Josef Breuer was a leading physician and physiologist who played a decisive role in the genesis of psychoanalysis.
He met and befriended Sigmund Freud, who in one way or another considered him a fatherly and loving figure, so he always showed him much affection and respect, admiration and friendship were mutual.
- Breuer and Freud wrote part of the first edition of Studies on Hysteria.
- A fundamental work of psychoanalysis.
- Being also the first to attend the famous Anna O.
- Who would become the first patient treated by the psychoanalytic method.
- Shortly after Josef Breuer referred to freud.
“For God’s sake, stop thinking!Let the world in!?. – Josef Breuer-
In addition, it was this fantastic Austrian doctor who discovered the relationship between breathing and body temperature, as well as the relationship between ear and balance.
He is considered the creator of the cathartic method, a precursor to the free association method used in psychoanalysis. But let’s go in parts; Let’s start with a brief review of your life until you understand the extent of your discoveries.
Josef Breuer was born in Vienna, Austria, on 15 January 1842. Su father was an important figure in Judaism, a religion that Breuer never practiced decisively but never abandoned.
Josef Breuer’s mother died when he was only 4 years old, and has since been in the care of his maternal father and grandmother.
In 1859, at the age of 19, he began his medical studies at the University of Vienna, where he was a pupil of great scientists of the time, such as Karl Rokitansky and Josef Skoda.
He also studied under Johann Ritter von Oppolzer, a celebrated Viennese clinical physician who welcomed him as an assistant at the Vienna General Hospital, and later joined the Ewald Hering Laboratory of Physiology, which developed perception studies.
In the laboratory, he discovered the role played by the pneumiatric nerve in the thermal regulation of the body through breathing, a discovery that has given Breuer great recognition in the medical field.
Subsequently, he continued his research and managed to establish the relationship between ear and balance.
In 1871, Josef Breuer decided to devote himself to the private practice of medicine, with prestigious patients such as Franz Bentano and Johannes Brahms.
He alternated his practice with research and teaching at the Institute of Physiology at the University of Vienna, where he formed a great friendship with one of his students, Sigmund Freud, in 1877.
From the late 1870s, Josef Breuer was attracted to psychology and showed great interest in hypnosis, which was very popular at the time.
His patients were mostly rich women with hysterical symptoms, which probably piqued their interest in psychic phenomena.
Freud shared these same concerns, and perhaps because of these common interests, they became close friends. Breuer lent him a large sum of money so that the father of psychoanalysis could begin his private practice.
He also guided her early in her medical career, inadvertently, each of them, in her own way, began to become a specialist in mental disorders.
Josef Breuer saw a patient who made history like Anna O. ; She worked hypnosis with him and achieved excellent results, however, she showed him a particular condition that eventually bothered the doctor.
The professional relationship reached an irreconcilable breaking point when Anna O. gave birth to Dr. Breuer’s son.
It was then that Josef Breuer referred the case to Freud, who would be decisive for the theoretical and practical development of psychoanalysis and was also the starting point for a breakup between the two famous Austrians.
At the end of the treatment, Freud was willing to launch a definitive theory about hysteria, with which Breuer would disagree.
Breuer billed Freud for the money he had lent her. The latter showed an upset that, in addition to the theoretical differences he already had with his mentor, caused a huge estre in his relationship.
However, it should be noted that Breuer never stopped following in the footsteps of his brilliant student.
After Breuer’s death in 1925, Freud sent a message of condolence to his son, who responded by commenting on his father’s interest in advances in psychoanalysis throughout his life.
Freud, for his part, replied, “What you said about your father’s relationship with my last job was new to me and functioned as a balm for a painful wound that never closed. “
Thus, with a bitter taste, one of the most prolific relationships of the time ended. The admiration never went, but the differences were stronger, so they remained separated.
Currently both names are studied and recognized, although Freud’s is more popular, however, it should not be forgotten that Josef Breuer was a decisive figure in psychoanalysis.