A Macat Analysis of The Interpretation of Dreams

Sigmund Freud, "the father of psychoanalysis," was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1856. He studied medicine at the University of Vienna before opening a private practice in his hometown. His work with physician Josef Breuer on treating nervous disorders led to a book, Studies on Hysteria. Freud built on that—as well as on his work with private patients and analysis of his own dreams—to formulate the psychological theories he laid out in The Interpretation of Dreams. The text made him a celebrity, but it also revolutionized the treatment of mental illness. Just before Nazi Germany annexed Austria in 1938, Freud (who was Jewish) fled to England with his family. He died in London the following year at the age of 83.