28. He Believed Mental Disorders Could Be Treated and Even Healed
Prior to Freud, people who were mentally ill usually spent their entire lives locked away in a sanatorium or, if they were wealthy enough, under the constant care of a private nurse who administered enough drugs to keep them in a zombie-like state. Freud introduced the idea that with therapy (usually involving psychoanalysis), people with mental illnesses could be treated and even healed. This was one of his most important contributions.
