Sigmund Freud and the History of Anna O.: Re-Opening a Closed Case

Anna O. was the famous 'first patient' of psychoanalysis whose treatment paved the way for Freud's subsequent work. But in recent years many historians of psychoanalysis have come to view this case as a failure and have therefore cast doubt on the very foundations of psychoanalysis itself. This new and detailed study provides an unparalleled review of the available evidence on the case and reaches new conclusions about its outcome which pose a radical challenge to existing historical scholarship.