Anna Freud Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Anna Freud

Born	3 December 1895 Vienna
Died	9 October 1982 (aged 86) London
Known for	Work on the nature of ego, super-ego, and id
Scientific career
Fields	Psychoanalysis
Influences	Sigmund Freud

Anna Freud (born December 3, 1895 – died October 9, 1982) was an important person in the field of psychoanalysis. She was the sixth and last child of the famous Sigmund Freud, who was also a well-known psychoanalyst.

Anna was born in Vienna, Austria. She decided to follow in her father's footsteps. She made big contributions to understanding how our minds work.

Along with another expert named Melanie Klein, Anna Freud is seen as a founder of child psychology. This means she helped create the study of how children's minds develop. Her father even said that child analysis got a huge boost from their work. Anna Freud focused on the "ego," which is the part of our mind that helps us deal with the real world and learn social skills.

Key Moments in Her Life
Personal Life
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Key Moments in Her Life

Anna Freud had a bit of a tough childhood. Later, her own father, Sigmund Freud, helped her through psychoanalysis. After this, in 1922, she became a psychoanalyst herself.

She started teaching at the Vienna Psychoanalytic Training Institute. There, she taught others how to work with children using psychoanalysis. From 1925 to 1934, she was the Secretary of the International Psychoanalytical Association. She kept working with children and led many workshops and meetings.

Moving to London

In 1938, the Freud family had to leave Vienna because of the Anschluss. They moved to London, England. Sigmund Freud was very ill with cancer at this time. Anna took care of the household.

In London, Anna had some professional disagreements with Melanie Klein. Melanie Klein was already a well-known child psychologist in London. The British Psychoanalytical Society held a series of "controversial discussions." These talks were about different ideas and ways of training. In the end, they agreed that both groups of ideas could exist within the Society. Today, the Society has three training groups: Kleinian, Freudian, and Independent.

Helping Children During Wartime

During World War II, Anna Freud studied how children were affected when they were separated from their parents. She opened a special center for young children who were victims of the war. It was called "The Hampstead War Nursery." Here, children received foster care. Their mothers were encouraged to visit them as often as possible.

In 1947, Anna Freud and Kate Friedlaender started the Hampstead Child Therapy Courses. Five years later, they added a clinic just for children. Anna Freud also began giving many lectures on child psychology.

Later Life and Legacy

From the 1950s until she passed away, Anna Freud often traveled to the United States. She gave lectures, taught, and visited friends. In the 1970s, she focused on helping children who were emotionally struggling or had difficult social backgrounds. She even taught classes at Yale Law School about crime and families.

Anna Freud died in London on October 9, 1982. She was cremated, and her ashes were placed next to her parents' ancient Greek funeral urn. Her close friend Dorothy Burlingham and other family members also rest there.