preconscious thinking as the basis for thinking about psychoanalytic treatment. This includes our goals in bringing an idea to the analysand's attention, and the role of transitional space where thoughts and feelings can be played with.     

WITTGENSTEIN'S PERSONALITY AND HIS RELATIONS WITH FREUD'S THOUGHT

In this contribution the author examines the connections between Wittgenstein's personality and his attitude to Freud's psychoanalytic theories in the light of biographies of the philosopher, published exchanges of letters between him and his sisters, his 'secret' diaries from the time of the First World War, his diaries from the nineteen-thirties and the writings in which he discusses Freud and psychoanalysis. The paper quotes liberally from all these sources. Following an account of Wittgenstein's cultural and family background in Vienna and his subsequent peripatetic life, hypotheses are presented concerning his personality, sexuality and 'internal' theology, together with some ideas about his relationship with his family (in particular, his parents and sisters) and his critique of Freud's theories, with particular reference to dreams and their interpretation. Wittgenstein emerges as a highly original philosopher who is, however, emotionally disturbed and restless. His personality is found to have narcissistic aspects that moulded his behaviour and thought, and the author contends that his mental suffering caused him to apply psychological and psychoanalytic categories to his philosophy.     

Psychoanalysis, psychoanalysis appropriated, psychoanalysis applied

The assumptions which predominate in the reading of psychoanalytic theory differ from those involved in listening to the patient in the psychoanalytic process. A weakness of much applied psychoanalysis is that these two sets of assumptions are confused and theoretical certainty is substituted for clinical exploration. This difference in assumptions is illustrated by the different assumptions about the signifier in two poems. In Freud's work on Leonardo, both attitudes toward the signifier are present, but the clinical aspect is located in Freud's method, not in his historical construction. The problems of maintaining a similar clinical stance in applied psychoanalysis are explored, and Freud's tendency toward historical certainty is speculatively considered as an instance of the parallelism phenomenon.     

The myth of Freud's ostracism by the medical community in 1896-1905: Jeffrey Masson's assault on the truth

The story recounted by Jeffrey M. Masson of the medical community's outraged response to the seduction theory is treated as historical fact in some of the recent literature on Freud's early psychoanalytic experiences. In this article the evidence adduced by Masson in The Assault on Truth (1984) to buttress his account of Freud's supposed ostracism is critically examined. It is concluded that this evidence fails to substantiate Masson's version of events, that there is abundant evidence that refutes it, and that he has ignored the historical research that demonstrates that the notion that Freud's early psychoanalytic writings received an irrationally hostile reception is a myth.     

Freud's Irma dream and the origins of psychoanalysis

This paper investigates Freud's Irma dream as a response, in part, to the publication of Studies on Hysteria (Breuer & Freud, 1893-1895). As such, Freud's dream and associations reveal a great deal regarding the origins of psychoanalysis. The preamble to the dream reflects Freud's concern with the ground rules and boundaries of the psychotherapeutic technique that he was in the process of developing. This paper cites evidence for Freud's concerns regarding the consequences of alterations in these basic tenets. The Irma dream and Freud's associations also convey a deep and apparently unconscious concern within Freud in respect to the concept of transference, which he may have realized on some level had been used to defensively deny disturbing inputs by the therapist into the treatment situation and patient. The dream may be understood also as reflecting a deep sense of concern regarding unrecognized harmful effects of psychoanalytic psychotherapy and Freud's concern that the treatment process might be more destructive than helpful. The curative aspects of psychotherapy are viewed in terms of action-discharge rather than insight. In all, this reanalysis of the Irma dream focuses on Freud's unconscious conflicts, fantasies, and anxieties at a time when he, along with Breuer, presented a burgeoning psychoanalytic treatment modality to the professional world.     

Art and emotion in psychoanalysis

Freud's view that art satisfi es psychic needs has been taken to mean that art has its source in the unconscious and that it unifi es pleasure and reality. The author argues that there is a third point that Freud repeatedly emphasizes, which should not be overlooked, that art infl uences our emotions. The author examines what Freud means by this claim, in particular, his reading of Michelangelo's Moses. Freud's focus here on emotions as fundamental to subjective experience, as subject to regulation and as potentially healthy forms of communication serves to supplement and even challenge what he says in his theory of affect. The author concludes by making inferences about a contemporary psychoanalytic theory of affects: that it ought to be inclusive of science (more receptive to neurobiology and less bound to Freud) as well as art (preserving the focus on subjective experience, especially the processing of complex emotions), which is illustrated with the concept of mentalized affectivity.     

Anna Freud: The Hampstead War Nurseries and the role of the direct observation of children for psychoanalysis

The psychoanalytic tradition of direct observation of children has a long history, going back to the early 20th century, when psychoanalysis and the emerging field of 'child studies' came into fruitful contact in Freud's Vienna. As a leading figure in the attempted integration of direct observation with the new psychoanalytic knowledge emerging from the consulting room, Anna Freud played a crucial role in the emergence of this field. But her major contribution to the theory and practice of observing children came during the Second World War, when she founded the Hampstead War Nurseries. The author describes in detail this important period of Anna Freud's career, and discusses the impact it had on later work. He explores the theoretical contribution that Anna Freud made in the post-war years to the debate about the place of direct observation in psychoanalysis, and concludes that Anna Freud's 'double approach' (direct observation plus analytic reconstruction) still has a great deal to offer as a method of both psychoanalytic research and education.     

