SIGMUND FREUD (1856 – 1939) The originator of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud has ruled over the domain of psychology for more
than fifty years. Interpretation of dreams, free association, structure of personality, psychosexual stages of development, concept of id, ego and super ego, concept of conscious, subconscious and preconscious mind, and ego defence mechanisms are still an integral part of psychology today. The story of his life and family background are major factors in the development of his theories. Sigmund was the first born in a Viennese family of three boys and five girls. At the time of his birth his mother who was almost the same age as his two half brothers was just 21. And he had a nephew a couple of years older than himself. His father, like many others those days was very authoritarian. Though he had limited means and the family had to live in a small house, he made every effort to educate intelligent and hard working Freud to his full capacity. Freud always topped the class and studied medicine. Only four years after earning his medical degree, at the age of 26, he attained the prestigious position of a lecturer at the University of Vienna. Freud devoted almost all his life to the study and advancement of psychology, often putting in 18 hours a day of work. His productivity remained high till almost the end of his life. Even in the last twenty years of his life when he suffered from cancer of jaw and had to undergo 33 operations, he continued to work hard. He has produced 24 volumes of work expounding his theories and documenting his valuable experiences. Freud is known for his theory and practice of psychoanalysis, the first psychological therapy ever developed to solve mental problems of people. The most creative phase of his life, around the age of 40, was also the period when he experienced the most severe emotional problems. He had several psychosomatic problems and various phobias including the fear of death. Only a genius like Freud could take the difficult task of self analysis during the intense suffering. He analysed his own dreams and developed an insight into the dynamics of his personality development. He explored the memories of his childhood and formulated the stages of psychosexual development. He recalled his own sexual feelings for his mother and the hostility towards his father. He confirmed his experiences with further clinical observations and case histories of his patients. However, Freud could not get a long lasting support on his psychosexual development theory and his own students disagreed with him. He had no tolerance for those who diverged form his doctrines. So he expelled some of his most promising students like Alfred Adler and Carl Jung. Freud’s views continue to influence the contemporary psychology. Many of his basic concepts are still taken as foundations to build and develop new theories. In fact the contribution of Freud has been tremendous. Many of the psychotherapies are extended approaches of psychoanalytic theory, others have modified its concepts and the rest have emerged as a reaction against it.***