Anna Freud

The Life of Anna Freud

Looking back in history an individual would learn that psychology was born in the 1800s, and it built from the foundation of philosophy. During this time psychology was more dominating with men and women were in the homes raising families (Goodwin, 2008). It was not until the late 1800s leading into the early 1900s that women began to emerge in psychology (Goodwin, 2008). Although there are several women in history known for contributing to psychology, Anna Freud made a significant impact to psychology by her own profession of a child psychologist. The purpose of this paper is to describe Anna’s childhood into adulthood and to indentify her theoretical perspectives with her contributions to psychology.

Early Childhood

In Vienna Austria on December 3, 1985, Anna Freud was born to Sigmund Freud and his wife, Martha (Owen, 2001). Anna was the youngest of six children in the Freud family (Cherry, 2011). Annas mother, Martha, did not share a true mother and daughter relationship, and she was not close to her siblings as most loving family was, but she was close to her father (Owen, 2001). Many times Anna was left at home with her father whereas the rest of the family left to enjoy daily trips that evidently became an issue with her siblings (Webster University, n.d.). Anna spent most of her childhood growing up with her father and the help of a nanny (Webster University, n.d.). Anna did obtain a rivalry relationship with her siblings, especially her sister Sophie when it came to seeking attention of her father (Webster University, n.d.). At the age of 14, Anna’s father began to introduce her to psychology and his work of psychoanalysis (Cherry, 2011). Like most children Anna went to school to learn as a child but as she begins working with her father and his colleagues, she claims that learning help increase he knowledge (Goodwin, 2008).

The Beginning

According to Anna’s father she was a lively child and at times she was...