Professor Brett Kahr

Although Sigmund Freud pioneered the theory and practice of depth psychology, based predominantly on his work with neurotic patients, especially those struggling with hysteria and with obsessive-compulsive disorders, the concept of neurosis has become increasingly marginalised within the fields of psychiatry, psychopathology and, even psychoanalysis itself. In this seminar, Professor Brett Kahr will review the classical foundations of the theories of hysteria and obsessive-compulsive illness and will argue for the importance of a detailed understanding of these ongoingly important characterological states. We shall begin by exploring Freud’s original work on the Studien uber Hysterie – the Studies on Hysteria – co-authored by Dr. Josef Breuer, as well as his exploration of the famous case of the obsessional “Rat Man”. We shall then consider more recent psychodynamic investigations of these foundational mental states.

About the Speaker

Professor Brett Kahr has worked in the mental health profession for over forty years. He is Senior Fellow at the Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology in London and, also, Senior Clinical Research Fellow in Psychotherapy and Mental Health at the Centre for Child Mental Health. A Consultant Psychotherapist at The Balint Consultancy and a Consultant in Psychology to The Bowlby Centre, he is also a Trustee of the Freud Museum London and of Freud Museum Publications.