Download - Videos of Sigmund Freud’s Most Famous Cases
Video Column
Donald C. Fidler, M.D. Video Column Editor
Videos of Sigmund Freud's Most Famous Cases
Dr. Lesley Dicksen has provided us with two wonderful videotape versions of
Sigmund Freud's treatments of "Dora" and "Wolfman." Each video is approximately an hour in length and each is faithful to the recollections of Freud as evidenced by frequent verbatim quotes from therapy notes, reported dreams, letters, and speeches recounted in "The Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud."
The videos tell the stories of Dora and Wolfman by showing Freud interviewing these two historically famous patients as they describe dreams, associations, and memories of childhood. Freud is often shown proposing his theories to the patients and making interpretations as he explores data and hypotheses. Other data and ideas are presented by showing Freud talking with patients' families; reading letters to colleagues; having discussions with doctors Fleiss, Frerenczi, and Jung; and making speeches to the International Psychoanalytic Association's annual meetings. Freud's data and theories are presented within the context of his personal life as he formed friendships and had disagreements with colleagues. Even Freud and Fleiss's uses of cocaine is briefly presented.
Both videos are well designed for education; each pauses to propose questions for audience discussion. Questions ask viewers to think about how differently these two famous patients would now be treated with our more advanced knowledge. Questions also ask viewers to discuss the psychody-
namics of both patient and therapist and to think about how Freud's personal life influenced his goals for the therapies, thus examining countertransference issues.
What cannot be accurate is the dialogue between patients and Freud. The video producers had access to the written notes of Freud's thoughts about patients, but could not have detailed process notes of Freud's words to patients and could have no videotapes or films of Freud's affects and tones of voice when talking with patients. Thus, out of necessity, the producers created dialogue and affects that mayor may not be faithful to the actual sessions. The bias chosen presents Freud as quite intellectualizing and forcing treatment to progress rapidly by making interpretations in almost every sentence. This video technique of condensing allows much material to be collapsed into brief video segments, but how accurately the script and actors portray the mood and attachment between therapist and patient should be questioned.
The video and audio qualities of both videotapes are excellent. The camera angles, sets, props, and acting are often simple and stilted, and in "Dora" the actors often cheat and read from their scripts; however, it is important to not let these latter qualities distract from the overall value of these educational videotapes. Often big money productions are done about historically important people, impressing audiences with high-tech aspects, but leaving little content to be remembered. In contrast, these two
low-tech videotapes provide content in a manner that can be well remembered.
In earlier years I read about Dora, Wolfman, and other famous cases of Freud. After having observed these two videos, I was significantly intrigued to reread the cases. I was able to develop much more appreciation for the difficulties in developing initial psychoanalytic theories after I had been visually stimulated by the videos. I believe the same will be true of residents, but will be less true for medical students. Neither video can be used to teach how to do therapy because both show Freud bludgeoning his theories into the heads of his patients; however, both videos can be used to discuss how psychoanalysis has advanced from a search for unconscious truths to being a respectful discovery of subjective experience within our patients.
I believe these videos can promote discussion among residents as they learn about the history of psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapies. They are valuable as history lessons because they offer us with overall contexts to understand whence we came and perhaps where we shall journey. I am uncertain how successful these videos will be with medical students, but I certainly
encourage teachers to experimentally present these videos to selected groups of medical students in psychiatric clubs. I believe the videos will be useful to validate the disenchanbnent and dissatisfaction that many of our students have expressed toward psychiatry. As psychiatric educators we should be strong enough to accept that in its early stages of development, psychiatry often was overly intellectual and lacking empathetic attachment. In accepting and owning this history, we can also explain how psychiatry now encompasses more ideas about attachment and neuropsychiatric development. By doing this I believe we can win over more medical students to psychiatry. These videos can certainly help us toward these worthy goals.
These two videos offer visual reinforcements for well-read audiences and offer stimulating introductions for beginning students learning about the beginnings of psychoanalysis and the pioneers who pursued the science and art of these controversial theories and techniques.
"Dora" and "What Means the Dream: Wolfman" are available from Health Sciences Consortium, 201 Silver Cedar Court, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, (919)942-3689.