Karl Abraham

From New World Encyclopedia


Karl Abraham (3 May, 1877 - 25 December, 1925) was an early German psychoanalyst, and a correspondent of Sigmund Freud, who called him his 'best pupil.'[1] He founded the Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute, and was the president of the International Psychoanalytical Association from 1914 to 1918 and again in 1925.

Life

Karl Abraham was born in Bremen into a well-to-do, well established, and highly cultyred Jewish family, in 1877. His father gave up being a teacher of Hebrew religion for economic reasons, ans Karl early abandoned the Jewish faith. His writings reflect no interest in religion, this being in marked contrast to his friend and mentor, Sigmund Freud. Thereafter he became deeply interested in philology and linguistics, and he learned to speak five languages, read several others, and even analysed some patients in English.

Work

Following the standard German preparatory education Abraham received his medical degree from the University of Freiburg, in 1901.

Karl Abraham's first position was at Burgholzi Mental Hospital in Zurich. He becam assistant to Eugen Bleuler and studied with Carl Gustav Jung, who in 1907 introduce him to Sigmund Freud. In that same year, Karl Abraham published his first paper, which began with the phrase "according to Freud." It was a prophetic beginning. Karl Abraham amon all Freud's disciples, never deviated from personal loyalty to Freud or from the classical principles of psychoanalysis.

Karl Abraham was soon alienated by Jung's personality and by what he saw as Jung's threats to the scientific status of psychoanalysis. Despite Freud's pleadings the two men were never reconciled, and Karl Abraham soon left Zurich to establish a practice in Berlin. This practice flourished, and among his analysands were several who became respected analysts, including Karen Horney, Sandor Rado, Helen Deutsch, Melanie Klein]], and two American physicians, James Glover and Edward Glover. Thus Karl Abraham brought to the fledgling psychoansalytic movement considerable prestige, and his contributions have lasted far beyond his own brief life.

According to verified sources, Karl Abraham's total literary outputwas about 700 pages, consisting of four short books and forty-nine papers, all but eight of which dealth with the theory and practice of psychoanalysis. Nevertheless, Karl Abraham made important contributions to the psychology of sexuality, character development, myths, dreams, symbolism, and folk psychology. His most important theoretical contribution was his delineation of the etiology and dynamics of bipolar disorder.

Karl Abraham collaborated with Freud on the understanding of manic-depressive illness, leading to Freud's paper on Mourning and Melancholia in 1917. He was the analyst of Melanie Klein during 1924-1925, and of a number of other British psychoanalysts, including Edward Glover, James Glover, and Alix Strachey. He was a mentor for an influential group of German analysts, including Karen Horney, Helene Deutsch, and Franz Alexander.

Legacy

Karl Abraham is a pioneer of German Psychoanalysis. He founded the Berlin Society of Psychoanalysis in 1908.

Who was Freud's best pupil? Karl Abraham (1877-1925). ("I asked the Professor to name his 'best pupil' and he replied promptly, 'Karl Abraham'." From: John Dorsey. An American Psychiatrist in Vienna.)

Quotes

  • A considerable number of persons are able to protect themselves against the outbreak of serious neurotic phenomena only through intense work.

Publications

Notes

  1. Frequently Asked Questions Freud Museum Retrieved August 21, 2007.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Baker Encyclopedia of Psychology and Counseling. Second Edition. Edited by David G. Benner and Peter C. Hill. 1999. Baker Books, MI.


External links


Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.