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Sigmund Freud used the case study of 'Anna O.' (Bertha Pappenheim) to illustrate the principles of his psychoanalytic theory. She presented with odd physical and psychological symptoms, such as an inability to drink fluids, which Freud attributed to a repressed memory of a dog drinking from a glass. He claimed that recalling this event and expressing the repressed emotion under hypnosis cured her symptom. While the case effectively illustrates psychoanalytic concepts, it lacks evidentiary value for the theory because it is impossible to verify if the repression caused the symptom or if recalling the trauma led to the cure.

Case Study of Anna O.

A famous early case study described a patient who could not drink fluids, and the therapist attributed this symptom to a repressed memory. After the patient recalled the memory under hypnosis, the symptom reportedly disappeared. Why does this case study lack evidentiary value for the theory it was meant to support?

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