Sándor Ferenczi: biography of this Hungarian psychoanalyst.

A summary of the life of Sándor Ferenczi, psychoanalyst and direct disciple of Freud.

Ferenczi is one of the first representatives of the school of psychoanalysis, learning directly from Freud himself. Thus, he is one of the most relevant figures in the development of psychotherapy.

In this biography of Sándor Ferenczi we will learn more about the life and work of this author, making a tour of the most important events of his career and discovering what was the legacy he left both in the field of psychology and in other fields of knowledge in which he excelled.

Brief biography of Sándor Ferenczi

Sándor Ferenczi was born in the Hungarian city of Miskolc, in 1873.. It was the eighth birth in the family, and they would complete a dozen children in the Ferenczi marriage. His father was Bernát Ferenczi and his profession consisted of editing and selling books. It was an enriching environment for the children, who had numerous literary works at their fingertips. It was in this way that Sándor came to know the first texts on hypnosis.

Sándor Ferenczi's father passed away when he was practically a child, so he lost his father figure very early. Sándor continued his studies and later entered the faculty of medicine at the University of Vienna in 1890, specializing in psychiatry. Once he had completed his training, he moved to Saint Roch Hospital to begin his work as a psychiatrist around 1894.

During this period as a psychiatrist, he came into contact with various groups who, for various reasons, were victims of great suffering, especially at the psychological level.. He treated elderly patients, prostitutes and homosexuals, who were victims of legal persecution because of their sexual orientation. In fact, Sándor Ferenczi was one of the members of a committee formed by physicians from Austria and Germany to defend the homosexual community from these persecutions to which they were subjected.

Approach to psychoanalysis

Sándor Ferenczi's training as a psychiatrist was far from psychoanalysis and in fact he rejected some of the central ideas of this doctrine, such as the one concerning the interpretation of the psychoanalysis of the psychoanalysis.such as the interpretation of dreams. The reason for this rejection was justified by the lack of a solid scientific basis to support such theories.

However, at a certain point he came into contact with some of the works of Carl Gustav Jung, one of the most important referents of psychoanalysis. After carefully studying some of his publications on free association, he decided to get in touch with this author. This first approach took place at the Burghölzi hospital, where Jung worked.

Once the relationship with Carl Jung was initiated, Sándor Ferenczi also established contact with Sigmund Freud. The affinity between the two authors is high and a good friendship soon develops between them. The year is 1908. Ferenczi experiences firsthand what psychoanalysis therapy entails, being Freud's patient in his office.. Already accepting this trend, Sándor Ferenczi decides to join the Viennese Psychoanalytic Association.

Freud became a sort of father figure to Ferenczi, even referring to him as his beloved son. They spent a lot of time together, even during their vacation periods.

Sigmund Freud mentioned Sándor Ferenczi in an article published in 1914; in it he reflects on the differences between the scientific currents between Austria and Hungary. In the same article Freud emphasizes the immense importance of Ferenczi as a contributor to psychoanalysis, stating that although he is the only representative of this doctrine among Hungarian authors, his worth makes him as if there were a whole society promoting psychoanalysis in Hungary. Such was Freud's affection for him that he included him in his internal committee. included him in his internal committee, a very select group of people known as the Committee of the Seven Rings..

Marriage and new projects

In 1919 Sándor Ferenczi married his wife. She was a woman who was older than him and already had two daughters from a previous marriage. This fact was a problem for the society of the time, but Ferenczi did not mind and decided to consolidate his love through the wedding. Of course, he had to suffer the criticism of many people.

Around this time, Sigmund Freud asked Sándor Ferenczi to head an ambitious project, nothing less than the creation of the International Psychoanalytic Association, taking advantage of the International Psychoanalytic Convention of the same name.taking advantage of the Nuremberg Convention, where numerous authors were to meet. Ferenczi took on this task and strove to make the association a meeting place where there would be freedom and where the clash of megalomaniacal personalities would be avoided.

