Freud's Theory of Conflicts

This paper is a sample of scholastic research work being done at the Hampstead Child Therapy Clinic (Director, Anna Freud) relating to the study of a large number of preselected basic psychoanalytic concepts as postulated and developed by Freud all through his lifetime.

This work has been carried out during the last six years by the Concept Research Group.

The method:

Each member of the Group* is assigned one preselected concept at a time. This member‘s task is to search for the relevant material all through Freud‘s published papers, books, correspondence, Minutes of the Meetings of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, etc., and to prepare a written summary of it for discussion. This draft is referred to as the “personal draft” and is circulated among members some time before it is due for discussion.

Insofar as it is possible the draft makes use of “literal quotations” giving at the same time the source of the quotations. This facilitates the study of the drafts by the group members that meet weekly. Out of the general discussion by the Group a second draft