Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is a means of understanding human thought and emotions, as well as potentially treating malfunctions, originating with the work of Sigmund Freud. A neurologist by training, he saw symptomatology that could not be explained by the neurobiology of the time. Part of the reason psychoanalysis is sometimes considered prescientific, or even pseudoscience, is the much greater modern understanding of neurosciences. Nevertheless, he did examine how what he termed conscious and unconscious thinking could affect a patient's world view.

A broader view today bases psychodynamic psychotherapy on principles derived from psychoanalysis.