Author: Psychoanalysts explore HYSTERICAL at NYU

On May 8, 2015 the Post-Doctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis at New York University hosted a colloquium about Rebecca Coffey's fact-based novel, HYSTERICAL: Anna Freud's Story. Anna Freud (1895-1982) was one of the world's early specialists in child psychology. She was the youngest of Sigmund Freud's six children. Anna came of age during a time when many women who showed signs of excess emotion were diagnosed as hysterical. Some were treated with tranquilizers. Some were given "corrective" surgery on their ovaries or genitalia. Women who masturbated or who enjoyed sex with other women were often diagnosed as hysterical. The novel HYSTERICAL imagines Anna's dilemma as Sigmund Freud's smartest and (most probably) lesbian daughter. More information about the novel is at HystericalTheNovel.com