Dora (case study)

Ida Bauer (1882–1945) was a hysterical patient of Sigmund Freud whom he wrote a famous case study about using the psuedonym 'Dora'. Dora's most manifest hysterical symptom was aphonia (loss of voice).

'Dora' remains one of Freud's most famous cases, and is often discussed in feminist circles because instead of taking Freud's advice, she rejected his speculations, broke off her therapy and chose instead to confront her tormentors (her father, his lover and his lover's husband). When confronted, her tormentors confessed that she had been right all along, and had not imagined their affairs and motivations.

Though Freud was disappointed with the results of the case, he considered it an important study in the phenomenon of transference.

Freud gave her the name 'Dora' after a maid working in the Freud house by the same name.