Mihika Poore
Sigmund Freud was a neurologist and contributed immensely by proposing various theories that provide insight into several psychological disorders. He earned extreme popularity when he made a game-changing discovery of Psychoanalysis which treated problems that had roots below the surface of conscious life (Kunst, 2014). This blog attempts to reveal some of the objections and shortcomings of Freud’s psychoanalytical theory.
Freud worked with many subjects, amongst which Dora’s case has been the most exclusive though unsuccessful. Dora was Freud’s pseudonym for an 18-year-old girl, Ida Bauer who was earlier diagnosed with Hysteria. Her problem started with nervous coughing, loss of voice and migraine which turned her into a person who became reclusive and wished to commit suicide. She claimed to have been sexually abused. Her family history of mental illnesses showed that her mother suffered from housewife psychosis and her father also suffered from ill-health long ago (Akavia, 2005).
Regardless of the consistent use of psychoanalysis in the treatment of subjects, Freud’s therapy has been in the center of debates for ages. His psychoanalytical approach has been disapproved by neo-Freudians such as Karen Horney.
In the interpretation of dreams, Freud associates the focus of dreams to wish fulfillment. People have many desires that they would like to act on but cannot because of social restrictions or self-imposed sense of ethics. Dreams tell what id, ego, super ego tend to hide. However, I doubt that Freud could associate the real meaning to them because his interpretations were very specific and unreasonable; connecting children to genitals was one of them (Freud & Bonaparte, 1954). This disassociation would cause ignorance in figuring out its true meaning and therefore increase difficulty in treatment. The erroneous results were also derived because of the difference in the viewpoint of Freud and his subjects. Freud came up with the notion of reversal of affect, which said that the emotion expressed by the subject was the opposite of what the subject felt. I perceive that this could have caused a struggle between the subject and Freud. For instance, Freud claimed that Dora was aroused by Herr K’s pursuit of her, but was unwilling to acknowledge her desire consciously even after her continuous rejection for the same (Ramas, 1980). Lack of flexibility and unsubstantiated conclusions of Freud might have caused misinterpretations in the outcome of the study.
Another vast topic covered by Freud in Psychoanalysis was looking at the subject’s sexual desires as desires symbolize the fulfilment of a wish in a distorted way because the consciousness cannot allow the wish to be fulfilled in reality. For instance, Freud believed that Dora’s throat irritation stems from her imagining her father and Frau K. engaging in oral sex. I disagree with Freud when he relates a few symptoms to extremely precise assumptions.
Also, he came up with the concept of Electra and Oedipus complex but was not sure about the causes of homosexuality. He referred to heterosexuality as “normal”. He said that homosexuality in men was not problematic, lesbianism, however, was a gateway to mental illness (Coffey, 2015). His unreasonable comments on why certain things were considered as a disorder in women and not in men made me question the importance he gave to social and cultural factors. It is well said that the reputation of psychoanalysis is as a conservative cultural force (Safran, 2013). I support this statement as the therapy primarily was generalized by looking at a small sample size of a specific culture and Freud’s findings were valid in their original culture than they were in others (Safran, 2018).
Although the therapy was not substantiated with a proper explanation, Freud came up with many concepts at the time when the society lacked scientific knowledge. Many treatments of Freud were successful; like the case study of the WolfMan (Kohler, 2014). I believe that taking up the basic principles from Freud, many psychologists have learned through it. In some countries like the United States, massive efforts were made to polish the therapy and to bring up highly qualified therapists (Safran, 2013).
To wrap up, Freud’s psychoanalysis was primarily used to know about the innermost self of the subject. Remarkable concepts were discovered by Freud, however, some unavoidable downsides of his therapy caused the results to be wide of the mark which could severely affect the subject’s mental health. Nevertheless, if the therapy is used comprehensively then it can unquestionably be more efficient.
References:
Akavia , N. (2005). Hysteria, Identification, and the Family: A Rereading of Freud's Dora Case. Retrieved October 23, 2019, from https://www.jstor.org/stable/26305367?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.
Coffey, R. (2015, December 1). 10 Things About Sigmund Freud You'll Wish You Hadn't Learned. Retrieved October 23, 2019, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-bejeezus-out-me/201512/10-things-about-sigmund-freud-youll-wish-you-hadnt-learned.
Freud, S., & Bonaparte, P. M. (1954). The origins of psychoanalysis (Vol. 216). London: Imago.
kohler, S. (2014, November 14). Four Suspenseful Stories in Freud's Wolfman Case. Retrieved October 23, 2019, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/dreaming-freud/201411/four-suspenseful-stories-in-freuds-wolfman-case.
Kunst, J. (2014, January 15). What Is Psychoanalysis? | Psychology Today. Retrieved October 23, 2019, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/headshrinkers-guide-the-galaxy/201401/what-is-psychoanalysis
Ramas, M. (1980). Freud's Dora, Dora's Hysteria: The Negation of a Woman's Rebellion. Feminist Studies, 6(3), 472-510. doi:10.2307/3177476
Safran, J. D. (2013, November 13). Is Freud Still Dead? Retrieved October 23, 2019, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/straight-talk/201311/is-freud-still-dead.
Safran, J. D. (2018, April 2). Psychoanalysis Today. Retrieved October 23, 2019, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/straight-talk/201804/psychoanalysis-today.
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