Family Romance, Family Secrets: Case Notes from an American Psychoanalysis, 1912

by Elizabeth Lunbeck, Bennett Simon

This fascinating book, which presents an early psychoanalyst’s session-by-session notes on a case of hysteria caused by severe sexual trauma and incest, offers a vivid portrait of psychoanalytic practice in the second decade of the twentieth century. Accompanying these notes are insightful commentaries by Elizabeth Lunbeck and Bennett Simon that situate the case historically and throw light on the many difficulties that both analyst and patient encountered in the treatment. The book will be of great interest to students of the history of psychoanalysis and other psychological therapies, to those interested in the history of women and gender, and to clinicians struggling with the treatment of severely traumatized patients today.

352 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2002

Reviews

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lunbeck and Simon have published the case notes of a psychoanalytic treatment conducted in Boston between 1912 and 1917. I found the case notes almost unreadable, but the discussion of the notes fascinating. The analyst, using Freud's early trauma theory, probes for repressed memories, the patient obliges and gets worse. It reminded me of the kind of treatments we read about during the recovered memory rage, though the authors don't draw this comparison. there aren't any other other such detailed descriptions of psychoanalytic treatment from this early period. If you're interested in the history of psychiatry, you should read this book.