An exhilarating study of the pioneers of psychotherapy, combining historical sweep with insight into the thinkers that first dared to map the subconscious.

What is a human being? Where does neurosis begin? Is sexual desire truly the engine of thought? Can fear, trauma and depression ever be cured? And what, by the way, is the meaning of life? 

In this vivid and gripping account, psychologist Steve Ayan takes us back to fin-de-siècle Vienna, where a bold new idea was born: that psychotherapy could heal the mind. This is the enthralling story of how Freud, Jung, Adler, and their contemporaries revolutionised the way we understand ourselves - giving rise to psychotherapy, a field that would forever reshape Western culture. 

With captivating storytelling and deep insight, Ayan unpacks the dreams, rivalries, and obsessions of these early visionaries. More than simply a historical account, this book explores the lasting legacy of their work, revealing how the promise of personal transformation became a modern fixture of society - and how the questions they raised still echo in our lives today.