SIGMUND FREUD

By Chaplain Paul G. Durbin, Ph.D.

Sigismund Freud was born in 1856 to Jacob Freud and Amilia Freud. His mother called him "my Golden Sigi" (from Das Sieg - "victory"). He was the oldest of six surviving children and started medical school in 1873. In 1885 he changed his first name from Sigismund to Sigmund. He graduated from medical school in 1881 and 1885 Freud studied under Charcot in Paris who used hypnosis in the treatment of hysteria. In 1886, he married Martha Bernays. They had 6 children in 8 years and was married to her for 50 years. In 1886, Freud coined the term "psychoanalysis." In his book 'Psychotherapy: Acceptance or Denial' Raymond Young states, "The generally accepted definition of psychoanalysis is a system of psychology that seeks to apply general principles as well as those of psychopathology to studies of the mind; a form of treatment of neuroses or treatment of various mental disorders ; and a personality theory which explores human behavior and lays emphasis on the conscious and unconscious mind. (p. 69) He worked with Joseph Breuer who had been fascinated by the phenomena associated with hypnosis. Freud began to follow his colleague in the use of hypnosis for the treatment of catharsis, a concept also known as abreaction. In 1895 Freud and Breuer wrote Studies of hysteria covering case studies from which emerged several hypotheses that have remained central to psychoanalytical theory. (p. 71) Freud formed the Psychological Wednesday Society with Adler and Rank. In 1924 formed the Psychoanalytical Society with Carl Jung as its first president. Freud died in London on September 26, 1939. 

In a career that covered over forty years, Sigmund Freud developed perhaps the first comprehensive theory of personality. Freud gave special attention to the unconscious which he viewed as the region of the mind that contained feelings, urges and passions which exerted control over conscious behavior. He worked with hypnosis, free association and dream interpretation to enable the therapist to tap these unconscious but powerful determinants of behavior. (Much of the following concerning the Id, Ego, and Superego comes from Counseling: Theory and Practice by Rickey L. George and Therese S. Cristiani. p. 40) 
According to Freud, personality is composed of three systems: the id, ego and superego. 
The Id: Freud regards the id as the original system of personality, consisting of all that is inherited at birth, including instincts. Within the id lies the reservoir of psychic energy which fuels the other two systems, the ego and the superego. The id is in direct contrast with the bodily processes, represents the inner world of subjective experience, and operates to reduce tension. Because the id cannot tolerate tension, it discharges it immediately and returns the organism to a homeostatic state. This principle of tension reduction is called the "pleasure principle." Thus, the id functions to satisfy the needs of the organisms by decreasing pain and increasing pleasure, with no concern for external realities or morality. The id knows no values, no good, no evil, no morality. The pleasure principle dominates its processes. The id operates below conscious awareness and is the source of sexual drive, aggression, and the will to survive - to preserve and propagate one's own life, to seek food, warmth and so on.
The Ego: Because the id is the driving force of the personality and functions at an unconscious level with no concern for external reality, the ego exists to make transactions with the objective world of reality. That is, it is the responsibility of the ego to make decisions about which instincts to satisfy and to somehow mediate between the conflicting demands of the Id, the superego, and the real world. The ego is thus in control of the actions of the organism, and it employs intellect and reason to satisfy the organism's needs. The ego is said to operate by the "reality principle." One can hardly go wrong in regarding the ego as that part of the id which has been modified by its proximity to the external world and the influence that the latter had on it. A proverb states that one cannot serve two masters at once. The ego has a still harder time of it. The ego has three harsh masters and it does its best to reconcile the claims and demands of all three. The three tyrants are the external world, the superego, and the id. 
The Superego: The superego represents the moral and traditional values of society which are communicated to the child by the parents, schools and religious institutions. As children, we are rewarded by our parents for good behavior and punished by them for wrongdoing. Thus the behavior for which we are punished becomes part of our "conscience" and positive behavior becomes part of our ego-ideal. The superego, then, is comprised of these two subsystems: the "conscience" which punishes us with guilt, and the "ego-ideal," which rewards us with pride. The functions of the superego include restraining the impulses of the id, convincing the ego to substitute moralistic goals for realistic one, and striving for perfection. 
