Part II    Psychodynamic Theories24
fei75766_ch02_019-071.indd 24  02/19/20 08:59 AMImperial Society ofPhysicians ofVienna, whom hemistakenly believed would be
impressed bytheyoung Dr.Freud’s knowledge ofmale hysteria. Early physicians 
hadbelieved thathysteria wasstrictly afemale disorder because theveryword had
thesame origins asuterus andwastheresult ofa“wandering womb,” withtheuterus 
traveling throughout women’s bodies andcausing various parts tomalfunction. How -
ever, by1886, when Freud presented apaper onmale hysteria totheSociety, most 
physicians present werealready familiar withtheillness andknew thatitcould also
beamale disorder. Asoriginality wasexpected andbecause Freud’s paper wasa
rehash ofwhat wasalready known, theViennese physicians didnotrespond wellto
hispresentation. Also, Freud’s constant praise ofCharcot, aFrenchman, cooled the
Viennese physicians tohistalk.Unfortunately, inhisautobiographical study, Freud 
(1925/1959) toldaverydifferent story, claiming thathislecture wasnotwellreceived 
because members ofthelearned society could notfathom theconcept ofmale hys-
teria. Freud’s account ofthisincident, nowknown tobeinerror, wasnevertheless 
perpetuated foryears, andasSulloway (1992) argued, itisbutoneofmany fictions 
created byFreud andhisfollowers tomythologize psychoanalysis andtomake a
lonely heroofitsfounder.
Disappointed inhisattempts togainfame andafflicted withfeelings (both jus-
tified andotherwise) ofprofessional opposition duetohisdefense ofcocaine and
hisbelief inthesexual origins ofneuroses, Freud felttheneed tojoinwithamore 
respected colleague. Heturned toBreuer, withwhom hehadworked while stilla
medical student andwithwhom heenjoyed acontinuing personal andprofessional 
relationship. Breuer haddiscussed indetail withFreud thecaseofAnna O,ayoung 
woman Freud hadnever met,butwhom Breuer hadspent many hours treating for
hysteria several years earlier. Because ofhisrebuff bytheImperial Society ofPhy-
sicians andhisdesire toestablish areputation forhimself, Freud urged Breuer to
collaborate withhiminpublishing anaccount ofAnna Oandseveral other cases of
hysteria. Breuer, however, wasnotaseager astheyounger andmore revolutionary 
Freud topublish afulltreatise onhysteria builtononlyafewcasestudies. Healso
could notaccept Freud’s notion thatchildhood sexual experiences werethesource of
adult hysteria. Finally, andwithsome reluctance, Breuer agreed topublish withFreud 
Studies on Hysteria (Breuer &Freud, 1895/1955). Inthisbook, Freud introduced 
theterm“psychical analysis,” andduring thefollowing year, hebegan calling his
approach “psycho-analysis.”
Atabout thetimeStudies on Hysteria waspublished, Freud andBreuer hada
professional disagreement andbecame estranged personally. Freud thenturned to
hisfriend Wilhelm Fliess, aBerlin physician whoserved asasounding board for
Freud’s newly developing ideas. Freud’s letters toFliess (Freud, 1985) constitute a
firsthand account ofthebeginnings ofpsychoanalysis andreveal theembryonic stage 
ofFreudian theory. Freud andFliess hadbecome friends in1887, buttheirrelation -
shipbecame more intimate following Freud’s break withBreuer.
During thelate1890s, Freud suffered bothprofessional isolation andpersonal 
crises. Hehadbegun toanalyze hisowndreams, andafterthedeath ofhisfather in
1896, heinitiated thepractice ofanalyzing himself daily. Although hisself-analysis 
wasalifetime labor, itwasespecially difficult forhimduring thelate1890s. During 
thisperiod, Freud regarded himself ashisownbestpatient. InAugust 1897, hewrote Final PDF to printer