Sylvia May Payne (née Moore; 6 November 1880 – 30 May 1976) was one of the pioneers of

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and 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 body of knowledge. In what might b ...

in the United Kingdom.

Early life

Born as Sylvia May Moore in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

, London, the daughter of Rev. Edward William Moore and his wife Letitia. Her father was incumbent of Brunswick Chapel and an adherent of the

Higher Life movement The Higher Life movement, also known as the Keswick movement or Keswickianism, is a Protestant theologies, Protestant theological tradition within evangelical Christianity that espouses a distinct teaching on the doctrine of entire sanctificatio ...

, being one of the founders of the

Keswick Convention The Keswick Convention is an annual gathering of conservative evangelical Christians in Keswick, in the English county of Cumbria. The Christian theological tradition of Keswickianism, also known as the Higher Life movement, became popularise ...

. The family later lived at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

. Moore was educated at

Wimbledon High School Wimbledon High School is an independent girls' day school in Wimbledon, South West London. It is a Girls' Day School Trust school and is a member of the Girls' Schools Association. History Wimbledon High School was founded by the Girls' Publ ...

Westfield College Westfield College was a small college situated in Hampstead, London, from 1882 to 1989. It was the first college to aim to educate women for University of London degrees from its opening. The college originally admitted only women as students and ...

(

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

) and the

London School of Medicine for Women The London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW) established in 1874 was the first medical school in Britain to train women as doctors. The patrons, vice-presidents, and members of the committee that supported and helped found the London School of Me ...

– later the

Royal Free Hospital The Royal Free Hospital (also known simply as the Royal Free) is a major teaching hospital in the Hampstead area of the London Borough of Camden. The hospital is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs services at Barn ...

. She qualified in 1906 and held house appointments at the Royal Free Hospital until her marriage in 1908. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Payne became commandant and medical officer in

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

at the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

Hospital for wounded soldiers. In the 1918 Birthday Honours, she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her work.

Psychoanalytic career

Payne developed an interest in

during the war and began training with Edward Glover at the Medico-Psychological Clinic on

Brunswick Square Brunswick Square is a public garden and ancillary streets along two of its sides in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. It is overlooked by the School of Pharmacy and the Foundling Museum to the north; the Brunswick Centre to the w ...

, London. She went to

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 ...

, where she underwent analysis with Hans Sachs and got to know

Karl Abraham Karl Abraham (; 3 May 1877 – 25 December 1925) was an influential German psychoanalyst, and a collaborator of Sigmund Freud, who called him his 'best pupil'. Life Abraham was born in Bremen, Germany. His parents were Nathan Abraham, a Jewish ...

. In 1922, Payne became an Associate 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 ...

. In 1926 she became a psychiatrist at

Ernest Jones Alfred Ernest Jones (1 January 1879 – 11 February 1958) was a Welsh neurologist and psychoanalyst. A lifelong friend and colleague of Sigmund Freud from their first meeting in 1908, he became his official biographer. Jones was the first En ...

' London Clinic of Psychoanalysis (later the Institute of Psychoanalysis) and a member of the society. Payne was strong advocate for psychoanalysis and a prolific writer on psychoanalysis and women. Jones put her in charge of administration at the society, where she was very effective. In 1929 she was joint secretary with

Joan Riviere Joan Hodgson Riviere (28 June 1883 – 20 May 1962) was a British psychoanalyst, who was both an early translator of Freud into English and an influential writer on her own account. Life and career Riviere was born Joan Hodgson Verrall in Bri ...

in the International Congress in Oxford. Payne was the analyst for

Marion Milner Marion Milner (1900–1998), sometimes known as Marion Blackett-Milner, was a British writer and psychoanalyst. Outside psychotherapeutic circles, she is better known by her pseudonym, Joanna Field, as a pioneer of introspective journaling. Bi ...

and

Charles Rycroft Charles Frederick Rycroft (; 9 September 1914 – 24 May 1998) was a British psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. He studied medicine at University College London, and worked briefly as a psychiatrist for the Maudsley Hospital. For most of his caree ...

