Gestandniszwang und Strafbedürfnis, Problem der Psychoanalyse und der Kriminologie, Dr. Theodore Reik, signed presentation copy, library stamps for Institute of Psycho-analysis, ex-Libris label for ‘British Psycho Analytical Society, 1925fabric covered with black text,

Gestandniszwang und Strafbedürfnis, Problem der Psychoanalyse und der Kriminologie - The book title is translated in different ways, depending on the source: Compulsory Confession and Punishment / The Compulsion to Confess and the Need for Punishment / The Compulsion to Confess, within this text, Reik explores a person’s need to confess their wrongdoings. This can be seen through unconscious movements and expressions – so-called neurotic symptoms – signifying their repressed desire to confess. Commonly-held beliefs in society about criminal behaviour emerged from this work of Reik’s. For example, many believe that criminals leave behind clues and mistakes leading to their eventual arrest, which is an unconscious expression of their compulsion towards confession. This book is symbolic of how a single work can influence public thought decades later.

Reik, Theodor, (1888-1969) was one of Freud’s first Vienna-based students, where he received his doctorate in Psychology in 1912. Reik is famous within the psychoanalytical community for several reasons. Not only was he the first to write a psychoanalytic dissertation, but he also set up the first psychoanalytical training centre for psychologists (the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis, NPAP). Previously, psychoanalytical training was reserved only for those with an MD. Reik wrote within several psychological fields, including how to listen to clients, the origin of masochism, criminology, literature, and religious rituals and belief.