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.
