Anna Freud's contribution to the psychoanalytic theory of development

This paper elaborates key areas of Anna Freud's theory of development, setting these in the context of Freud's structural model and its influence on her early work. The centrality of the role of the ego and the beginnings of one of her major achievements, the elaboration of a psychoanalytic developmental psychology, are shown in evidence in 1936, in The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defence. The author develops this theme in an exploration of the 1965 work Normality and Pathology in Childhood, looking from the base of normal development, via defence and conflict, to regression and significant developmental factors.     

Freud's "Project": a theory for Studies on Hysteria

The controversy about the place of Sigmund Freud's unfinished draft of 1895, "Project for a Scientific Psychology," in the history of his thought, is addressed. It is argued that the "Project" may be understood as a suppressed response to the theory of hysteria presented by Josef Breuer in his and Freud's joint work, Studies on Hysteria. It is suggested that the "Project" may be read, in part, as a substitute for Breuer's theory. The timing and circumstances of the "Project's" composition are discussed. Its substantive and formal congruence with Studies on Hysteria is brought out. Freud's comments on scientific hypotheses are discussed, and it is shown that they constitute an implicit criticism of Breuer's theory.     

Some complexities in the relationship of psychoanalytic theory to technique

This paper considers the current fragmentation of psychoanalytic theory as a result of the illusorily close association of practice and theory. The author argues that the politically motivated assertion of a direct connection between theory and practice should be set aside and that practice should be liberated from theory, permitting theory to evolve in the context of radically modified patterns of practice. If theory were decoupled from practice, technique might progress on purely pragmatic grounds, on the basis of what is seen to work. Psychoanalytic theory of mental function could then follow practice, integrating what is newly discovered through innovative methods of clinical work. Such a pragmatic, principally action-oriented use of theory would bring psychoanalysis more in line with modern, postempirical views of science.     

Sigmund Freud's "splendid isolation". Materials for critical review of psychoanalytic historiography

On the basis of the published critical reviews of Freud's works one may evaluate the extent and intensity of the scholarly reception given to psychoanalysis. Traditional views stressing the early academic isolation of psychoanalysis must be revised. The same is true of the radically opposite positions of modern American scientific historiography.     

Loewald's approach to psychoanalytic theory

The author suggests that part of the legacy of Hans Loewald is the nature of his approach to psychoanalytic theory. Loewald carefully considered and selectively utilized the work of theorists from a number of psychoanalytic schools of thought: id psychology, object relations theory, ego psychology, self psychology, and the interpersonal tradition. In addition, he helped pave the way for the current widespread interest in intersubjectivity, and also positioned himself in relation to those who embraced hermeneutics. Through all of this, he maintained a skeptical attitude, embodied in his belief in the complexity of the phenomena to be explored and his commitment to the perspective that psychoanalytic ideas should be open to revision.     

From dyad to dialogue: language and the early relationship in American psychoanalytic theory

The centrality of language for a Freudian theory of mind and treatment has not been retained by most post-Freudian theorists. American writers have turned to academic developmental research on mother-child interactions to depict the preoedipal period as preverbal, presymbolic, nonconscious. This view presents the early relationship as developing in linear stages in which visual observational data (e.g., contingent behavior action patterns between two persons) are privileged over aural-oral data of communicational exchanges. An alternative view is presented that redefines the earliest relationship in terms of communicational exchanges, mediation, and dialogue. The claim is that understanding the nature of mediated communication keeps language central to psychoanalysis and reestablishes an intrapsychic dimension in the concept of relationship that is lost when relationship is reduced to behavioral patterns.     

The choice of a name: "Dora" and Freud's relationship with Breuer

I have suggested that Freud's choice of the pseudonym Dora for his eighteen-year-old hysterical patient, Ida Bauer, was over-determined. Dora, it seems likely, was named not only after Freud's sister's nursemaid, as Freud himself explained, but also after Dora Breuer, Josef Breuer's youngest daughter. This theory is based on an examination of the similarities in the lives and symptoms of Anna O. (Breuer's famous hysterical patient of 1880-1882) and Dora; on an analysis of the transferences and countertransferences in the cases of these two young women; and on evidences of the persistent significance of Josef Breuer in Freud's life after 1895. These specific inquiries also call attention to the nature of hysteria at the end of the nineteenth century and to the ever-present complexities of the physician-patient relationship.     

The revival of "Dora": advances in psychoanalytic theory and technique

For nearly six decades after its publication in 1905, Freud's remarkable case of Dora remained untouched by critical comment. However, beginning in the early 1970's, an abundance of articles began to appear, which focused exclusively on the Dora case. The present paper reviews the literature of this so-called "Dora revival" in order to explain the historical and theoretical reasons leading to this extraordinary burst of research. Above all, two vital developments in the psychoanalytic discipline created the climate that fostered the Dora revival. First, there was a revolutionary change in attitude toward the phenomenon of countertransference: in contrast to the classical view of countertransference as a disruptive interference in treatment, analysts increasingly regarded countertransference as a pervasive and natural process, which could be potentially utilized to enhance understanding of the patient's unconscious conflicts and defenses. Second, there was enormous and rapid growth of a comprehensive psychoanalytic theory of adolescence and its treatment. Thus, based on a more favorable attitude toward countertransference, and a much improved understanding of the unique problems of adolescence, psychoanalysts could reexamine and better understand the decisive events that contributed to Freud's abortive analytic treatment of Dora.     

If Freud's theory be true....

If Freud's theory of defense and repression is true, it is proposed that the manifest content of his conscious thought (his theory) would not accurately represent his real thoughts. It would rather distort, disguise, and hide them. Freud's own special method of analysis and interpretation, which rejects the manifest meaning of conscious thought, would have to be used to gain insight into his "real,' but still hidden, thoughts. Wherever Freud's manifest thoughts, rather than his real thoughts, have shaped subsequent theories of therapy and clinical practice, re-appraisal of these later theories and practices is recommended. Resolving this misunderstanding of Freud's thought may facilitate integration of clinical theory.