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It was certainly an excellent idea of
President Stanley Hall's to invite Professor
Sigmund Freud of Vienna to the twenty
years' jubilee of Clark University as guest
of honor. Professor Freud needs no fur-
ther introduction to physicians and psy-
chologists, but for the lay public it may
be said that Dr. Freud is not only one of
the most eminent neurologists of Europe,
but also that he is recognized especially by
the most serious young scholars of the
present generation as one of the greatest,
if not the very greatest, of psychothera-
peutists. Of his many books and writings,
his contributions to the treatment of neuro-
tic diseases, his extremely interesting book
on "Psychopathologie des Alltagslebens"
("Psychopathology of Every-Day Life"),
which is also easily understood by the lay-
man, and his "Studien ueber Hysterie"
(Studies of Hysteria) may be particularly
mentioned. His book on "Traumdeutung"
(The Significance of Dreams) was a con-
siderable step forward on a way along
which we have wandered for centuries in
darkness in the fullest sense of the word,
and his studies on the sick soul-life of
children are nothing short of epoch-mak-
ing. The "Story of Little Hans" will prob-
ably ever remain a unique and model study
of a child's soul.
After long acquaintance with his writ-
ings I had the pleasure of meeting him
personally in President Hall's house. One
sees at a glance that he is a man of great
refinement, of intellect and of many-sided
education. His sharp, yet kind, clear eyes
suggest at once the doctor. His high fore-
head with the large bumps of observation
and his beautiful, energetic hands are very
striking. He speaks slowly, weighing his
words carefully, but unfortunately never of
himself. Again and again he emphasizes
the merits of his colleagues, particularly of
his friend, Dr. Jung of Zürich, who is stay-
ing with him at President Hall's. It is
with great difficulty that he can be per-
suaded to talk about his method of psy-
chotherapy, which he calls the analytical,
but this is a fair summary of his conversa-
tion:
Emmanuel Movement Will Die
"This Emmanuel Movement, which, how-
ever, I have not had time to study care-
fully, will die down as have so many
other movements. When I think that there
are many physicians who have been study-
ing modern methods of psychotherapy for
decades and who yet practice it only with
the greatest caution, this undertaking of
a few men without medical, or with super-
ficial medical training, seems to me at the
very least of questionable good. I can
easily understand that this combination of
church and psychotherapy appeals to the
public, for the public has always had a
certain weakness for everything that savors
of mysteries and the mysterious, and these
it probably suspects behind psychotherapy,
which in reality has nothing, absolutely
nothing, mysterious about it. What may
appear so is perhaps its great age, for
it is in no sense a modern method of heal-
ing. It is the oldest therapy that medicine
uses. Richard Löwenfeld has written a
book on psychotherapy in which you can
trace its history back to the ancients and,
even further, to primitive times. You must
know how it has always been a custom to
get patients into a state of 'faithful expec-
tation,' which is as much in vogue today as
ever, with the same results.
"Yes, indeed, psychotherapy is as old as
illness, and we doctors could not give it up
if we wanted to, because the other party
to our methods of healing—namely the pa-
tient—has not the slightest intention of
doing without it. The modern history of
psychotherapy, however, begins with the
school of Nancy, with Liébault, Bernheim,
etc., and with Moebius, who unfortunately
died early, though not until his studies on
suggestion had borne much fruit.
"We all practice psychotherapy, often
even without knowing or intending it. Cer-
tain diseases, particularly nearly all those
of neurotic nature, are, as is well known,
far more susceptible to psychic influences
than to any other treatment. These pa-
tients are not healed by the drug but by the
physician.
"As you ask me about my own method of
psychotherapy I must first mention that
there are of course many sorts and ways of
psychotherapy. All are good if they ac-
complish their object, that is, effect a cure.
Our words of comfort, used so freely,
'Don't worry, you will soon be all right
again,' are an example of one therapeutic
method. But a deeper insight into neurotic
disease shows such comfort to be insuf-
ficient. Then we have the technique of
hypnosis suggestion, of psychotherapy by
means of diversion, by exercise, developed
to bring about the desired emotions. I de-
spise none. If in reality I have limited my-
self to practice of one, which my friend,
Professor Breuer, calls 'cathartic,' though
I myself would rather call it analytic, per-
sonal motives more than anything else have
led me to this course. I may neverthe-
less affirm that it is the analytical method
that is most thorough in its effect, that
brings about the greatest change in the
patient. But it is also the most interesting
because it teaches us the most about the
origin and connection of the symptoms of
the disease. The insight that it affords us
into the mechanism of the sick soul might
even enable it to lead out beyond itself and
to show us other ways of psychotherapeu-
tic influence.
His Analytical Method
"The treatment according to the psycho-
analytical method rests on the recognition
that unconscious imaginings—rather, the
unconsciousness of certain psychic proces-
ses is the first cause of diseased symptoms.
This unconsciousness, however, is not that
of the philosophers; do not be alarmed.
Look at it from my standpoint. You must
see that the translation of this unconscious-
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ness in the mind of the patient into con-
sciousness must have the result of show-
ing the patient that he departs from the
normal. As soon as he recognizes this the
compulsion under which his soul life stands
is relaxed, for the conscious psychic processes are
far as the conscious psychic processes and
every psychic compulsion is caused by un-
consciousness.
"The finding out and translation of the
unconsciousness is of course accomplished
in the face of the constant resistance too
well known to physicians of the patient.
