Books / Psychodynamic & attachment
Studies on Hysteria
By Josef Breuer and Sigmund Freud. The 1895 Viennese clinical monograph introducing the cathartic method, the case of Anna O. and the origins of psychoanalytic psychotherapy.
Book details
Author of listed edition: Josef Breuer and Sigmund Freud
Edition: First German edition (1895), Franz Deuticke (Leipzig and Vienna); Standard Edition Vol. II (1955, Hogarth Press) checked via archive records
Publisher: Franz Deuticke (English Standard Edition by The Hogarth Press)
Edition year: 1895
Original title: Studien über Hysterie
Language and origin: German (Austria)
Form and genre: Clinical & Theoretical Monograph
Level: Intermediate
Historical era: Pre-1919 · Asylum Reform & Early Psychoanalysis
Covers: The preliminary communication on hysterical phenomena, five clinical case histories including Anna O. and Emmy von N., and early chapters on cathartic psychotherapy and transference
APA 7th reference: Breuer, J., & Freud, S. (1895). Studien über Hysterie [Studies on hysteria]. Franz Deuticke.
What it is & historical context
Studies on Hysteria (German original: Studien über Hysterie) is a clinical monograph co-authored by the Viennese physician Josef Breuer and neurologist Sigmund Freud, first published by Franz Deuticke in Leipzig and Vienna in 1895. James and Alix Strachey translated it as Volume II of The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud (Hogarth Press, 1955).
Widely regarded as the starting point of psychoanalysis and psychodynamic therapy, the book captures the transition from hypnotic suggestion and cathartic abreaction toward free association and the analysis of resistance.
Core clinical themes & arguments
The book opens with the 1893 Preliminary Communication, arguing that hysterical symptoms are meaningfully connected to unexpressed affect from traumatic experiences ("hysterics suffer mainly from reminiscences"). It presents five case histories, starting with Breuer’s treatment of "Anna O." (later identified as social reformer Bertha Pappenheim), who coined the phrase "talking cure", followed by Breuer’s theoretical essay and Freud’s concluding chapter on resistance, defence and transference. This entry is based on archival scans and catalogue records.
Questions for critical reading
Where do Breuer’s physiological "hypnoid state" explanation and Freud’s psychological "defence" explanation diverge within the book? How have medical historians re-evaluated the actual clinical outcome of the Anna O. case compared with later psychoanalytic retrospectives?
Who it may suit
Students of psychotherapy history, psychodynamic trainees and general readers interested in how conversational psychotherapy emerged from late nineteenth-century neurology.
Scope & clinical limits
This is an 1895 historical document reflecting nineteenth-century diagnostic categories ("hysteria"), gender assumptions and reconstructed case notes. Modern historical scholarship has shown that Anna O.’s recovery was far more complex than early summaries implied. It has no role as contemporary medical or clinical guidance.
Paired academic and clinical scholarship
Paired work: The Story of "Anna O.": A Critical Review with New Data (Henri F. Ellenberger, 1972)
Reference: Ellenberger, H. F. (1972). The story of "Anna O.": A critical review with new data. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 8(3), 267–279.
Landmark archival reconstruction using Kreuzlingen sanatorium records to document Bertha Pappenheim’s actual clinical course after Josef Breuer’s 1882 treatment.
Source-mapped claims and evidence notes
Claim 1: Published in 1895 in Leipzig and Vienna by Franz Deuticke under the title Studien über Hysterie by Dr. Jos. Breuer and Dr. Sigm. Freud. (Library of Congress item 76454571 and Internet Archive scan studienberhyst00breu) [Source 1: Library of Congress. (1895). Studien über Hysterie, by Josef Breuer and Sigmund Freud (Catalogue record 76454571).]
Claim 2: Contains the 1893 Preliminary Communication, Breuer’s case of Fräulein Anna O. (Bertha Pappenheim), four cases by Freud, a theoretical chapter by Breuer and Freud’s chapter on the psychotherapy of hysteria. (Internet Archive scan of the 1895 edition table of contents) [Source 2: Breuer, J., & Freud, S. (1895). Studien über Hysterie. Franz Deuticke. Internet Archive digital scan.]
Sources and inspection notes
Supports: Pending verification: Authors, German title, 1895 publication date and Franz Deuticke (Leipzig and Vienna) imprint.
Supports: Pending verification: Full 1895 German text structure, Preliminary Communication, five case histories and concluding theoretical and psychotherapy chapters.