Klein, Melanie

Klein, Melanie, 1882-1960, British psychoanalyst, b. Vienna. She became a psychoanalyst after seeking therapy from Sandor Ferenczi, a colleague of Sigmund Freud, who encouraged her to pursue her own studies with young children. She served as a member (1921-26) of the Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute, using psychoanalytic techniques with emotionally disturbed children. She moved to London in 1926, on the invitation of psychoanalyst Ernest Jones, to continue her practice and to expand on areas of psychoanalysis such as the death instinct and the Oedipus complex. In her later work, Klein's theories came into conflict with those of other psychoanalysts, particularly Anna Freud. Kleinian theory is still influential as a distinctive strain of psychoanalytic theory. Her writings include The Psychoanalysis of Children (1932) and Narrative of a Child Analysis (1961).

See biography by P. Grosskurth (1987).

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Klein, Melanie

orig. Melanie Reizes

(born March 30, 1882, Vienna, Austria—died Sept. 22, 1960, London, Eng.) Austrian-British psychoanalyst. She married at age 21 and had three children before undergoing psychoanalysis with Ferenczi Sándor in Budapest, Hung. She studied the psychoanalysis of young children, joining the Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute (1921–26) and later moving to London. In works such as The Psychoanalysis of Children (1932) and Narrative of a Child Analysis (1961), she asserted that children's play was a symbolic way of controlling anxiety and that observation of free play with toys could serve as a means of determining early psychological impulses.

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Klein (surname)

Klein is the Dutch and German word for "small", which came to be used as a family name, and thence passed into the names of places, concepts and discoveries associated with bearers of this surname.

Politics and government

Bernard Klein, American businessman and politician
Ezra Klein (born 1984), American political writer
Ralph Klein (born 1942), Canadian politician

Entertainment

Alan Klein (born 1941), English singer and songwriter (New Vaudeville Band)
Allen Klein (born 1931), Beatles manager
Chris Klein (actor) (born 1979), U.S. actor
Gary Klein, aluminum bicycle designer and manufacturer
Gary Klein (producer), songwriter and record producer & co-writer of "(I Wanna Be) Bobby's Girl".
Gary A. Klein, American researcher in decision making
Mark Klein (born 1993), U.S. singer-songwriter
Julian Klein (born 1973), German composer and director
Robert Klein (born 1942), U.S. stand-up comedian and actor

Academics and literature

A. M. Klein (Abraham Moses Klein, 1909–1972), Canadian poet
Charles Klein (1867–1915) London-born American playwright
Daniel Klein (grammarian) (Lithuanian: Danielius Kleinas) - German-Lithuanian pastor and grammarian
Daniel B. Klein, U.S. economist
Gérard Klein, French T.V. series actor
Joe Klein (born 1946), U.S. journalist and novelist (Primary Colors)
Julius Leopold Klein (1810–1876), Hungarian dramatist
Naomi Klein (born 1970), Canadian author and activist
Robin Klein (born 1936), Australian author of children's books
T. E. D. Klein, U.S. author