Abstract

FONTONI, Marcos Roberto  and  FULGENCIO, Leopoldo. Anna Freud: an almost forgotten developmentalist. Estud. psicanal. [online]. 2020, n.53, pp.129-142. ISSN 0100-3437.

Anna Freud is classically recognized, in the history of psychoanalysis, as the daughter of Freud who analyzed The Ego and the Defense Mechanisms, who was responsible for contributions to a theoretical-clinical perspective called ego psychology. But, little attention was paid (and she was even neglected) to the rest of her work, especially with regard to the immense work of consolidating of the sexuality development theory as a full theory of development. In this article, we list some points of the author's work that go far beyond what she proposes about defense mechanisms, including her contribution to the psychoanalytic theory of development, as well as her ideas on more general issues such as the position of psychoanalysis as a science, the use of direct observation as a method of investigation in psychoanalysis, her pioneering spirit in the construction of an instrument of assessment and diagnosis based on psychoanalysis, the use of psychoanalysis as a method of prevention and her observations regarding disturbed or interrupted development.

Keywords : Psychoanalysis; Anna Freud; Development; Child.

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