The attempt to help the patient to un-
cover the unconsciousness himself is almost
always painful for him, or at least ex-
tremely tedious. The patient must there-
fore be trained by the physician. Much
inner resistance must be overcome, par-
ticularly in cases where the sexual life
plays a part. It is difficult enough to
bring patients to a complete confession of
those things which they are secretly con-
scious, how much more difficult then if
they are unconscious of them! Such re-
sistance can, in my opinion, be overcome
only through the psycho-analytical method,
which may be practiced only by a physi-
cian who is himself a serious, broad-
minded character with nothing of that mix-
ture of lasciviousness and prudery which
unfortunately marks some practitioners in
same circles."
When I asked Professor Freud whether
he had heard that several psychotherapeu-
tists in America claim to have cured hun-
dreds of cases of alcoholism and its conse-
quences by hypnotism he made the follow-
ing highly interesting reply:
Hypnotism and Suggestion Fail
"Years ago I gave up the use of hypno-
tism in my treatment of patients. I found
it useless. Altogether I must repeat that
the analytical method of psychotherapy
has nothing to do with hypnotic suggestive
treatment. There is the greatest contrast
between the suggestive and the analytical
technique. The suggestive technique does
not concern itself with the origin, extent,
and significance of the symptoms of the
disease, but simply applies a plaster—sug-
gestion—which it expects to be strong
enough to prevent the expression of the dis-
eased idea. The analytical therapy, on the
contrary, does not wish to apply a plaster,
does not wish to inject anything; but to
take away, to get rid of, and for this pur-
pose it concerns itself with the origin and
progress of the symptoms of the disease,
with the psychic connection of the diseased
idea which it aims to destroy. I have
given up the suggestive technique and with
it hypnotism because I despaired of making
the suggestion strong and durable enough
to effect a permanent cure. In all severe
cases I saw the suggestion crumble away,
and the disease again made its appearance.
"Further, there is another important
point for my method. Particularly in the
most complicated cases suggestion and par-
ticularly hypnotism do not help at all, be-
cause, as Bernheim has pointed out long
ago, most people cannot be hypnotized. Do
not believe the wonder-doctors who try to
tell you that every human being is subject
to their hypnotic art. That is not so.
From its medical side hypnotism has been
much overestimated. And still another
thing. This desire to hypnotize at all costs
has its moral side too. The morality of
it is doubtful—even if you should succeed
—if you give a patient heavy under the sug-
gestion that he is receiving a dreadful poi-
son in scientific doses, that will certainly
destroy certain germs of disease. In time
this fraud cannot fail to be discovered by
an intelligent patient and its effect on
people about the patient who see through
it from the beginning is simply demoraliz-
ing. Such tricks often remind one unpleas-
antly of the dances and pills of feather-
decorated, painted medicine men. Finally,
such a course of action has a bad influence
on the status of physicians themselves
among whom unfortunately there are black
sheep enough. How much is sinned with
electricity for instance!
Hamlet as a Neurotic
"In what my technique consists I can-
not explain so easily. The instrument of the
soul is not so easy to play and my tech-
nique is very painstaking and tedious.
Any amateur attempt may have the most
evil consequences. I am reminded of the
burst of fury of a world-famous neu-
rotic who, indeed, was not in the hands
of a doctor but only in the fantasy of a
poet's brain. I mean, Prince Hamlet of
Denmark. The king has sent Rosen-
crantz and Guildenstern to him to find out
the secrets of his ill-human. He defends
himself against them. Flutes are brought
onto the stage. Hamlet comes up to them
and asks one of his tormentors to play
on it. It is as easy as lying. The courtier
refuses for he has never even had a flute
in his hand. Then Hamlet bursts forth:
'Why, look you now, how unworthy a
thing you make of me. You would play
upon me; you would seem to know my
stops; you would pluck out the heart of
my mystery; you would sound me from
my lowest note to the top of my com-
pass; and there is much music, excellent
voice, in this little organ, yet cannot you
make it speak. 'Sblood, do you think I
am easier to be played on than a pipe?
Call me what instrument you will, though
you can fret me, you cannot play upon
me.'
"The psycho-analytical cure, as I have
implied, makes difficult demands on the pa-
tient and on the physician. Also, it is not
yet complete. Of the patient it requires ab-
solute frankness, occupies a great deal of
time, and is therefore expensive. It takes
also a large amount of the physician's time
and, because of the difficult technique, is
most tedious, but—and that is the most im-
portant thing—it is radical. I have been
able to apply my method only to cases
which were severe and given up as hopeless
by other physicians. It is best suited to
severe cases. By that I do not mean that
analytical psychotherapy is simply a means
of treating neuropathic degeneration. I do
not believe that a sufferer from neurotic dis-
ease is stamped as degenerate, but one often
accompanies the other. The method is also
not suited to those who do not want to be
cured, but are sent to the physician by their
relatives. Everything depends on whether
the patient can be trained to subject himself
to the method. Even if that has been done
with success, the number of cases where it
can be employed is limited. It is neces-
sary to dispel threatening symptoms quickly
it is difficult to use it because of its tedious-
ness, and then, too, in cases of long stand-
ing it will seldom prove suitable. But for
all forms of hysteria and in the wide field
of delusions it is, in my opinion indis-
pensable."
I should like to have asked Dr. Freud
some questions about his latest investiga-
tions of the significance of dreams, a sub-
ject which would certainly have been of
general interest, but his time was limited.
He is much occupied by the celebrations
at the university, where he, too, will give
several lectures on the "Psychopathology of
Everyday Life," which should be heard by
everyone who is interested in psychology.
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