Hi everyone:
My students often have a difficult time understanding Freud. After
hearing his theories many students think he was completely off his
rocker and can't believe that anyone could hold such outlandish beliefs.
This stance tends to make it more difficult for them to understand the
significant contributions he has made to the history of psychology as
well as modern thought.
As I was reading through his case study of Dora the other day I was
thinking about how differently we think about about both physical and
psychological medical problems these days (I recognize this distinction
is somewhat artificial, particularly in light of emerging
biopsychosocial models of health and illness). In the Dora case Freud
refers to such physical ailments as tabo-paralysis and marasmus. We
don't use these terms anymore in modern medicine and our understanding
of the disease process is much more sophisticated, yet the medical
doctors at the turn of the 20th century generally don't get the ridicule
that seems to be reserved for Freud. Most people rightly recognize that
physicians in the 1800s and 1900s were making informed decisions based
on the information they knew at the time. Freud doesn't seem to get
this understanding.
To help provide a broader historical context for my students, I'm
thinking about comparing our evolving understanding of psychopathology
with our evolving understanding of physical illnesses. Can anyone on
TIPS provide me with some information on common illnesses at the turn of
the century, including the medical terms used to describe the illnesses
as well as the historical explanations of the illness, and how we
currently understand these illnesses?
Any reactions on this topic would be appreciated!
Rod Hetzel
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<<winmail.dat>>
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