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History of Modern Psychology: Anna Freud

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Male visionaries dominated in the philosophical contributions to the psychology as a formal discipline; however, many prominent women pioneered major roles in psychology history between 1850 and 1950 (Goodwin, 2005). Freud Sigmund was not only among the Freudian to build credibility in psychology field, this is because Anna Freud-her youngest daughter took career in psychology and made important contributions in the history of psychology. The paper will discuss the background of Anna, her theoretical perspective, and the contributions she made to the field of psychology.
Anna’s Background
Martha and Sigmund had six children, the youngest was Anna born in December 1895. Anna was a mischievous girl who had great admiration the work of her …show more content…

Ego psychology usually represents the followers of Anna and Sigmund Freud teachings (Coles, 1992). Present day ego psychology is loyal to Freud’s work with a foundation of psychoanalysis, although it is more ordinary and practical of the ego in the application of psychoanalysis. Anna Freud mentored Erikson Erik, who is popular for his expansion works in ego psychology field and psychoanalysis (Goodwin, 2005). The mentorship of Anna influence Erik professional and academic career in psychology. Anna and Erik when he was tutoring children in Heitzing School managed by Dorothy Burlingham, a longtime friend of Anna. Anna saw the skillful manner of Erikson with the children and showed her interest in guiding Erik to study more regarding child psychology.
According to Young-Bruehl, (1988) the main passion of Anna was child psychology. Anna devoted most her energy and time analyzing and studying children suffering traumas, majorly from the effects of the war. Most of the children were predisposed to lasting traumas, while others were blind or handicapped. Anna normally stated that she was happy she did not have her own children, despite the years on her life she devoted to help children she barely knew. Sigmund had focused entirely on adults

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