A dual conception of narcissism: positive and negative organizations

The author explores Freud's concept of narcissism, as well as other discussions of narcissism in the psychoanalytic literature. He introduces the dual conception of positive narcissism and negative narcissism, illustrated by two clinical vignettes. Subsequent discussion elaborates on these two types of narcissism, and also addresses life narcissism, death narcissism, and primary narcissism. The latter is considered in light of the influence of infant observational research on the prevailing view of this concept and the misunderstandings that arise from that approach.     

Karl Kraus and psychoanalysis. A historical documentary study

Through numerous quotations from Karl Kraus's journal Die Fackel the author points out that the traditional psychoanalytic picture (as transmitted by Jones) of Karl Kraus as one of Freud's fiercest adversaries is to be reconsidered.     

The third in mind

Various aspects of the occult as they relate to psychoanalysis are discussed in this article. Drawing on both Freud's writings and Granoff and Rey's (1983) work on the occult in Freudian thought, the author considers the concept of co-thinking and its manifestations in clinical work. The psychoanalytic third is viewed in the context of the occult element known as thought transference, or thought transmission, and is also considered as it bears on psychoanalytic supervision.     

Freud, Dora, and the maid: a study of countertransference

Early advances in psychoanalytic knowledge, profound though they were, were incomplete structures to be built upon, modified, and partially discarded. In addition to errors due to insufficient knowledge, Freud's difficulties with Dora stemmed from countertransference. Dora's transference included an identification with a governess/maid. Important oedipal role played by a nursemaid in Freud's life made him vulnerable to being left by Dora. The maid, Monika, "the prime originator" of Freud's neurosis, seduced him, chastised him, and taught him of hell. In his self-analysis she was associated with Freud's mother who left him when she gave birth to his sister. When he was two and a half years old, Monika was discharged and jailed for stealing. I suggest that Freud's attraction to Dora revealed itself in his libidinal imagery of the treatment and his premature sexual interpretations, the effects of which he misjudged. Defending against his attraction, he pushed her away from him, did not act to keep her in analysis or allow her to reenter analysis later. In addition, since Dora had left him as he must have felt his childhood nursemaid had, he reacted as if she were that maid. Hurt, saddened, and angered, he used reversal and deserted her, thus damping his feelings.     

Meaning without words, word without meaning: forgetting of "aliquis". Remarks on Grünbaum's critique of repression

The author addresses the critique of the psychoanalytic concept of repression developed by Grunbaum in regard to Freud's interpretation of forgetting in the "aliquis episode". Reiff counters by pointing out the indispensability of a hermeneutic approach to the transference-countertransference process and supports his contention with case illustrations and with reference to the psychoanalytic discussion of symbolization.     

Unconscious Process: Zen and Psychoanalytic Versions

Attention to unconscious processes forms the nexus of the psychoanalytic endeavor and adds dimension to the theoretical and clinical integration of Buddhism and psychoanalysis. The author traces convergences between Freud's, Matte-Blanco's, and D.T. Suzuki's explication of the psychoanalytic and Zen readings of the unconscious. The Buddhist understanding of the unconscious propensity to reify experience can be integrated with psychoanalytic thinking. An alternative understanding and processing of aggression with supporting clinical material provides a case in point. The author concludes that continued Buddhist practice holds the potential to alter radically existing psychoanalytic models without destroying the efficacy of well-established formulations and accompanying techniques.     

Anna Freud exposes herself to criticism. "The ego and and the mechanisms of defense" under the magnifying glass]

In the early 1970's members and guests of the Hampstead Clinic, under the guidance of Joseph Sandler, discussed Anna Freud's The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defence, which had been published in 1936, with its author. Elrod presents this discussion in excerpts and emphasizes the undogmatic approach to psychoanalytic theory evident in Anna Freud's and Joseph Sandler's contributions.     

The art of imitation: Wilhelm Stekel's Lehrjahre

In the early history of psychoanalysis, the work of Wilhelm Stekel (1868-1940) was by and large neglected, even though he wrote a considerable number of psychoanalytic studies, some of which should be considered to have had a major influence on Freud's early thought. Freud, in turn, had much greater influence on Stekel than is commonly believed. In this article, the authors aim to uncover some of these mutual influences, in particular in the field of practice, by focusing on the elements of autobiography and self-analysis. The authors have identified a number of covert autobiographical passages in the work of Stekel, and attempt to link one of these 'revelations' to an equally covert response to it by Freud. In the closing section of this article, the authors argue that Stekel's attempt to imitate Freud's self-analysis contributed to the fracture between the two of them.     

Freud's baby: Beyond autoerotism and narcissism

The prevailing notion in the psychoanalytic literature is that Freud's thinking on neonatal object relations is completely captured in terms of his concepts of autoerotism and primary narcissism. Indeed, for Freud, autoerotism and primary narcissism conceptualize the earliest libido distributions, but these concepts do not exhaust Freud's model of early mental life. In this paper, the author endeavors to show that Freud's hypothetical infant arrives at autoerotism and narcissism at the expense of, and secondary to, primitive object-relatedness. More specifically, an appreciation of Freud's views on primitive object relations in light of the self-preservative instinct demonstrates his view that the infant is born into a state of mutual adaptation with the mother. The author makes detailed use of Freud's writings to show his conception of an infant who, from the inception of neonatal life, has the mental sophistication to maintain complex relations with instinctual objects, the sources of gratification or frustration, part-objects confusedly perceived because of cognitive immaturity and/or fantasy distortion. Such complexity includes the infant's capacity for primitive forms of perception, boundary formation, reality testing, and defensive, splitting-based projections and introjections.