32. Freud Observed Another Doctor Treat Patients With Talk Therapy
Josef Breuer was a physician at Vienna General Hospital who treated a patient, known only as Anna O., who had bouts of hysteria. To help her, he encouraged her to talk freely about her past traumatic experiences and how they affected her today. The more she spoke, the more her symptoms subsided. Freud was fascinated and used Breuer’s methods in his own psychoanalysis and psychotherapy.