Father Knows Best

The authors take a revolutionary look at the most famous of Sigmund Freud's cases and make significant connections between "Dora" and therapeutic relationships in the 1990s. In their careful examination of the case history, Lakoff and Coyne demonstrate that while much of Freud's method has changed, the basic relationship between therapist and client, their power relations, and the consequences thereof, remain intrinsically unaltered. The authors raise difficult and important questions about the nature of gender differences and the roles men and women play, the use and misuse of science, and the relation of content to form and context. Ultimately, the book aims to challenge the very basis of psychoanalysis itself. It also hopes to serve as a truly feminist critique and as an eloquent argument for those therapeutic methods that hold most promise for women. While traditional interpretations of "Dora" have focused on the patient's hysteria and the skill with which Freud uncovered the factors underlying the condition, little of the literature about this case has challenged the assumptions of psychoanalysis.
However, through the linguistic approach, the authors show how the communicative strategies within this process create and reinforce an imbalance of power. "Father Knows Best" should be of interest to students and professors of Women's Studies, linguistics, sociolinguistics, psychology of women, sociology of women, sex roles, and communications.