The superego is the area invoked with ideals, values and social training; in some respects it censors the ego and acts as a conscience. Unresolved conflicts between parts of the personality can cause mental disturbance; they give rise to anxiety, and we have defense mechanisms intended to disguise the anxiety from others and even ourselves. 
Freud's stages of life: 
l. Oral stage (from birth to 18 months): The child is self-absorbed and wants to receive and have its needs meet. During this stage the primary source of satisfaction for the infant is through eating. The adult character traits are sometimes related to the two basic oral activities, incorporation of food and biting. Focus on eating can be displaced with the desire to gain possessions while biting is sometimes displaced as sarcasm. The erogenous zone is the mouth. 
2. Anal stage (from 18 months to 3-5 years): This is a time of bowel training and that is translated into withholding and giving. The child must learn to delay the gratification that come from defecation. Strict attitudes toward toilet training are said to produce retentive personalities. The anal personality may be cruel or obstinate. If the parents praise the child's bowel movements, the child may become creative and productive. Anal retentiveness is demonstrated with controlling and hording. Anal explusive is seen in giving and expressiveness. The erogenous zone is the anus. 
3. Phallic stage (From 3-5 to 6-8): At this stage, language and primitive concepts become important. (A) The erogenous zone is the genitals and there is a tendency to focus on this area as a source of pleasure. (B) Primary activity results in heterosexual interaction. He becomes more aware of the external world and begins to move from being a nonsocial being to a social being. He begins to understand that he is not the center of the universe and that mother and daddy have a relationship independent of himself. (C) Male Oedipus Complex comes from Greek mythology and is represented by the boy's lusting for the mother. The boy wants to become his mother's lover in such a way as he determined by his child-like observations and intuitions about sexual life. In other words, he would like to have his mother all to himself. The boy views his father as the major threat to his desires for his mother and worries what his father would do if he found out what the son wanted (castration anxiety). Many Freudians view the death of a father or divorce here as particularly destructive. If the child wishes the father would disappear and he does, this may make the child fearful of his thoughts and desires which is called, "infantile omnipotence." The child overcomes this by dropping his desire for his mother and identifying with his father. There is a tendency to give up on sex and wants nothing to do with girls. He represses the memory of his desire for his mother and goes on about the business of growing up. (D) Female Oedipus Complex (It is to be noted that Freud never used the term "Electra Complex" which is general used for the female Oedipus Complex.) Females come to enjoy their sexual organs just like boys. However, they notice that they have no protruding organ and according to Freud she feels cheated. This is called, "penis envy." Girl began to transfer love from mother to father and competes for father's attention and affection. Once she realizes she cannot compete, she begins to identify with her mother.
(4) Latency stage (from 6-8 to puberty): Both sexes forget or repress their Oedipal attachments and there is a reduction of sexuality in the child. The child moves from a narcissistic orientation to more socialized interaction. During this period, the focus is on outside interests and relationships. 
(5) Genital stage (puberty to death): During puberty there is a re-emergence of sexual instincts and sexual conflicts reappear. The first manifestation is usually in the form of an "adolescent crush" on an older person of the opposite sex. Heterosexual relationships become increasingly more important, as does the ability to form intimate relationships with members of the same sex. 

George and Cristiani point out that for Freudians anxiety may exit in three forms: reality anxiety, neurotic anxiety, and moral anxiety. (1) Reality anxiety is caused by real dangers in the external world. (2) Neurotic anxiety results from fear that the instincts will get out of control and cause the individual to do something for which he will get punished. (3) Moral anxiety is fear of the conscience. In other words, people with strong superegos feel guilty when they do something that violates the moral code. 
Anxiety serves an important function. It warns the individual of impending danger by signaling the ego that unless appropriate measures are taken, the ego may be overthrown. Anxiety, therefore, is a state of tension that can motivate the individual to action. When the ego cannot deal with anxiety through appropriate and rational methods, it resorts to unrealistic measures; the ego-defense mechanisms. 
