Any discussion of psychology would necessarily be incomplete without considering Sigmund Freud and his psychoanalytic theory. Because of his importance to psychology, many authors have penned discussions of Freud and his ideas.
Technically, Freud was not a psychologist; he was a neurologist who ultimately influenced generations of psychologists. Psychoanalytic theory has undergone major shifts since its inception, but some psychologists still accept its underlying tenets regarding unconscious processes. However, other psychologists believe that empirical support for Freudian ideas is lacking.
Among the voluminous writings about the man and his ideas, several books provide a fundamental depiction of current understandings of psychoanalytic ideas. Peter Gay’s Freud: A Life for Our Time provides a useful introduction to Freud and his ideas. Gay argues that even though Freud’s theory regarding the human condition is sometimes dark, his ideas merit serious consideration, even among the skeptics who view Freud’s ideas as problematic or nonscientific.
Other volumes have attempted to interpret Freud’s life in psychoanalytic terms. For example, in Freud: An Intellectual Biography, Joel Whitebook explores Freud’s life through the lens of Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis, including the many troubled relationships he had with important figures in his life. In The Late Sigmund Freud: Or, The Last Word on Psychoanalysis, Society, and All the Riddles of Life, Todd Dufresne also explores Freud’s life in psychoanalytic terms, but he extends consideration of Freudian ideas to a cultural level. Such books indicate that psychology specifically and society more generally still hold on to Freudian ideas.
Further, one cannot gain a complete picture of the development of analytical psychology without considering Carl Jung, the one-time heir apparent to Sigmund Freud as head of the psychoanalytic movement. However, Freud regularly ended relationships when others disagreed with him on theoretical grounds, and this happened with Carl Jung, who held different views about the nature of the unconscious and also believed that the sex drive was less important than Freud thought. The disagreements led to the end of their friendship and professional interaction. Two biographies by Dierdre Bair and Frank McLynn—Jung: A Biography and Carl Gustav Jung, respectively—explore Jung’s life and ideas. Many psychologists today do not accord his ideas much validity. For example, the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory, widely used in business set-tings, is based to a degree on Jungian theory and is regarded as pseudoscientific within the discipline.
Freudian theory has undergone significant change since Freud presented the initial postulates. Robert Mendelsohn’s Freudian Thought for the Contemporary Clinician: A Primer on Psychoanalytic Theory outlines the complex nature and applications of the theory as psychologists and psychiatrists view it today.
Freudian thought for the contemporary clinician : a primer on psychoanalytic theory by 
