Selected Papers on Psychoanalysis

Covering a wide range of topics, the collection consists of twenty-six papers and essays published over a period of two decades. Readers of this book are thus enabled to trace the analyst's development, in which his scientific approach is evident throughout, from his earliest papers through to his last works.First published in 1927 in the International Psychoanalytical Library, Karl Abraham's Selected Papers on Psychoanalysis has since established itself as on of the seminal works essential to the training of workers in the psychoanalytic field. Includes Abraham's classic paper A Short Study of the Development of the Libido.

Karl Abraham can be considered one of Sigmund Freud's most creative and devoted disciples, and has been one of the most important voices in the development of psychoanalysis. Despite dying young, his key works provide an invaluable contribution to psychoanalysis as one of its most influential founding fathers.In 1907, he had his first contact with Freud, with whom he developed a lifetime relationship. Returning to Germany, he founded the Berliner Society of Psychoanalysis in 1910. He was the president of the International Psychoanalytical Association from 1914 to 1918 and again in 1925. Abraham collaborated with Freud on the understanding of manic-depressive illness, leading to Freud's paper on 'Mourning and Melancholia' in 1917. He was the analyst of Melanie Klein during 1924-1925, and of a number of other British psychoanalysts, including Edward Glover, James Glover, and Alix Strachey. He was a mentor for an influential group of German analysts, including Karen Horney, Helene Deutsch, and Franz Alexander. His key works cover the areas of the development of child sexuality and its relation to mental disorders, the development of the libido, cultural issues including work on various myths suggesting their relation to dreams (1909), as well as writing an interpretation of the spiritual activities of the Egyptian monotheistic Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (1912).Described by Freud himself as his "best pupil", his work is increasingly recognised for its importance in the development of psychoanalysis.