Danica German

Danica Deutsch , née Danica Bruckner (born August 16, 1890 in Sarajevo , Bosnia-Herzegovina , Austria-Hungary ; † December 24, 1976 in New York , USA ) was an Austrian-American psychologist , educator and representative of individual psychology .

Life

Danica Deutsch grew up as the oldest of five siblings. Her mother was a teacher and attached great importance to her daughters' professional training. In 1909 Danica Deutsch trained as a language teacher in Vienna , which she completed with a summer course in French and psychology at the University of Geneva . She was a teacher in Sarajevo for a short time, but got to know the circle around Alfred Adler before the First World War and attended the discussion groups in his home. In 1912 she married Dr. Leonhard Deutsch , a music teacher and individual psychologist, with whom she had two daughters.

After the Adler discussions could be continued in 1918, she soon became an active individual psychologist. As part of the Association for Individual Psychology, she gave presentations, worked as an educational advisor and organized courses on the subject of self-education. From 1931 to 1934 she was a board member of the association. From 1932 to 1934 she was entrusted with the organization and management of the “Working Group for Mothers and Fathers”, a discussion group on educational problems for parents and teachers. She also acted as the editor of the "newsletter for individual psychological events".

In 1938 she emigrated to the USA, where she conducted teacher courses in the theory and practice of individual psychology at the College of Music in Jacksonville / Florida . In New York City she worked with other emigrated individual psychologists in a childcare facility. She also organized public individual psychology courses and lectures and was the secretary of the New York group. In 1948 she founded the Alfred Adler Consultation Center , an individual psychological advice center for poor people. When it was converted into a Mental Hygiene Clinic in 1954, she was its Executive Director for many years. She headed the Alfred Adler Institute in New York until 1973 . After that, she still gave classes and held psychotherapy sessions.

plant

Danica Deutsch's life's work was typical of an individual psychologist. Following the model of Alfred Adler, she tried to teach and disseminate knowledge of individual psychology. As part of the Alfred Adler Consultation Center , she organized individual psychological therapies, family therapies, group therapies for mothers, married couples, adolescents, children and students. She also offered social events such as music courses and dance therapy. She also conducted courses, group therapies and consultations herself. Her articles in magazines dealt mainly with family therapy, individual and group counseling.

literature

• Kurt A. Adler, Danica Deutsch, Essays in Individual Psychology , Grove Press 1959
• Danica Deutsch et al., Alfred Adler: As We Remember Him , North American Society of Adlerian Psychology, Manaster 1977
• Bernhard Handlbauer, " Studying English diligently": The emigration of Alfred Adler and the Viennese individual psychologist . In: Stadler, Friedrich (Hrsg.): Displaced reason II. Emigration and exile of Austrian science. International Symposium October 19-23, 1987 in Vienna, 1987.
• Bernhard Handlbauer, The History of the Development of Individual Psychology, Geyer Edition, Vienna 1984.
• Clara Kenner: Danica German . In: Brigitta Keintzel, Ilse Korotin (ed.): Scientists in and from Austria. Life - work - work. Böhlau, Vienna / Cologne / Weimar 2002, ISBN 3-205-99467-1 , pp. 128-130 ( online ).