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This is the first of a series of three papers on the psychoanalysis of psychoses. It will be followed by two more entitled Transference and The Psychoanalytic Process.
The author collaborated with Freud from the beginnings of psychoanalysis and took an early interest in the psychoanalytic treatment of psychoses, especially of schizophrenia. He gives an impressively honest account of the many errors and failures in his attempts to combat the severest diseases at a time when most analysts preferred to devote their therapy exclusively to neuroses. The American reader should keep in mind that most of the cases reported by the author concern psychotic processes rather than psychotic episodes. Otherwise some of the author's technical advice may be misunderstood.
The author is well known for his rich clinical experience. He had the benefit of starting his research work at a time when every new piece of knowledge was the result of repeated personal observation, and no means of acquiring knowledge existed other than hard clinical work. Thus his paper breathes that empiristic spirit which is so frequently replaced by a more rationalistic attitude in the younger scholar of psychoanalysis. It contains valuable observations on such difficult points as the early diagnosis of psychoses,