A Famous Case of Compulsion Neurosis

In the early part of 1935, a young woman came to Stekel's Ambulatorium in Vienna and requested urgent treatment. She claimed to be suffering from various compulsions, obsessions and phobias. Besides, she wanted most of all to be freed from her fear of having sexual intercourse. She said that she had been married already twelve years and was still virgin! Her complaints dated back to her early youth; but it is only recently that she felt herself handicapped. The young lady is a writer and was unable to do any serious work. She brought with her a typewritten story of her life. She failed to keep her next appointments and apparently disappeared from view.

In the meantime, Stekel read the short history she had left behind. An amazing fact came to light. This history was identical with the one Alfred Adler had published in 1928. He had published a series of books on the “Technique of Individual Psychology.” The first volume was devoted to the interpretation of a case-history, with the title: “The Art of Reading a Case and Life History.” Adler had never seen the patient. He had received the material from a writer; was immediately attracted by the interesting possibilities it presented and wrote a book to show the world how he goes about reading and interpreting a life history.

What conclusions did Adler draw from the material he had at his disposal? Clara (the name used in the book) was a spoiled child. Like all spoiled children, she suffered from a strong feeling of inferiority whenever she attempted to leave her sheltered family circle. She tries to compensate for this attitude with a strong will to power. She wants to be a man (masculine protest). She is very attached to her father because he is a very weak type of individual. Their relationship is absolutely asexual. Her compulsions represent the desire to make something from nothing—to attain the heights of a god. They aid her in avoiding all life's responsibilities. The phobias serve to occupy the other members of the