ABSTRACT
Freud made the point that weaknesses of the ego give rise to splits between the id, ego, and superego. In more stable ego states, the various parts of the mental apparatus are continuous and inseparable. Freud emphasized that the ego operates with neutralized, desexualized energy. That is, the ego contains neutralizing structure, which makes a continual supply of neutralized energy available for the ego's work. Freud presents clinical illustrations of his concepts regarding the psychological structure of symptoms, the examples being taken mainly from the cases of Little Hans and the Wolf Man. The capacity to form endopsychic structures called symptoms is part of the normal equipment of the mind, and the absence of the capacity is more pathological than symptom formation itself. Comparing the symptom formations in Little Hans and the Wolf Man, both cases involved structuralized conflicts about the father.
