Psychoanalysis Psychoanalysis is a system of psychology originated by the Viennese physician Sigmund Freud in the 1890's and then further developed by himself, his students, and other followers. It consists of activities such as using methods for research into the human mind, a systematic knowledge about the mind, and a method for the treatment of psychological or emotional disorders. Psychoanalysis began with the discovery of “hysteria,” an illness with physical symptoms that occurred in a completely healthy physical body, such as a numbness or paralysis of a limb, loss of voice, or blindness. This state cou