Theodor Reik And The Division Between Psychoanalysis And Medicine

Theodor Reik was not only an eminent psychoanalyst, author of important writings and acute reflections, but he also favored a decisive change in the history of psychoanalysis. His case made it possible that analytic practice was not reserved only for doctors.

A Theodor Reik  will have significant contributions to psychoanalytic theory. He particularly worked on the so-called “disturbing event”, an aspect that is part of Sigmund Freud’s thoughts on the “ominous event”. But he also studied the concept of voluntary criminals, i.e. those who break the law with the unconscious goal of wanting to be punished.

In total, Theodor Reik wrote over 100 texts, including essays and books. Among his best-known works are  The Impulse to Confess , The Unknown Assassin and Masochism in Modern Man . Unfortunately, in life he did not obtain the important success that he achieved only posthumously, decades after his death.

Theodor Reik, his early years

Like most psychoanalysts of that time, Theodor Reik came from a Jewish family. His was of modest descent and of Austrian origin. Reik was born in Vienna on May 12, 1888. During his childhood he witnessed several conflicts between his father and grandfather, one free thinker and the other almost fanatic religious.

Reik’s mother was emotionally unstable. He suffered from severe depression, an aspect that profoundly marked the childhood of the future psychoanalyst. When he was 18, his father died. This forced him to work to support his family and this situation caused him a crisis of anguish, with tremendous self-accusations and self-mortifications.

Despite numerous difficulties, he obtained a degree in philosophy and literature. He wrote his thesis on  The Temptation of St. Anthony , a work by Gustave Flaubert. His studies and his emotional concerns brought him closer to psychoanalytic theory and he thus had the opportunity to get to know Sigmund Freud personally and a very special bond was born between them.

Theodor Reik, Freud’s putative son

Sigmund Freud refused to psychoanalyze Theodor Reik, whom he entrusted to one of the followers of his circle, Karl Abraham. Freud himself paid for his psychoanalysis out of his own pocket and went much further. He took him under his protection and sent him a monthly allowance to cover his expenses. Reik, who soon began working as a psychoanalyst, encountered many problems in pursuing his profession as he was not a doctor.

It was at that time that he began to collaborate on Freud’s projects, in particular by analyzing the theme of the so-called “scary event”. His contributions were well received and recorded in two important documents on the subject, one published in 1924 and another in 1929.

The relationship between Theodor Reik and Freud was so strong that even in the Viennese circle he jokingly called him “Freud-like”. This is because Reik dressed like Freud, wore the same beard cut, spoke using the same expressions and smoked cigars. Freud, for his part, recognized the lack of a father figure in his disciple and accepted him as a putative son.

Psychoanalysis separates itself from medicine

In 1925 a famous trial broke out against Theodor Reik. He was forbidden to practice psychoanalysis as he did not have a medical degree. This case caused a great deal of controversy in the psychoanalytic movement. Part of the American milieu was against the idea that non-doctors could practice psychoanalytic practices. Another sector, of European roots, accepted that analytic practice could also be implemented by “laymen”.

The controversy led Sigmund Freud to publish an article on  the subject and the debate took on important dimensions. Reik decided to settle in Berlin, convinced that he could practice psychoanalysis there. However, the arrival of the Nazis forced him to emigrate first to the Netherlands and then to the United States.

American psychoanalysts never accepted him as one of their own. This led Theodor Reik to develop the thesis of the “third ear”, according to which the psychoanalyst works using his intuition, the axis of his countertransference work. Reik died of heart problems on December 31, 1969.