Studies on Hysteria

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Studies on Hysteria (German: Studien über Hysterie) was a book published in 1895 by Sigmund Freud and Josef Breuer. It contained a number of Breuer and Freud's case studies of "hysterics". It included one of their most famous cases, Breuer's Anna O. (real name: Bertha Pappenheim), which introduced the technique of psychoanalysis as a form of cure. At the time of its release, Studies on Hysteria was not well received by the European medical community. It was not until years later that psychoanalysis was recognized as a legitimate psychiatric tool. In the book were presented two different viewpoints: a neurophysiologic and a psychological cause for hysteria. Breuer described the causes of hysteria by supporting a neurophysiologic cause, while Freud used a psychological standpoint.

Although Sigmund Freud has been associated with (and is indeed responsible for) much of the notoriety surrounding psychoanalysis and its rise to acceptance in Europe as well as the United States, (To this day, psychoanalysis is the preferred therapy training for Psychiatry residents in American and European medical schools: http://www.guidetopsychology.com/psypsy.htm) Freud himself credits the birth of psychoanalysis to Josef Breuer and his work with Bertha Pappenheim. Unfortunately, he died before it received its full acclaim.