Criticisms of freud's psychoanalytic theory

Nonetheless, his convictions outweighed his doubts. With the exception of Fliess, FreudвЂ™s contemporaries mostly found this theory to be bizarre and potentially harmful and, as is evidenced by his 1895 letter, even Freud began to think that he might be out of his medical depth. вЂњIn such cases, nasal treatment is only successful when they truly give up this aberration.вЂќДЇreud believed that the sexual organs were connected to the nose, and sexual вЂњissues,вЂќ particularly masturbation, were principle causes of neurotic maladies, and that they could sometimes be solved by nasal surgery. вЂњGirls who masturbate normally suffer from dysmenorrhea,вЂќ Fliess later wrote in reference to EcksteinвЂ™s menstrual pains. It was a dubious logical path, but Freud and FliessвЂ™s solution was almost comically unfounded. Freud and Fliess believed that EcksteinвЂ™s suffering was related to her masturbation, which she discussed with Freud during their psychoanalytic sessions. She complained of stomach and menstrual issues that made even walking a pain. The patient who would be undergoing the procedure, Emma Eckstein, came from a well-regarded family in Vienna and began analysis with Freud when she was about 27. вЂњMy lack of medical knowledge once again weighs heavily on me.вЂќ вЂњNow only one more week separates us from the operation,вЂќ he wrote to his friend Wilhelm Fliess, who would be performing the surgery. On January 24, 1895, in a letter that was kept unpublished for nearly 90 years, Sigmund Freud wrote nervously about a dangerous experiment he was planning to embark upon. Photo: Bourgeron Collection/RDA/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Criticisms of freud's psychoanalytic theory