Herbert Freudenberger

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Herbert J. Freudenberger (born November 26, 1926 in Frankfurt am Main , † November 29, 1999 in New York City ) was a German-American clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst . In 1974 he published the first scientific article on the subject of burnout syndrome .

Life

Freudenberger grew up in a German-Jewish middle-class family. His father was a cattle dealer, his mother was a housewife, but also her husband's business partner and accountant. His initially idyllic childhood came to an abrupt end in 1933 when the National Socialists came to power . Soon after, his father lost his job, his mother became depressed, his grandfather died, and his grandmother's hearing was destroyed by Nazi beatings. After the Reichspogromnacht , in which the Frankfurt synagogue was also destroyed, he decided to flee. With a false passport and with the help of his father, he first traveled to Zurich , then to Amsterdam and finally to Paris . He later escaped to a step aunt in New York. However, since she hated the young man because of an old family quarrel, he lived on the street and stole food. But he went to school and quickly learned English. He graduated from high school with honors and got a job as an apprentice toolmaker. Eventually his parents followed suit. Herbert Freudenberger continued to work out of economic necessity, but began evening classes at Brooklyn College , where Abraham Maslow became his mentor. In 1951 he received a Bachelor of Arts degree . As early as the next year he obtained a Master of Arts in clinical psychology from New York University , where he also received his doctorate in 1958 as a Doctor of Philosophy . In parallel, he studied at the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis (NPAP) and worked at night in a factory. In 1962 he completed his training analysis with Theodor Reik ; since 1958 he has already carried out psychoanalysis himself. From 1970 to 1999 he worked as a training analyst for the NPAP.

Freudenberger was academically active at the New School for Social Research (1974–1988), New York University (1963–1973), Queens College and the City University of New York (1962–1965). He could be called a Park Avenue psychoanalyst. Nonetheless, he was heavily involved in building a free treatment program for drug addicts in the 1970s . He was adviser to the Haight-Ashbury - withdrawal center from 1974 to 1984 the Archdiocese of New York . His involvement in volunteering was also the basis for developing his concept of burnout syndrome . Herbert Freudenberger was the first to use this term in 1974. By working with drug addicts Freudenberger was also one of the first psychologists to the specific needs of Vietnam - veterans were received. In addition to his work in the field of addictions, he also made contributions to the understanding of anxiety disorders and occupational stress . He has published over 100 articles, book chapters and monographs .

Fonts (in German translation)

  • (with Geraldine Richelson): Burned out. The crisis of the successful. Recognize and avoid dangers. Kindler, Munich 1981, ISBN 3-463-00830-0 .
    • Paperback as: Living with Success. What to do in the event of professional crises and private difficulties? Advice (not only) for those familiar with their careers . Heyne, Munich 1983, ISBN 3-453-53148-5 .
  • (with Gail North): Burnout in Women. About the feeling of being burned out. From the American by Gabriele Herbst, Krüger, Frankfurt am Main 1992, ISBN 3-8105-0628-1 .

literature

  • Bauer, Joachim : work. Why our happiness depends on it and how it makes us sick . Munich: Karl Blessing Verlag 2013. pp. 88–92

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Herbert Freudenberger: Staff Burn-Out. In: Journal of Social Issues. Vol. 30, No. 1, 1974, pp. 159-165.
  2. ↑ The information in the “Life” section is based mainly on: Obituary: Herbert J. Freudenberger (1926–1999). In: The American psychologist. Volume 56, Issue 12, December 2001, p. 1171.
  3. ↑ Wolfgang U. Eckart : "Doctor, help yourself!" - The doctor as a patient , in: Martin Momburg, Dietmar Schulte (ed.): The relationship between doctor and patient. How human is medicine? , Wilhelm Fink Verlag Munich 2010, pp. 269–284, The title page shows an MTRA in addition to the doctor and patient, ISBN 978-3-7705-4462-2
personal data
SURNAME Freudenberger, Herbert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Freudenberger, Herbert J.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-American psychoanalyst
DATE OF BIRTH November 26, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Frankfurt am Main
DATE OF DEATH November 29, 1999
Place of death New York City