History of Psychoanalysis

Researching psychoanalysis in historical and social contexts

We trace the development of intellectual traditions, the emergence of new concepts and therapeutic practices, archival research, oral history, the history of the interface of psychoanalysis with other disciplines and the impact of psychoanalytic ideas on cultural history. 

Members of our research group benefit from several psychoanalytic archives, housed at the Art and Special Collections at the University of Essex library, including those of psychoanalysts Enid Balint, Juliet Mitchell, psychoanalytic historian John Forrester, and the Sigmund Freud Collection. We also have close ties to the journal Psychoanalysis and History, a peer reviewed journal which is published by Edinburgh University Press. We host regular seminars for both internal and external researchers to present their work and we welcome requests to do so. If you would like to share your research at one of our seminars, please contact our group organiser.

Our research group encourages and supports many applications for PhD projects dealing with the history of psychoanalysis. To find research supervision please view our list of members below and click the profiles to discover an individual's research interests and supervision status.