Anna Freud
December 3, 1895 - October 10, 1982
Contribution to Psychology
After high school, Anna Freud worked as an elementary school teacher and began translating some of her father's works into German, increasing her interest in Child Psychology and psychoanalysis. While she was heavily influenced by her father's work, she was far from living in his shadow. Her own work expanded upon her father's ideas, but also created the field of child psychoanalysis.
Anna Freud created the field of child psychoanalysis and her work contributed greatly to our understanding of child psychology. She also developed different techniques to treat children. Freud noted that children’s symptoms differed from those of adults and were often related to developmental stages. She also provided clear explanations of the ego's defense mechanisms in her book The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense (1936).
Interesting Fact: Anna Freud killed her father Sigmund Freud by Euthanasia
Child Psychoanalysis is important to this day, because psychologist record and study the minds of children and use the method that Anna Freud discovered. She discovered her theory in the act of studying her father Sigmund Freud's work and in her own way created Child Psychoanalysis