Margaret Mahler
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| Born | May 10, 1897 Sopron, Hungary |
|---|---|
| Died | 1985 New York, United States of America |
| Residence | New York |
| Nationality | Hungarian |
| Field | Psychoanalysis, child development |
| Institution | Margaret S. Mahler Psychiatric Research Foundation |
| Known for | theory of child development |
| Notable prizes | APA Agnes Purceil McGavin Award |
Margaret Schoenberger-Mahler (May 10, 1897 – 1985) was a Hungarian physician, who later became interested in psychiatry. She was a central figure on the world stage of psychoanalysis. Her main interest was in normal childhood development, but she spent much of her time with psychiatric children and how they arrive at the "self". Mahler developed the Separation-Individuation theory of child development.
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[edit] Biography
On May 10, 1897, Margaret Mahler was born in a Jewish family in Sopron, a small western Hungarian town. She had one younger sister. The marriage of her parents was not very good and growing up was not a happy time for her. The only support she got was from her father. He encouraged her to excel in math and science. After completing the High School for Daughters, she decided to attend Vaci Utaci Gimnazium in Budapest even though it was unusual for women to continue their education. Budapest was of great influence on her life and career. [1] She met influential Hungarian psychoanalysts, for example Sándor Ferenczi, and she got fascinated by the idea of the unconscious and was encouraged to read Freud. [2]
In September 1916 Margaret began at the University of Budapest studying Art History, but in January 1917 she decided to go to Medical School. After 3 semesters she began her medical training at the University of Munich, but was forced to leave because of the tensions towards the Jews. She went to the University of Jena in the spring of 1920 and there she began to learn how important play and love were for infants to grow up mentally and physically healthy. In 1922, Margaret graduated Cum Laude in Jena and she headed back to Vienna to get her license to practice medicine. She also decided to turn from pediatrics to psychiatry and started her training analysis with Helene Deutsch in 1926. Seven years later, Margaret was accepted as an analyst. Mahler loved working with children, it was her passion. She loved the way the children gave her all of their attention and enjoyed working with her as well. [3]
In 1936 she married Paul Mahler. When the Nazis rose to power the couple first moved to Britain and in 1938 to the United States. There she set up her own private practice in the basement of a building and began to rebuild her clientele after receiving a New York Medical license. In 1939 she met Ben Spock and in 1940 gave a child analysis seminar, becoming the senior teacher of child analysis. She joined the Institute of Human Development and the Educational Institute along with the New York Psychoanalytic Society. In 1948 Mahler was involved with clinical studies on Benign and Malignant Cases of Childhood Psychosis. She died on October 2, 1985.
[edit] Work
Margaret Mahler worked as a psychoanalyst with young disturbed children. In 1950 she started the Masters Children’s Centre in Manhattan, together with Manuel Furer. Here, she developed the tripartite treatment model: the mother participated in the treatment of the child. [4] Mahler initiated a more constructive exploration of severe disturbances in childhood and emphasized the importance of the environment of the child. She was especially interested in mother-infant duality and carefully documented the impact of early separations of children from their mothers. This documentation of separation-individuation is her most important contribution to the development of psychoanalysis. Mahler shed light on the normal and abnormal features of the developmental ego psychology. She worked with psychotic children, while psychosis hadn’t been covered in the psychoanalytic treatment yet. [5] Symbiotic child psychosis struck her. The symptomatology she saw as a derailment of the normal processes whereby self- and object representations become distinct. [6] Her most important work is The psychological birth of the human infant : symbiosis and individuation, written in 1975 with Fred Pine and Anni Bergman.
[edit] Separation-Individuation Theory of child development
In Mahler’s theory, child development takes place in phases, each with their own sub phases:
- Normal Autistic Phase - First few weeks of life. The infant is detached and self absorbed. Spends most of his/her time sleeping. Mahler later abandoned this phase, based on new findings from her infant research. [7] She believed it to be non-existent. The phase still appears in many books on her theories.
- Normal Symbiotic Phase - Lasts until about 5 months of age. The child is now aware of his/her mother but there is not a sense of individuality. The infant and the mother are one, and there is a barrier between them and the rest of the world.
- Separation-Individuation Phase - The arrival of this phase marks the end of the Normal Symbiotic Phase. Separation refers to the development of limits, the differentiation between the infant and the mother, whereas individuation refers to the development of the infant's ego , sense of identity, and cognitive abilities. Mahler explains how a child with the age of a few months breaks out of an “autistic shell” into the world with human connections. This process, labeled separation-individuation, is divided into subphases, each with its own onset, outcomes and risks. The following subphases proceed in this order but overlap considerably.
- Hatching – first months. The infant ceases to be ignorant of the differentiation between him/her and the mother. "Rupture of the shell". Increased alertness and interest for the outside world. Using the mother as a point of orientation.
- Practicing – 9-about 16 months. Brought about by the infant's ability to crawl and then walk freely, the infant begins to explore actively and becomes more distant from the mother. The child experiences himself still as one with his mother.
- Rapprochement –15-24 months. In this subphase, the infant once again becomes close to the mother. The child realizes that his physic mobility demonstrates psychic separateness from his mother. The toddler may become tentative, wanting his mother to be in sight so that, through eye contact and action, he can explore his world. The risk is that the mother will misread this need and respond with impatience or unavailability. This can lead to an anxious fear of abandonment in the toddler. A basic ‘mood predisposition’ may be established at this point. Rapprochement is divided into a few sub phases:
- Beginning - Motivated by a desire to share discoveries with the mother.
- Crisis - Between staying with the mother, being emotionally close and being more independent and exploring.
- Solution - Individual solutions are enabled by the development of language and the superego.
Disruptions in the fundamental process of separation-individuation can result in a disturbance in the ability to maintain a reliable sense of individual identity in adulthood. [8]
[edit] Bibliography
- On human symbiosis and the vicissitudes of individuation, 1969
- The psychological birth of the human infant : symbiosis and individuation, 1975
[edit] Notes
- ^ Mahler at webster.edu
- ^ Coates, John Bowlby and Margaret S. Mahler: Their lives and theories, pp. 571-587
- ^ Mahler at webster.edu
- ^ Coates, John Bowlby and Margaret S. Mahler: Their lives and theories, pp. 571-587
- ^ Mitchell, Freud and Beyond, pp. 43, 46-47
- ^ Coates, John Bowlby and Margaret S. Mahler: Their lives and theories, pp. 571-587
- ^ Coates, John Bowlby and Margaret S. Mahler: Their lives and theories, pp. 571-587
- ^ Mitchell, Freud and Beyond, pp. 43, 46-47
[edit] References
- Coates, S.W., John Bowlby and Margaret S. Mahler: Their lives and theories
- Mitchell, S.A., and Black, M.J. (1995). Freud and Beyond. New York: Basic Books.
- Notes on the development of basic moods: the depressive affect. In Drives, Affects, Behavior, vol. 2, ed Max Schur, NY: International Universities Press, pp. 161-169.
- Mahler, S. and Pine, M.M. and F., Bergman, A. (1973). The Psychological Birth of the Human Infant, New York: Basic Books.
- Thoughts about development and individuation. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 1963.
