LECTURE TWO
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Sigmund Freud, a Viennese physician, was invited by G. Stanley Hall, a senior and influential American psychologist, to visit Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and deliver a series of lectures on his novel views about abnormal psychology. The invitation was significant because it came from a leading figure in American psychology and because Clark University was a prestigious institution. The lecture series was part of a conference to celebrate the university's 20th anniversary, which was expected to attract the best American professors and students of psychology and psychiatry.
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- In Freud's second lecture he discusses the development of his own theory of hysteria, which was influenced by the work of Charcot and Janet. He begins by noting that Charcot had shown that physical trauma could cause hysterical symptoms, and Janet had proposed a theory of hysteria based on the idea of mental dissociation.
- Freud disagrees with Janet's view that hysteria is a form of degenerative alteration of the nervous system. He argues that hysteria is caused by repressed memories of traumatic experiences. He also argues that hypnosis is not necessary for the treatment of hysteria and that patients can be cured by helping them to recall and process their repressed memories.
- Freud concludes by discussing his own technique for uncovering repressed memories, which he called the "talking cure." This technique involved having patients talk about their symptoms and their life experiences in a state of deep concentration. Freud believed that this process would help patients to bring their repressed memories to the surface and to overcome their symptoms.
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- Freud provides an example of repression from his own practice. He treated a young woman who had developed hysterical symptoms after her sister died. The woman has forgotten a scene from her sister's deathbed, in which she had fantasized about marrying her brother-in-law. Freud was able to help the woman remember this scene and process her feelings about it, which led to the resolution of her symptoms.
- Freud uses an analogy to explain his take on the process of repression in more detail. He imagines a rowdy individual who is disrupting his lecture. The audience members eject the rowdy individual from the hall, but they then post guards at the door to prevent him from returning. This is analogous to the way that the mind represses unwanted thoughts and feelings.
- Freud states that repression can sometimes have negative consequences. Fo example, if a repressed thought or feeling is very intense, it can manifest itself in the form of physical symptoms or psychological problems. However, Freud also believes that repression can be a useful defense mechanism, as it can help to protect the mind from overwhelming emotions.
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Freud believes that psychoanalysis can help people to cure their neuroses by helping them to bring their repressed desires to the surface and to process them In a healthy way. Freud compares this process to the role of a mediator who can help two parties to resolve a conflict.In Freud's example of the rowdy individual disrupting the lecture, the audience members as as the ego, which is the part of the mind that is responsible for consciousness and reality testing. The rowdy individual represents the repressed desire, which is trying to force its way into consciousness. Freud is the mediator, who helps the ego to come to terms with the repressed desire in a way that is acceptable to both sides.
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References
Freud, S. (1925). The origin and development of psychoanalysis. An Outline of Psychoanalysis., 21–70. https://doi.org/10.1037/11350-001