Individuals employ defense mechanisms when he/she is in situations in which the ego is threatened. George and Cristiani contend that these mechanism are essential for helping us to cope with failure and to maintain a positive self-image. When one represses a traumatic experience, the repression serves to protect the ego from severe damage. To a Freudian therapist defense mechanisms are fundamental to the individual's psychological survival. In instances, such as a secession of job-related failures, the ability to rationalize these failures may actually prevent the individual from taking appropriate measures to improve his behavior and enhance his success. The ego-defense mechanisms can operate to protect the individual, or they can serve as blocks to the self- growth which occurs when one faces problems or mistakes and learns to adequately cope with them. (p. 42) 
The defense mechanism are: 

(1) Repression: Repression is one of the earliest Freudian concepts. It involves the removal of painful or dangerous thoughts and experiences from consciousness. A high traumatic event is not forgotten but is removed from one's awareness, producing amnesia. According to Freud the repression of an event or experience is not complete, and such repressed desires may be revealed through dreams or slips of the tongue. In certain cases repression may be temporary and may protect the individual until other resources or methods of coping are available. Unfortunately, repression can also be used to enable the individual to deceive himself and evade learning more effective methods of dealing with the problem. The result is that the energy used to maintain the defense posture prevents the individual form coping effectively on a daily basis. 
(2) Projection: Projection involves transferring blame for our own shortcomings onto others as well as attributing to others our unacceptable desires or impulses. (3) Reaction Formation: Reaction formation is a defensive reaction in which a dangerous impulse is replaced by a feeling or behavior pattern that is just the opposite. 
(4) Fixation and Regression: Fixation is getting stuck in one of the stages of maturing. Personality development involves passage through a series of well- defined stages. At each stage there is a certain amount of frustration and anxiety. If the anxiety of the nest stage is too great, the individual's development may be halted. A related mechanism of defense is that of regression. Regression is a reaction to stress that involves reverting back to a less mature level of adjustment in order to feel safe and secure and get one's needs met. 
(5) Denial: Denial involves the refusal to acknowledge unpleasant realities by ignoring their existence. Denial is used to protect one from stress, but it also prevents one from facing the real conflict and problems of our daily life. 
(6) Rationalization: Rationalization involves coming up with logical, ethical or socially approved reasons for our behavior; this enables us to do things that are sources of conflict for us. Rationalization softens the blow of disappointment, but can result in serious damage to one's ego.
(7) Sublimation: Sublimation is the channeling of aggressive or sexual impulses into social acceptable activity. 
(8) Identification: Identification occurs as part of an individual's normal development and is used to enhance self-worth. Individuals who have a poor self-image may identify with someone special as a means of feeling better about himself. One might identify with an athletic team, a social group or an individual. (9) Compensation: Compensation involves masking weaknesses or feelings of inferiority by developing other aspects of one's physique or personality. Compensatory behavior can have either a positive or negative influence on one's adjustment. The individual exaggerates his positive traits in order to make up for those that negatively influence the individual's self-concept. 
(10) Displacement: Displacement is the shift of emotions from the original situation to a safer one. 
(11) Introjection: Introjection involves taking on the attitudes and values of others in an attempt to control one's own behavior and to act in an acceptable ways. (p.42-44) 
The role of the therapist in the therapeutic process is to assume a neutral position with the patient so that the patient can develop a "transference relationship" with the therapist. The patient projects onto the therapist feelings they have had toward significant others in their lives. It is felt that transference relationship will provide more material for therapy as unresolved conflicts, feeling and experiences are relived. The session is characterized by the patient's deeply reflecting on past experiences while lying on a couch, with the therapist primarily remaining silent, except when making appropriate interpretations. The major therapeutic goal is to enable clients to gain insight into their problems through the uncovering of unconscious material. 
