In this regard, Demorest concludes that, "Together these and other theorists have provided accounts of what it means to be a person that all fit within the psychodynamic paradigm, a perspective that holds a vision of people as at their core driven by dynamic forces in their unconscious minds" (2005, p. 3).
Freud's influence on psychoanalytic thought, though, required some time to take hold and many of his methods were rejected outright by the contemporary medical establishment, particularly in the United States. For example, following Freud's only trip to North America in 1909, one psychiatrist believed that, "Many patients were psychotically disturbed and deemed to be beyond the reach of Freud's intellectual 'talk therapy'" (Beam, 2001, p. 94). Not only did others think that Freud's methods were not appropriate for some patients, Freud himself acknowledged their limitations. In fact, Beam points out as well that, "Freud himself thought most schizophrenics dwelled well beyond the reach of psychoanalysis" (2001, p. 124). Interestingly, Beam also cites correspondence from Freud that shows he was "annoyed" by schizophrenic patients, an attribute Freud acknowledges was inconsistent with his role as a psychiatrist (Beam, 2001).
Following a lengthy career that was marked by controversy and innovation, Freud barely escaped from Germany to England (with the Nazis hard on his heels, too -- they even burned his books) in 1938 where he died a year later at the age of 83 years (Demorest, 2005). In the 70 or so years since, Freud has certainly not been forgotten and his legacy is vast. According to Demorest, "His impact on contemporary thought is enormous, as his ideas have spread from the field of psychology to the arts and humanities and the lay culture" (2005, p. 66). This lasting impact is due in large part to the holistic approach that Freud introduced that took a number of factors into...
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