Abreaction

Abreaction is a psychoanalytical term for reliving an experience in order to purge it of its emotional excesses; a type of catharsis. In the early years of psychoanalysis such discharge of emotional energy as repressed memories become conscious was regarded as a principle therapeutic agent. Abreaction can occur spontaneously or during psychotherapy or hypnosis. Josef Breuer developed the procedure from 1980 onwards and along with Freud named it in 1893.

Early in his career, psychoanalyst Carl Jung expressed interest in abreaction, or what he referred to as "trauma theory", but later found it had limitations concerning the treatment of neurosis. Jung stated that: "though traumata of clearly aetiological significance were occasionally present, the majority of them appeared very improbable. Many traumata were so unimportant, even so normal, that they could be regarded at most as a pretext for the neurosis. But what especially aroused my criticism was the fact that not a few traumata were simply inventions of fantasy and had never happened at all".

Jung believed that the skill, devotion and self-confidence regarding the way the analyst did his work was much more important to the patient than the rehashing of old traumatic emotions.

Papers

 * Collective Works of C.G. Jung; Some Crucial Points in Psychoanalysis: Jung-Loy Correspondence (1914)
 * Breuer,J & Freud,S (1893) On the Psychical Mechanism of Hysterical Phenomena: Preliminary Communication. Standard edition, II. p3-17.

Papers

 * Google Scholar