ABSTRACT
Psychoanalysis began with a patient who could be considered the true inventor of the method for studying the mind, Anna O. She was a social worker, and despite the various attempts to prove that all of the early psychoanalytic patients were seriously disturbed and schizophrenic, there is no evidence of that in the case of Anna O. Freud wanted to develop a theory that would encompass not only neurotic phenomena but also normal behavior. He hoped to prove the validity of his concepts about psychopathology by demonstrating their existence in total mental functioning. He traced all traumata back to sexual events of childhood, which he believed were the main source of traumatic experiences in early life. With respect to the treatment of such problems, Freud was always sensitive to the importance of the interplay between clinical observation, theory, and therapy. The concepts of the phase were those of the early 1890s for example, "The Neuro-Psychoses of Defence".
