Josef Breuer and Sigmund Freud presented “Mental Catharsis” as a new method of investigating and treatment of hysterical symptoms. They described it in their book “Studies in Hysteria“, published in 1895.

Breuer and Freud found that  symptoms subsided when , (the patient under hypnosis) they had succeeded awakening the memories with its accompanying affect, and the patient discussed the emotionally traumatic situation and gave verbal expression to that affect.

((Edited by María Moya Guirao, MD)