Karl Abraham: Life and Work, a Biography (The History of Psychoanalysis Series)

__Karl Abraham: Life and Work, a Biography__ is the first complete biography of Karl Abraham (1877-1925), a close colleague and friend of Sigmund Freud and one of the most important pioneers of psychoanalysis.Abraham was the first psychoanalyst in Germany, where he brought about a great flourishing of psychoanalysis. His clinical-theoretical contributions quickly became classics that have powerfully influenced the development of psychoanalytic theory. He was the first to develop a psychoanalytic theory of depression, several years before the publication of Freud’s __Mourning and Melancholia__. Abraham was both supervisor and analyst to Melanie Klein, on whose theoretical work he had a profound influence.In the 1920s Abraham was the most important analyst of the psychoanalytic movement after Freud. He was president of the International Psychoanalytical Association, president of the Berlin Psychoanalytic Society, and a member of the secret committee. He was involved in a number of major conflicts of the early years of psychoanalysis, and after his death he was quite often blamed for them. As a consequence, Abraham, so highly valued during his life, was frequently reviled after his death. COVER 1 CONTENTS 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 10 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 12 ABBREVIATIONS 14 SERIES EDITOR’S FOREWORD 16 Introduction 22 CHAPTER ONE Childhood in Bremen 26 CHAPTER TWO Student years 36 CHAPTER THREE Doctor’s assistant in Dalldorf 44 CHAPTER FOUR Burghölzli 52 CHAPTER FIVE The first meetings between Freud and staff from the Burghölzli Clinic 64 CHAPTER SIX A private practice and the first psychoanalytic conflict 74 CHAPTER SEVEN Psychoanalysis in Berlin 90 CHAPTER EIGHT Segantini and depression 106 CHAPTER NINE A meeting with Fließ, family life, and the failed Habilitation 118 CHAPTER TEN Akhenaten 132 CHAPTER ELEVEN The secret committee 142 CHAPTER TWELVE An unhappy writer, scopophilia, and other peculiarities 150 CHAPTER THIRTEEN The First World War 160 CHAPTER FOURTEEN A great turnaround 166 CHAPTER FIFTEEN Creation of a theory about early childhood and ejaculatio praecox 174 CHAPTER SIXTEEN The final war years in Allenstein 186 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN The congress in Budapest of 1918 194 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Germany in chaos, yet the creation of a psychoanalytic polyclinic in Berlin goes ahead 200 CHAPTER NINETEEN The congress in The Hague from 8 to 11 September 1920 212 CHAPTER TWENTY The issue of lay analysis and Abraham in a tight corner 224 CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE Psychoanalysis flourishes in Berlin 248 CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Unrest in Germany and a successful congress in Berlin 256 CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE Young talent pours in 266 CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR Psychoanalytic techniques and Helene Deutsch 272 CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE Innovative work 286 CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX The conflict surrounding Rank and the disintegration of the committee 300 CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN Melanie Klein and fellow analysands 318 CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT Abraham’s death 332 CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE Upheaval 354 Afterword 362 SOURCES 372 INTERVIEWS 374 NOTES 376 REFERENCES 452 INDEX 466 Karl Abraham: Life and Work, a Biography is the first complete biography of Karl Abraham (1877-1925), a close colleague and friend of Sigmund Freud and one of the most important pioneers of psychoanalysis. Abraham was the first psychoanalyst in Germany, where he brought about a great flourishing of psychoanalysis. His clinical-theoretical contributions quickly became classics that have powerfully influenced the development of psychoanalytic theory. He was the first to develop a psychoanalytic theory of depression, several years before the publication of Freud’s Mourning and Melancholia . Abraham was both supervisor and analyst to Melanie Klein, on whose theoretical work he had a profound influence. In the 1920s Abraham was the most important analyst of the psychoanalytic movement after Freud. He was president of the International Psychoanalytical Association, president of the Berlin Psychoanalytic Society, and a member of the secret committee. He was involved in a number of major conflicts of the early years of psychoanalysis, and after his death he was quite often blamed for them. As a consequence, Abraham, so highly valued during his life, was frequently reviled after his death. This book provides the reader with rich evidence of the very contemporaneity of Karl Abraham, reminding the reader of his unique clinical contributions to such diverse areas of concentration as the psychoses, depression, and the pre-oedipal. Anna Bentinck Van Schoonheten ; Translated From The Dutch By Liz Waters. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 411-424) And Index.