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Three lectures read before the New York Neurological Society with the object of showing that the conduct disorders following an attack of Encephalitis Lethargica are of a psychogenic nature and amenable to treatment by psycho-analysis in some cases. A plan for the treatment of these cases is outlined.
Owing to the progress of psychopathology in the past decade we find two distinct lines of research. The older has perfected our comprehension of the transference neuroses, makes more plain their genetic origin and gives us a more secure and lasting therapy. The other line of research is a more venturesome effort to resolve the ego neuroses into their component origins, and even to approximate some means of direct handling of organic disease supposedly based on functional or constitutional defect.
In this latter field there are two methods of approach. The first is to recognize that there is an array of functional disturbances present as in disorders of motility, circulatory disturbances and the like. The aim has been to reduce these syndromes to their supposed psychogenic origin for amelioration or cure. It is an attempt to comprehend neurotic disorders upon a neurological or biological basis.
The second method recognizes the physical disorders as entities, but looks upon such sick persons as possessing far graver disorders of character and personality of which the immediate and pressing syndromes are but a part of their real disorder. To accept functional and constitutional disorders as organic neuroses which are slightly removed or more deeply set into the structural pattern than the now more definitely outlined narcissistic neuroses, requires only a little more courage than was shown by Freud and his co-workers a few decades ago when they rescued the transference neuroses from the category of organic disease.
Perhaps we shall make more rapid progress in understanding these