Theodor Reik

Theodor Reik (12 May 1888 in Wien - 31 December 1969 in New York City) was a prominent psychoanalyst who trained as one of Freud's first students in Vienna, Austria. Reik received a PhD degree in psychology from the University of Vienna in 1912. His dissertation, a study of Flaubert's Temptation of Saint Anthony, was the first psychoanalytic dissertation ever written. After receiving his doctorate, Reik devoted several years to studying with Freud, who financially supported Reik and his family during his psychoanalytic training. During this time, Reik was analyzed by Karl Abraham. Reik, who was Jewish, emigrated from Austria to the United States in 1938 in flight from Nazism. In 1944, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States