About this episode
Dr Sian Williams discusses the life and contributions of Anna Freud, a pioneer in child psychology.
Matthew Parris invites a fellow Radio 4 presenter into the studio to nominate a Great Life. Dr Sian Williams, who as well as a broadcaster is a counselling psychologist chooses Anna Freud, daughter of Sigmund and considered by many to be the founder of psychoanalytic child psychology. Anna Freud was born in Vienna in 1895, the youngest child of Sigmund Freud and Martha Bernays. She was brought up in a city alive with pioneering culture and with a father at the forefront of new work in psychoanalysis. Although the youngest of the family, Anna had a close relationship with her father, sitting in on his psychoanalysis meetings from a young age before the conservative limitations of the time lead her into teaching. After the trauma of the 1st World War she started a nursery in VIenna that sought to help the young children of the poorest members of society. With the Anschluss of Austria in 1938 she was arrested by the Gestapo but freed. It was enough to persuade her father, who was dying of cancer, to take the family out of the country. They settled in London but Sigmund died soon after. With the onset of war, and in a completely new environment, Anna rekindled her work with the…
People in this episode
Host: Matthew Parris
Guest: Dr Sian Williams
Topics covered
- psychoanalysis
- child psychology
- historical figures
- war impact
- family dynamics
Keywords
- Anna Freud
- Sigmund Freud
- psychoanalytic child psychology
- Hampstead Nurseries
- Vienna
- World War
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Hampstead Nurseries
Places: Vienna, London
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