Therapeutic techniques which may be used are "interpretation," "dreams," "transference," and "free association." The therapist uses "interpretation" when he/she explains to the patient the meaning associated with the uncovered unconscious material. These interpretations play an important role in the patient's development of insight into problems and experiences. Young notes that Freud lectured extensively on the subject of parapraxes (slips of the tongue) which is often referred to as a Freudian slip. During one lecture, he said, "Well, it looks now as though we have solved the problem of slips of the tongue, and with very little trouble! They are not chance events but serious mental acts; they have a sense; they arise for the concurrent action-or perhaps rather, the mutually opposing actions - of two different intentions." It can be assumed that slips of the tongue are also regarded by Freud to be an action due to some interference of the unconscious. (p. 74) 
For Freud, the interpretation of dreams was crucial. This unlocked his understanding of the unconscious, in its turn the key to his psychoanalysis. It would have been impossible to explore the mind without grasping the essential principle of unconscious mental activities and motivation. It began the process of disclosure of the nature of the unconscious, without which modern psychotherapy would not have existed at all. (p.75) Freud strongly identified himself with the Biblical character of Joseph, the dream interpreter. He regarded dreams as a disguised fulfillment of suppressed wishes and desires , and recognized that not all dreams had equal diagnostic value, but many were scientifically invaluable. By the year 1909, he had evolved the theory of the censor, opposing wish fulfillment of dreams. This was a moral sense, probable created by a combination of ancestral and social training. But it inherently involved frustration, because the wishes of he individual ego would frequently be denied fulfillment by the requirements of society or the inherited social background. When this frustration became too severe, neurosis was the consequence. (p. 76) 
Freud used hypnosis for a time but eventually renounced it in favor of free association. Freud became interested in hypnosis when he learned of a report by Dr. Breur, a Viennese physician who had helped cure cases of "hysteria" by encouraging a patient under hypnosis to talk about the circumstance when her symptoms began. Once recalled and expressed, she felt much better. Convinced that hypnosis was the key to treating hysteria, Freud moved to Paris to study at an insane asylum under Charcot. In his book The Freud Reader, Gay quotes Freud in reference to Hippolyte Bernheim's book on suggestion, "They will find that the work of Dr. Bernheim of Nancy provides as admirable introduction to the study of hypnotism that it is in many respects stimulating and in some positively illuminating, and that it is well calculated to destroy the belief that the problem of hypnosis is still surrounded, as Meynert asserts, by a halo of absurdity."
Freud biggest problem with hypnosis was that he was not a good hypnotist. He did not like hypnosis because it did not work on everyone. (Well Mr. Freud "free association" does not work on everyone and the best medicines discovered by the scientific mind does not work on everyone so if that were the guide, we would deny ourselves the use of many good medicines and therapeutic techniques.) Raymond Young writes, "Freud's method of free association sets out to discover a patient's repressed experiences. This may be achieved by the patient's free expression of thoughts, ideas, and fantasies. Free association may be used in two ways; either patients say whatever comes into their minds in response to a word given by the analyst, or alternatively patients say whatever comes into their minds for a set period of time. Freud found these methods when used over many sessions facilitated patients' abilities to retrieve past events from their unconscious minds. It dramatically alleviated their repressed or suppressed feelings and memories." (p. 72) "
Freud observed that his patients experienced difficulty at some point during free association. He postulated that this was because of painful, or traumatic experiences which were often sexual in origin; perhaps not surprisingly, since for cultural reasons sex is the most repressed of all our instinctive reactions. Freud became convinced that the most important motivating force of man is an individual's sexuality. Mental disturbance is caused by anxiety, which in turn is caused by suppression of experiences, or fantasies, or feelings of guilt. Freud's preoccupation with free association began in 1894. It was closely associated with his discovery of the unconscious, and greatly helped him to diagnose the cause and symptoms of neurosis. His belief in the psychic origins of mental disorder led him to consider the importance of symbolism, the theory of which also concerns itself with the unconscious. It further defines dream images or formations of the mind. (p. 72) 