In fact, there were conflicts, precisely generated by a former patient and follower of Sándor Ferenczi, named Ernest Jones. This Welsh author would change his perspective on Ferenczi so much that he would generate a great controversy, criticizing the work of his former mentor and trying to change his image in the face of Freud and the psychoanalytic community in general.

War and later years

In 1914 the First World War broke out, in which Hungary was involved as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. For this reason, Sándor Ferenczi was called up and assigned to the army. was drafted and assigned to the position of chief medical officer within a battalion.. These years marked the beginning of a generalized crisis in society, which had to adapt to living under very weakened economic conditions.

At this time Sándor Ferenczi also creates the Hungarian Psychoanalytic Society, to continue expanding the doctrines of this current also in his homeland. In fact, he was the president of this association until his death. At the same time, he began to teach psychoanalysis at the University of Budapest, where he received the chair for that purpose..

Sándor Ferenczi's travels to promulgate psychoanalysis also took him to Spain in 1928. This visit allowed him to develop an important conference where he dealt with the learning of psychoanalysis and how this psychological current had the potential to achieve modifications in people's character.

As an outstanding student of Freud, Sándor Ferenczi was in charge of taking his knowledge all over Europe, being faithful to his doctrines. However, in the following years Ferenczi would experience an evolution of these ideas, which would lead him to modify some of the fundamental concepts of psychoanalysis. This turn caused his relationship with Freud and the psychoanalytic community to cool.

In fact, some of Sándor Ferenczi's works could not be published until several years after his death, some of Sándor Ferenczi's works could not be published until several years after his death, as they were subject to a veto by the rest of the psychoanalytic authors, who did not allow the divergence of concepts that Ferenczi had begun to experiment in the last stage of his career.They did not allow the divergence of concepts that Ferenczi had begun to experience in the last stage of his career.

Last years and death

Sándor Ferenczi spent his last years suffering from Bermier's disease or neuro-anemic syndrome.. This ailment generated ascending myelitis, a terminal condition that gradually extinguished him until ending his life on May 22, 1933, at the age of 59.

Ernest Jones, the disciple who years earlier had been at odds with Ferenczi, claimed that Ferenczi suffered from a psychotic disorder. However, other authors, who accompanied Sándor Ferenczi during his last days, denied Jones' assertions and attributed them only to an attempt to discredit the author, thus attacking his work and legacy. This attempt to destroy Sándor Ferenczi's reputation and works was not successful and the rest of his work was published some time later.

In fact, Sándor Ferenczi's work was characterized precisely by an immense empathic capacity towards the patient and a deep feeling of love towards people. His technique was controversial with respect to other authors. Ferenczi shied away from dogmas and on the contrary tried to approach theoretical issues with great freedom.. He also stood out for a very accurate criterion when dealing with the different cases he faced during his career.

In summary, Sándor Ferenczi was an extraordinary author who spread the thought of psychoanalysis both in Austria and Hungary as well as in the rest of Europe, being a key figure for the diffusion of this new school of psychology. His new ideas regarding this school of thought, expressed in his later works, brought him into conflict with some authors. However, Sándor Ferenczi remained true to himself and finally all these works were able to see the light of day, even if it was after his death. Thanks to this today we can know in detail all his contributions to psychoanalysis.

Bibliographical references:

• Aron, L.; Harris, A. (1993). The legacy of Sándor Ferenczi. Analytic Press, Inc.
• Ferenczi, S. (1995). The clinical diary of Sándor Ferenczi. Harvard University Press.
• Freud, S.; Ferenczi, S.; Brabant, E. (1993). The Correspondence of Sigmund Freud and Sándor Ferenczi: 1920-1933. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
• Haynal, A.E. (2002). Disappearing and reviving: Sándor Ferenczi in the history of psychoanalysis. Karnac Books Ltd.
• Rachman, A.W. (1997). Sándor Ferenczi: The psychotherapist of tenderness and passion. Jason Aronson.