Reflection on Psychoanalysis and “Refrigerator Mothers”

Psychoanalysis has always seemed like a huge part of psychology to me, especially before really digging in to all the different theories. I think that as a teen, when I heard of psychology, all I thought about really was psychoanalysis, or the unconscious mind. While I think this theory is interesting, it is not a favorite, and I definitely struggle to see its validity, especially when it comes to Freuds “Id, Ego, and Superego.” When I first heard of Freud in my AP Psych class in high school, I was told that he was the psychologist. Thankfully, I am now more educated and know that Freud is actually frowned upon by many psychologists. How ironic! Regardless, I do think it is important to learn about Freud, Freudian theories, and psychoanalysis in general.

In class last week we watched the film Refrigerator Mothers. It took some time for me to come to terms with that film, as it is a lot to take in, especially as an over empathetic person. Finally, I have reflected on the film enough to share my thoughts. I haven’t done any research on the theory in itself that mothers were the cause of their kids disability, but what I got from the film, the argument was neither reliable or valid. I am curious to how it really started, and how other psychologists were so quick to agree. Given that this stems from the psychoanalytic approach, the psychologists must have believed that there was a part of the mind of autistic children that was not being nurtured. I question how they decided that mothers were the problem, and how they went about “proving” that to the world. 

Far too many people suffered from this sort of misinformation. First and foremost, the mothers of these children must have experienced so much guilt and shame from their peers, their family, and themselves. I am not sure how I would cope with the feeling that I was responsible for someone else’s disability. Watching the mothers in the video explain how they felt was disturbing. Not only did this hinder any improvement for these children, but the mothers were put into psychological stress, only making the situation worse. One part of the film that I could not believe was real was when the moms were told to send their kids off to a camp. They were never told what their kids were doing there, only that it was for their own good. Feeling guilty that they were the issue, they felt obligated to give their kid the help they thought they couldn’t provide themselves.

This is where critical thinking comes in to play. I suppose critical thinking is needed for any aspect of psychology, but it is specifically crucial for psychoanalytic approaches. Misinformation is too common and too harmful still to this day. While the video was hard to watch, I wish more people could open their eyes to moments in history like Refrigerator Mothers. It is a film I will never forget.