, among others. Between 1941 and 1945, she played an important part in the controversial discussions as one of the moderators between

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 ...

and

Anna Freud Anna Freud (3 December 1895 – 9 October 1982) was a British psychoanalyst of Austrian-Jewish descent. She was born in Vienna, the sixth and youngest child of Sigmund Freud and Martha Bernays. She followed the path of her father and contribu ...

. She organised a stenographer to record the discussion accurately, so members who could not get to London because of war work could be kept in touch. At the same time, there was a constitutional debate within the society centring on Edward Glover. The result was that Glover resigned from the society and Anna Freud resigned from the training committee. In 1944 Payne was elected as president of the society, with Ernest Jones as honorary president. Payne was in charge of discussions on training, with an ad hoc committee including

John Bowlby Edward John Mostyn Bowlby, CBE, FBA, FRCP, FRCPsych (; 26 February 1907 – 2 September 1990) was a British psychologist, psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst, notable for his interest in child development and for his pioneering work in attachmen ...

, Anna Freud, Willi Hoffer, Melanie Klein, Susan Isaacs, Adrian Stephen and John Rickman.; and as 'three separately angled trainings arose' emerged as a leading member of the Independent Group. She ceased to be president in 1947 but was president of the BPAS again from 1954 to 1956. In 1962, she was elected an honorary member of the BPAS. She was also a Fellow of the

British Psychological Society The British Psychological Society (BPS) is a representative body for psychologists and psychology in the United Kingdom. History It was founded on 24 October 1901 at University College London (UCL) as ''The Psychological Society'', the organ ...

Personal life

In 1908 she married John Ernest Payne, a surgeon who had rowed for

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

in the

Boat Race Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

in 1899 and 1900, and stroked the winning

Leander Club Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and the oldest non-academic club. It is based in Remenham in Berkshire, England and adjoins Henley-on-Thames. Only three other surviving clubs were founded prior to ...

four in the

Stewards' Challenge Cup The Stewards' Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless fours at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing clubs. Two or more clubs may combine t ...

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

in 1900. One son

Kenneth Payne Kenneth Martin Payne (8 September 1912 – 24 April 1988) was a British rower who competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics. Payne was the son of Dr John Ernest Payne, a surgeon, and his wife psychoanalyst Sylvia Payne. His father had rowed for Cam ...

became an Olympic rower, and another Anthony Monck-Mason Payne became a professor of medicine at Yale University and an Assistant Director of WHO. Her brother,

Henry Monck-Mason Moore Sir Henry Monck-Mason Moore (18 March 1887 – 26 March 1964) was British Governor of British Sierra Leone, Kenya and Ceylon. The son of Rev. Edward William Moore, he was educated at Rokeby, KCS, Wimbledon and Jesus College, Cambridge, gradu ...

, was Governor General of Ceylon.

Death

Sylvia Payne lived in retirement in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

, where she died at the age of 95.''British Medical Journal Obituary'', 14 August 1976
/ref>

Publications

*''A Conception of Femininity'', 1935 *''Some Observations on Ego Development of the Fetishist'', 1939

References

External links

* Payne, Sylvia
"Some Observations on the Ego Development of the Fetishist,"
(

PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...

), from

The International Journal of Psychoanalysis ''The International Journal of Psychoanalysis'' is an academic journal in the field of psychoanalysis. The idea of the journal was proposed by Ernest Jones in a letter to Sigmund Freud dated 7 December 1918. The journal itself was established in 1 ...

, 1939 {{DEFAULTSORT:Payne, Sylvia 1880 births 1976 deaths People educated at Wimbledon High School Alumni of Westfield College British psychoanalysts 20th-century English medical doctors English women medical doctors People from Marylebone People from Royal Tunbridge Wells Alumni of the London School of Medicine for Women Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century women physicians 20th-century English women 20th-century English people