"OTTO RANK AND THE MOBSTER"
In the twenties, Psychoanalysis had much more prestige in America than in Vienna itself where it was conceived. In particular, the New York Psychoanalytic Society had so many members that it was said that half of New Yorkers were engaged in psychoanalysis and the other half attended their practice. However, most psychoanalysts lacked first-hand information about the theoretical bases and procedures to follow in psychoanalytic therapy. For example, the use of hypnosis was abused, and even the knowledge about it was incomplete: they knew how to induce the hypnotic state in the patient, but they were unaware of the way to get him out (which was used by unscrupulous politicians to guarantee the vote). When Freud learned of these shortcomings, commissioned Otto Rank to travel to New York with the mission of bringing order to the New York Psychoanalytic Society. Rank was fascinated by the skyscrapers. When he walked down the street he was always looking up, which several times was about to ...