Joseph Breuer

Studies in Hysteria Joseph Breuer

As its title would suggest "Studies in Hysteria" is a compilation of case studies on the treatment of hysteria. Co-authored by Sigmund Freud and Joseph Breuer the work provides to alternative explanations for hysteria. In Breuer's analysis the root of hysteria is neurophysiologic while Freud proscribes it to purely psychological causes. "Studies in Hysteria" is notably for its discussion of Breuer's patient Breuer's Anna O., whose real name Bertha Pappenheim. Her case is detailed in this work and is acknowledged as the first use of the technique of psychoanalysis as a form of cure. In total discussions on five cases are included in this volume along with supporting theoretical discussions of psychopathology and therapy of hysteria. This classic work on psychoanalysis is a must read for anyone interested in Freud and Breuer's pioneering work in the treatment of hysteria.