Maud Mannoni facts for kids
Maud Mannoni (born Magdalena Van der Spoel; October 23, 1923 – March 15, 1998) was a French psychoanalyst. She was originally from Belgium. Maud Mannoni married Octave Mannoni and became a very important person in the Lacanian movement. This movement was a way of understanding the human mind.
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Life Story
Maud Mannoni was born in Kortrijk, a city in Belgium. She spent her early childhood in a country called Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Later, she studied criminology at Brussels University. Criminology is the study of crime and criminals.
After her studies, she began training to become a psychoanalyst. This training helps people understand how the mind works. In 1949, she moved to France. There, she married Octave Mannoni.
In Paris, she met other important psychoanalysts. These included Françoise Dolto and Jacques Lacan. She supported Lacan during difficult times in his work. Her husband, Octave, and other friends also supported him.
Understanding Children with Challenges
Jacques Lacan once spoke highly of Maud Mannoni's book. The book was called The Retarded Child and the Mother. In this book, she wrote about children facing developmental challenges. She believed these children had trouble separating their own feelings from their mother's.
Maud Mannoni thought that a child's problems could come from the mother's unspoken feelings. She felt that sometimes, a child might not be seen as a person with their own wishes. Instead, they might be seen as just a part of the mother.
Starting in 1964, Maud Mannoni had a big impact in France. Her ideas helped many parents, teachers, and therapists. She taught them new ways to understand and help children. She passed away in Paris.
The Child's Own Voice
Maud Mannoni talked about two kinds of speech in children. She called them parole pleine (full speech) and parole vide (empty speech).
- Empty speech is when a child uses words that are not truly their own. It's like they are just repeating what their parents think or want.
- Full speech is when a child speaks from their heart. It means they are sharing their own real thoughts and feelings.
She believed that parents can sometimes prevent a child from truly expressing themselves. This happens when parents' expectations are too strong. Every child is born into a family with existing ideas. But sometimes, these ideas can stop a child from finding their own voice. It can stop them from living their own life.
Special Centers and New Ideas
Maud Mannoni focused on helping children with mental health challenges. In 1969, she started a special school. It was called the school of Bonneuil-sur-Marne. This place was a community where children with autism and psychosis could live.
She was inspired by new ideas in mental health care. These ideas suggested different ways to help people, not just traditional hospitals. Bonneuil became a very important place. It was known for using many different ways to help children. It also did not follow old rules about treatment. In 1975, it became a day hospital.
Mannoni also helped create "A Place to Live and Hospitality" (LVA). These were small support centers for people needing help. By 2007, there were 446 of these centers.
Wider Influence
After Jacques Lacan passed away, his movement became less unified. Maud Mannoni helped bring people together. She was able to do this because she kept her membership in an international psychoanalysis group.
She combined Lacan's ideas with those of another famous psychoanalyst, D. W. Winnicott. This mix of ideas helped many more people learn about child development.
Looking at Literature
Maud Mannoni also looked at the life of the writer Edgar Allan Poe. She believed that the early death of his mother greatly affected his writings. She thought this event was key to the dark and romantic style of his stories.
See also
In Spanish: Maud Mannoni para niños
- Narcissistic abuse
- Parentification
