Anna's Treatment Room

Starting in early 1921, Anna Freud used this larger room as her study, and in 1923, she also opened her psychoanalytic practice here.

During the mid-1920s, Anna Freud regularly invited colleagues to Saturday eve ning gatherings to discuss psychoanalytic, educational, and social issues.

Anna Freud treated both children and adults in her practice. Her published lectures reveal that the furnishings of the room were sometimes integrated into the analytic process — for example, a patterned carpet or a table under which a ten-year-old patient regularly took refuge. As in Freud’s practice, there was also a tiled stove beside the couch in this room, which has survived the decades at Berggasse. Additionally, there were two bookshelves and an extra bookcase designed by Felix Augenfeld, as well as a Japanese storage cabinet, and a seating area with handmade blankets. On her desk, as on the desk of her father, stood a small collection of antiques; above the couch hung a portrait of her father — currently, the same spot is occupied by an etching by Ferdinand Schmutzer.

Anna Freud’s correspondence with Lou Andreas-Salomé reveals that her German Shepherd, Wolf, was present during analytic sessions. (Sigmund Freud, who acquired dogs starting in 1928, also allowed their presence during his psychoanalytic sessions — perhaps following his daughter’s example.)

As is visible in the remnants of the molding, the wallpaper did not extend to the ceiling but is in the same shade of red as in Sigmund Freud’s consultation room. On the ceiling there are remnants of a mural dating to the time of the building’s construction and remnants of a twentieth-century painting applied atop it.

As is visible in the remnants of the molding, the wallpaper did not extend to the ceiling, but is in the same shade of red as in Sigmund Freud’s consultation room. On the ceiling there are remnants of a mural dating from the time of the building’s construction as well as the remnants of a later painting from the twentieth-century painting applied on top of the earlier work.