Theodor Reik was accused of practicing medicine illegally. Not only was he a noted psychoanalyst, author of important texts and sharp reflections, but he was also of great importance in the history of psychoanalysis. However, his case made it possible for analytical practice to be reserved not only to doctors, but also to profane ones. It’s one of the great brands of psychoanalysis.
Theodor Reik has made an important contribution to psychoanalytic theory. He worked in detail on the theme of “anxiety”, which is part of Sigmund Freud’s reflections on “family strangeness”. He also worked on the concept of guilty offenders, those who break the law for the unconscious purpose of being punished.
“Working and loving are the basics. Without them, there’s only neurosis?. ?Theodor Reik?”
In total, Theodor Reik has written more than 100 texts, between essays and books, but unfortunately, while living, he failed to achieve the significant success he achieved decades after his death.
Like most psychoanalysts of the time, Theodor Reik was born into a Jewish family of modest and Austrian descent. Reik was born in Vienna on 12 May 1888. During his childhood, he witnessed several serious conflicts between his father and grandfather. one freething and the other a religious fanatic.
Reik’s mother was emotionally unstable. She suffers from severe depression, which also marked the childhood of the future psychoanalyst. When he was 18, his father passed away. This forced him to work to support his family, a situation that led to an anxiety attack, in which he made numerous accusations and mortifications.
In the midst of many limitations, he managed to obtain a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and letters, his thesis focused on the temptation of St. Anthony, the work of Gustave Flaubert, his studies and emotional concerns brought him closer to psychoanalytic theory. he personally met Sigmund Freud and formed a bond between them, which lasted forever.
Freud refused to take Theodor Reik to the analysis. However, he decided to refer him to another psychoanalyst closest to his circle of friends, Karl Abraham. Freud himself paid for his psychoanalysis. In fact, he went further, took him under his protection and sent him a monthly allowance to cover his expenses. Reik, who quickly began working as a psychoanalyst, struggled with the law to do his job because he was not a doctor.
It was at this time that Reik collaborated with Freud’s work, his contributions were very well received and were recorded in two important documents on the subject: one published in 1924 and one in 1929.
Theodor Reik’s relationship with Freud was so close that even in the Viennese circle, they jokingly called him “Simile Freud”. This is because Reik dressed like Freud, took care of his beard like him, spoke like him and even smoked the same cigars, the father of psychoanalysis. Freud, for his part, acknowledged that “his disciple’s desire to find a father?he was so great that he made him his spiritual son. “
In 1925 he began the famous trial against Theodor Reik, who was banned from practicing psychoanalysis for not being a health professional, this case has caused a great deal of controversy in the psychoanalytic movement, a sector objected to the idea that laity should exercise psychoanalysis. they were all Americans. Another sector, almost all Europeans, accepted that lay people should practice analytical practice.
The controversy led Sigmund Freud to publish an article on the subject, which he called: “Can the profane exercise psychoanalysis?”The debate has taken on important dimensions. Reik decided to move to Berlin convinced that there he could practice psychoanalysis, however, the arrival of the Nazis forced him to emigrate first to holland and then to the United States.
American psychoanalysts have never accepted him as one of them. This led Theodor Reik to develop the thesis of “listening with the third ear”. According to her, the psychoanalyst works mainly with her intuition, which is the focus of her countertransfer work. . Reik died of heart problems on December 31, 1969.