Freud made many important contributions. He invented psychotherapy, and many of his ideas about human nature, such defense mechanisms, are quite insightful. Pe

Freud made many important contributions. He invented psychotherapy, and many of his ideas about human nature, such defense mechanisms, are quite insightful. Perhaps most important is that he was the first to try to think in detail about the psychological development of the infant and child. Freud has gone out of date in part because the science has just moved beyond some of his key ideas. His theory is based on a set of ideas about the mind of the infant that were largely speculative. In recent decades a real empirical science of infant psychology has developed, and it turns out baby's minds are quite a bit different than Freud thought. Psychotherapy has also become much more effective, thanks to methods like cognitive behavioral therapy. In addition, in America the practice of Freudian psychoanalysis was usually restricted to psychiatrists, which made it unavailable to most people. Non-analytic psychotherapy is practiced by psychologists and counselors, and so is far more available. Another factor in this country is that Freud's gloomy and rather authoritarian Middle European philosophy just doesn't fit with the general optimism of Americans.