Early Women Psychoanalysts

Presented by: Klara Naszkowska, PhD

Discussion by: Rosemary Balsam, MD

• October 23, 2025

• 8:00pm-9:30pm ET

• Location: Virtual

• Source Link: Houston Psychoanalytic Society

“Please join us whether or not you have read the book. Some people want to read and discuss the book; others want to learn more before deciding if they want to read it. All are welcome!

This book discussion is dedicated to filling a hole in the history of women pioneers of psychoanalysis. Their groundbreaking contributions to the nascent field notwithstanding, their biographies have been largely and systematically erased from the historical narrative. Klara Naszkowska will draw on the anthology that she edited, Early Women Psychoanalysts: History, Biography, and Contemporary Relevance (Routledge, 2024), to provide an introduction to their lives and legacies as a collective force. Her lecture will be illuminated by an in-depth exploration of the story of Sabina Spielrein. The emphasis is on the sociopolitical circumstances and historical developments that affected these women psychoanalyst’s lives, career choices, and paths, centering on the themes of gender, Jewishness, women’s education, the rise of autocracies, and forced migration. Following the lecture, commentary will be provided by Rosemary Balsam, a psychiatrist-psychoanalyst who has written extensively about gender, early women psychoanalysts, and their contributions.”