Paula Heimann (née Klatzko; 2 February 1899 – 22 October 1982) was a German
psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...
and
psychoanalyst
PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: + . is a set of Theory, theories and Therapy, therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a bo ...
, who established the phenomenon of
countertransference
Countertransference
is defined as redirection of a psychotherapist's feelings toward a client – or, more generally, as a therapist's emotional entanglement with a client.
Early formulations
The phenomenon of countertransference (german: G ...
as an important tool of
psychoanalytic treatment.
Life in Germany
Born into a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family which migrated from
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, after studying medicine in
Königsberg
Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...
,
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, and
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
, Paula Klatzko took and passed her ''
Staatsexamen
The ("state examination" or "exam by state"; pl.: ''Staatsexamina'') is a German government licensing examination that future physicians, dentists, teachers, pharmacists, food chemists, psychotherapists and jurists (i.e., lawyers, judges, public ...
'' (state exams) in
Breslau. There she met her future husband, the physician
Franz Heimann. Together they went to
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
where she trained to be a psychiatrist from 1924–1927. She wrote her
doctoral dissertation
A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...
in 1925. Their daughter Mirza was born that same year. In 1927, the Heimann family moved to Berlin, where she began her psychoanalytic training under
Theodor Reik
Theodor Reik (; 12 May 1888, in Vienna, Austria – 31 December 1969, in New York) was a psychoanalyst who trained as one of Freud's first students in Vienna, Austria, and was a pioneer of lay analysis in the United States.
Education and career
...
in 1929. Together with her husband she was a member of the International Society of Doctors Against War.
Emigration and work in the United Kingdom
In 1933, Heimann's husband had to leave Germany because of his political views. He emigrated to
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
; however, Paula Heimann and her daughter were not permitted to do so. Thus mother and daughter emigrated to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
In 1934 Heimann became
Melanie Klein
Melanie Klein (née Reizes; 30 March 1882 – 22 September 1960) was an Austrian-British author and psychoanalyst known for her work in child analysis. She was the primary figure in the development of object relations theory. Klein suggested tha ...
's secretary. In 1935 they started working together on analysis and became close associates. She passed the state medical examination in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
in 1938. That year she became a member of the
British Psychoanalytical Society
The British Psychoanalytical Society was founded by the British neurologist Ernest Jones as the London Psychoanalytical Society on 30 October 1913. It is one of two organizations in Britain training psychoanalysts, the other being the British P ...
with her lecture ''A contribution to the problem of
sublimation''. Her article ''On counter-transference'', presented at the Psychoanalytical Congress in 1949 in Zurich, led to a rift with the
Kleinian group of analysts because she presented a different view of the importance of countertransference. Melanie Klein saw it only as a problem of the therapeutic process. Paula Heimann, however, saw the
emotion
Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...
al reaction of the therapist to their patient as an important tool for the exploration of the latter's
unconscious
Unconscious may refer to:
Physiology
* Unconsciousness, the lack of consciousness or responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli
Psychology
* Unconscious mind, the mind operating well outside the attention of the conscious mind a ...
. She then turned to the
Independents group
[Rayner, Eric, ]
The British Independents: A Brief History
'', British Psychoanalytical Society, 2000 and was
Margarete Mitscherlich's analyst during 1958–59.
Alexander Mitscherlich also underwent
training analysis
A training analysis is a psychoanalysis undergone by a candidate (perhaps a physician with specialty in psychiatry or a psychologist) as a part of her/his training to be a psychoanalyst; the (senior) psychoanalyst who performs such an analysis is ...
with her.
Works
*
* ''About Children and Children-No-Longer'', HG: Margaret Tonnesmann, Vol 10. In ''The New Library of Psychoanalysis'', Published by
Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...
(Taylor & Francis Group) 1990,
* ''Bemerkungen zur Sublimierung'' ("Comments on sublimation"). In ''Psychologie des Ich'' ("Psychology of the self"), Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1974
Notes
References
* Simone Zimansl: ''Paula Heimann''. In Gerhard Stumm (Ed.), ''Personenlexikon der Psychotherapie'' ("Encyclopedia of Psychotherapists"). Vienna / New York 2005, p. 207 f.,
* Pearl King
''Paula Heimann's quest for her own identity as a psychoanalyst: an introductory memoir''* Rolnik, E.J. (2008). “Why is it that I See Everything Differently?” Reading a 1933 Letter from Paula Heimann to Theodor Reik. J. Amer. Psychoanal. Assn., 56(2):409–430
External links
*
Biography and list of works
*
ttps://doi.org/10.1007%2F3-211-29396-5_116 Biography in ''Personenlexikon der Psychotherapie'' ("Encyclopedia of Psychotherapists")
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heimann, Paula
1899 births
1982 deaths
British Jews
British psychiatrists
British women psychiatrists
British psychoanalysts
German psychiatrists
German psychoanalysts
Heidelberg University alumni
Object relations theorists
German women psychiatrists
20th-century German Jews