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Freud's Work with Humans' Relation to the Mind

Decent Essays

Little was known about the development of humans in relation to the mind and what affected its development until, Sigmund Freud, made it his life work. Freud was born in Frieberg, Moravia (which is now part of the Czech Republic) in 1856. His family eventually moved to Vienna where he began his life work and remained until the last years of his life (other than WWII, as being Jewish he was allowed to leave for England, but returned after the conclusion). He always considered himself a scientist first looking to expand the range of what was currently known about human development and knowledge. He enrolled in the University of Vienna. He studied under the German scientist Ernst Brucke and specialized in neurology. In conjunction with being a regular doctor he also opened a private practice in the treatment of psychological disorders. This became his starting point in his life work and also provided him with much of the clinical material which became the foundation of his theories and techniques. Freud formulated and developed the idea that many neuroses (phobias, hysterical paralysis and pains, and some forms of paranoia) had their origins in deeply traumatic experiences which had occurred in the patient’s past, but which were now forgotten–hidden from consciousness (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, A Peer-review Academic Resource). His treatment was to try and have the patient recall the experience to consciousness, to confront it, deal with it, thereby curing the

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