What is this Professor Freud Like? - A Patient's Diary and Analysis

In this review of What is this Professor Freud Like? the reviewer finds a compact, intensely personal volume that will interest historians, clinicians and serious readers of psychoanalysis. The book's standout feature is the translated diary of a young female patient who recorded sessions with Sigmund Freud word by word, offering a rare first-person account of therapy before Freud's illness. This review argues the volume is most valuable as a historical document and as raw material for interpretation, rather than a general introduction to psychoanalytic technique.

Key Features

• Direct patient account: The diary offers an unusual primary-source perspective because it records an actual analysand's notes from sessions, making the material vivid and immediate for readers.
• Full translation: The volume contains a complete English translation of the diary, allowing non-specialist readers direct access to the original observations without relying on secondary summaries.
• Contextual essays: Four essays by two psychoanalysts and two analytical historians help frame the diary, providing interpretive angles that connect individual notes to broader historical questions.
• Historical timing: The analysis took place before Freud fell ill with cancer, which gives the record particular significance for scholars tracing the development of his practice and persona.
• Unique provenance: Because the document is not a training analysis but an analysis of a patient, it holds special value for social scientists and historians of medicine.

Who It's For

The book suits readers with an interest in the history of psychoanalysis, psychologists and social scientists who want a primary account of early clinical practice, and graduate students seeking source material for research or seminar discussion. Clinicians curious about historical case material will also find the diary stimulating because it supplies verbatim patient notes rather than retrospective summaries.

Readers seeking a gentle popular introduction to Freud's theories or a systematic guide to psychoanalytic technique should look elsewhere; the book is archival and interpretive rather than a primer. Casual readers without interest in primary documents or academic context may find the format dense.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Provides a rare verbatim patient diary that sheds light on therapeutic interaction from the analysand's point of view.
• Includes a full translation so non-original-language readers can engage directly with the material.
• Supplementary essays give multiple professional perspectives that enrich historical interpretation.

Cons

• The book is archival and academic in tone, which limits its appeal for readers seeking an accessible overview of psychoanalysis.

Specifications

Title	What is this Professor Freud Like?
Series	The History of Psychoanalysis Series
Author / Editor	Anna Koellreuter
Contents	Full translation of a patient's diary plus four essays
Subject focus	History of psychoanalysis, clinical case material
Document type	Primary-source diary and analytical essays

Our Verdict

For historians, psychologists and serious students of psychoanalysis this volume is an invaluable primary source that adds texture to Freud studies; its combination of a verbatim patient diary and expert essays makes it good value as both evidence and commentary. Readers seeking a narrative biography or textbook treatment of Freud should consider other introductions, but scholars will appreciate the document's unique provenance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the book include the diary in English?
Yes, the volume contains a full English translation of the analysand's diary so readers can access the text directly.

Are there expert commentaries included?
Yes, the book collects four essays by two psychoanalysts and two analytical historians who discuss the diary and its implications.

Is this a training case or a patient analysis?
The diary records the analysis of an actual patient, not a training analysis, which is one reason the document is historically significant.