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This essay critically examines Sigmund Freud's use of psychoanalysis in the treatment of obsessional neurosis, as demonstrated in his famous case study of the "Rat Man." Obsessional neurosis, now referred to as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), involves obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors that significantly impair one's daily functioning. Freud believed that by making the unconscious conscious through psychoanalysis, patients could gain insight into their repressed emotions, memories, and experiences driving their symptoms.
The case of the "Rat Man" provides a compelling example of Freud applying psychoanalytic techniques. The patient, a young man, suffered from disturbing obsessive thoughts and rituals revolving around the