Walter Toman
Walter Karl Toman (born March 15, 1920 in Vienna ; † September 28, 2003 there ) was an Austrian psychologist and writer . He became internationally known for his research on the influence of family constellations.
Life
Walter Toman studied psychology at the University of Vienna . After graduating, he worked there as a lecturer and research assistant and at the same time trained as a psychoanalyst. In 1946 his first poetry was published.
From 1951 he taught clinical psychology at Harvard University in Boston . From 1954 to 1962 he was a professor at Brandeis University in Boston. His book Family Constellation was published in 1961 and is considered a classic in the USA.
He returned to Europe and in 1964 became professor for clinical psychology and psychotherapy at the Philosophical Faculty I at the University of Erlangen . He kept in touch with Anglo-Saxon clinical psychology and psychotherapy through annual lecture tours and guest lectures at Brandeis and London Universities.
Toman was buried at the Mauer cemetery in Vienna.
plant
Toman made the influences of siblings and family constellations on the human psyche already observed by Alfred Adler into his research focus. With his scientific articles and his book Family Constellations, he pointed out to the international public the importance of the sibling position of children and parents and the relationships between parents for human development and our later life.
By means of broadly based, systematic data collection and his theoretical model of the development of social relationships, he made these influences accessible for statistical analysis and empirical research. His research results should provide the therapist with guidelines for assessing the psychological state at the beginning of the treatment, its possible course and the measurement of psychotherapeutic progress, but in no way replace the therapy itself.
Toman's theoretical model includes the following types:
- Eldest brothers of brothers
- Youngest brothers of brothers
- Eldest brothers of sisters
- Youngest brothers of sisters
- Male only children
- Eldest sisters of sisters
- Youngest sisters of sisters
- Eldest sisters of brothers
- Youngest sisters of brothers
- Female only children
- Mixed and middle sibling positions
“ The family's influence on a person's behavior in school is usually greater than the school's influence on that person's behavior in the family. (...) The past can no longer be changed. Only the interpretation of the past can be changed. A person can learn retrospectively to reassess family experiences from their school or work experiences, and it is conceivable that they might even modify their current relationships with their family members. Even then, however, it can be expected that these family relationships, which are only changed in later life, are weaker than the old original relationships in their immediate effects on further family life and on contexts outside the family. This does not speak of a hopeless determinism , but the old influences that have been in effect for much longer than the more recent and present ones should not be underestimated. The effects of the old influences are often hidden. They concern emotional attitudes, elementary motives and interests of which the person concerned is sometimes not even aware. But they have an impact on his social behavior, and often more sustainably the less he is aware of them. (Walter Toman, family constellations ) "
His part-time writing activity in the form of poems and stories combined reality with fantasy. There, too, he investigated questions of human behavior.
See also
Works
- Busse's World Theater, 1951
- Distelvolk, poems 1955
- The village with the dragon, novel, 1959
- The unconventional camera, 1961
- Psychotherapy in everyday life, 14 episodes, 1991
- Healing distances, 1994
- Emergency calls, 10 stories from psychotherapeutic practice, 1994
- Family constellations, their influence on people . CH Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Munich 1965, ISBN 3406321119
- Alfred Adler, Influences of the Family , In: Why do we live? (1931) Fischer Taschenbuch, Frankfurt 1979, ISBN 3596267080
Web links
- Bibliography (list of works) { http://www.sgipt.org/lit/tomanb.htm}
- Literature by and about Walter Toman in the catalog of the German National Library
- Walter Toman: No Resurrection? Just endless deep sleep?
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Toman, Walter |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Toman, Walter Karl |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian depth psychologist and neurologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 15, 1920 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vienna |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 28, 2003 |
| Place of death | Vienna |