It is also said that Freud did not like the authoritative approach of hypnosis used during his time and therefore developed free association. There is evidence that Freud used some very authoritarian approaches to get to what he considered the source of the problem. When Freud was working on his "seduction theory," he was very persistent in recovering memories of sexual abuse similar to the present day "Recovered Memory Therapist." He states, "We must not believe what they say when they deny having memories, we must always assume, and tell them, too, that they have kept something back... We must insist on this, we must repeat the pressure and represent ourselves as infallible, till at last we are really told something... It is of course of great importance for the progress of the analysis that one should always turn out to be in the right via-a-vis the patient, otherwise one would always be dependent on what he chose to tell one... We must not be lead astray by initial denials... (v 2 p. 279, 281, v 3 p. 269) If we keep firmly to what we inferred, we shall in the end conquer every resistance by emphasizing the unshakable nature of our convictions...If the memory which we have uncovered does not answer our expectations, it may be that we ought to pursue the same path a little bit further; perhaps behind the first traumatic scene there may be concealed the memory of a second, which satisfies our requirement better." (v 3 p. 195, 204) (from Freud's Standard Edition, V 2 and V 3 )
In his book 'Victims of Memory', Mark Pendergrast writes, "Eventually, Freud changed his mind, concluding that most of these incestuous events never occurred, that the 'memories' were actually a form of fantasy, even wish fulfillment. He couldn't admit, however that he had actually planted these memories. (Footnote inserted here: 'In 1925, Freud wrote that 'these scenes of seduction had never taken place' adding that 'they were only fantasias which my patients had made up or which I myself had perhaps forced on them.' He still couldn't really bring himself to admit his own role, though. Later in the same paragraph, he asserted, 'I do not believe even now that I forced the seduction-fantasias on my patients, that I suggested them. I had in fact stumbled for the the first time on the Oedipus complex.') Instead, he concluded that they were innate fantasies. As a result, he concocted the Oedipus and Electra complexes, asserting that young children yearned to displace the parent of the same gender and have sex with the other. Freud's entire elaborated edifice was based on his obsession with childhood sexuality. Indeed, children are sensual beings, but whether an 'Oedipus complex' accounts for our psychological problems or whether the way we were toilet trained determines our personality is subject to dispute. Controlled scientific studies have repeatedly failed to corroborate such notions." (Here Pendergrast refers to Torry, Freudian Fraud, p. 214-239, Wood, Myth of Neurosis, p. 69-97, and Baker, Hidden Memories, p. 61-77) (p. 417) 
In his Autobiographical Study written in 1924 Freud gives his reasons for rejecting hypnosis and embracing free association, "I abandoned hypnotism and sought to replace it by some other method because I was anxious not to be restricted to treating hysterical conditions. Increasing experience had also given rise to two grave doubts in my mind as to the use of hypnosis even as a means of catharsis. The first was that even the most brilliant results were liable to be suddenly wiped away if my personal relation with the patient became disturbed. (Durbin-the same can be said of psychoanalysis.) It was true that they would be re-established if a reconciliation could be effected; but such an occurrence proved that the personal emotional relation between doctor and patient was after all stronger that the whole cathartic process, and it was precisely that factor which escaped every effort at control. (Durbin-the same is true of psychoanalysis as seen in the many years needed for treatment.) And one day I had an experience which showed me in the crudest light what I had long suspected. It related to one of my most acquiescent patients, with whom hypnotism had enabled me to bring about the most marvelous results, and whom I was engaged in relieving of her suffering by tracing back her attacks of pain to their origins. As she woke up on one occasion, she threw her arms round my neck. The unexpected entrance of a servant relieved us from a painful discussion, but from that time onwards there was a tacit understanding between us that the hypnotic treatment should be discontinued. (Durbin-this could have happened in any kind of therapeutic situation. Certainly it does not occur with greater frequency when hypnosis is used anymore than it does with any other therapeutic technique.) I was modest enough not to attribute the event to my own irresistible personal attraction, and I felt that I had now grasped the nature of the mysterious element that was at work behind hypnotism. In order to exclude it, or at all events to isolate it, it was necessary to abandon hypnosis." He later said "So I abandoned hypnosis, only retaining my practice of requiring the patient to lie upon the sofa while I sat behind him, seeing him, but not seen myself." (Except for "Durbin" insertions, this last paragraph came from an article in the December 1996 issue of The Medical Hypnoanalysis Journal titled "Freud and Hypnosis And Why He Abandoned It" by Gary M. Szirony, M.Ed.) 
In spite of my lukewarm appreciation of Sigmund Freud, I acknowledge the important part he has played in the history of psychology. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY: 

George, R. L., and Christiani, T. S. (1990) Counseling: Theory and Practice. Prentice Hall. Englewood Cliffs, NJ. 
Freud, S. Translated by J. Strach. 24 Volumes. (1953-1974) Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud. Hogarth Press. London, England. 
Gay, P. (1989). The Freud Reader. Norton. NY. 
Hall, C. S. (1954) A Primer of Freudian Psychology. World Publishing. Cleveland OH. 
Kelly S. and Kelly, R. (1985) Hypnosis; Understanding How It Can Work For You. Addison Wesley. Reading, MA. 
Pendergrast, M. (1995) Victims of Memory: Incest Accusations and Shattered Lives. Upper Access, Inc. Hinesbury, VA. 
Young, R. (1990) Psychotherapy: Acceptance or Denial. Cummings Books. London, England.