There Are More Influential Women in the Mental Health Field

                  As Women’s History Month nears an end I would like to share the stories of a few more women this week. As I have said, it is important that we recognize their contributions to the mental health field. Men get so much of the recognition, but many advancements would not have happened if it were not for women. There are many women studying psychology and related fields in colleges today. They need to learn about the women who came before them. This knowledge will serve as a motivator and a call to strive for further advancements. Men can also learn from the work of all these women I have written about this month. After you read about these women, share their stories with others, men and women. Let’s give these amazing women the credit they deserve.

 

Leta Stetter Hollingworth (1886-1939)

 

"I do not know. I was intellectually curious. I worked hard, was honest except for those minor chicaneries which are occasionally necessary when authority is stupid, disliked waste, and was never afraid to undertake an experiment or to change my mind."

 

                  Leta Stetter Hollingworth was the first female psychologist in New York City. She worked at Columbia University. Her worked challenged the belief that women had inferior intelligence to men. She studied under educational psychologist E.L. Thorndike. She demonstrated that differences in intelligence was a result of societal roles not being born male or female. 

                  Hollingworth’s dissertation focused on women’s intelligence during menstruation. At the time it was believed that women had a decrease in performance on mental tasks during menstruation. Hollingworth’s work proved that there was no empirical evidence for this.

                  She also worked in educational psychology and coined the term “gifted”. Her work focused on nurturing gifted children. At the time it was believed that gifted children could take of themselves, but Hollingworth showed that these children needed to be nurtured. She developed a curriculum for gifted children.

                  Hollingworth’s early work studied women and led to changes in how women’s intellectual abilities were acknowledged. Most of her work was in the school setting where she worked in educational psychology. She died at the age of 53 from abdominal cancer. At the time of her death, she had more work planned.

                                                                                                                                   

Anna Freud (1885-1982)

 

"The best way to understand children is to observe them when they're on their own, unobserved."

 

                  Anna Freud was the daughter of Sigmund Freud, but she was more than just his daughter. She was an influential psychologist in her own right. She is the founder of child psychoanalysis. Anna Freud’s work contributed to the understanding of child psychology. Interestingly, Erik Erikson, a male psychologist who many in the world of psychology can name easily, was strongly influenced by the work of Anna Freud. 

                  Anna Freud recognized that children had different symptoms than adults, noting that these were often related to developmental stages. Her work included how the ego played a role in managing anxiety. The work of Anna Freud is the basis of modern child therapy and developmental psychology.

She also made contributions in understanding how the mind uses defense mechanisms to protect itself. She demonstrated that everyone uses defense mechanisms, not just people with psychological disorders. 

 

Leta Stetter Hollingworth and Anna Freud both made significant contributions in the field of psychology that have impacted mental health. They are examples of women who dedicated their lives to understanding the mind. 

If you have missed the first four post in this series on influential women in the mental health field, I encourage you to read them. The series started on March 10 and includes posts on 3/13, 3/17, and 3/20. There will be one more post on Thursday.