Frances Tustin (born Frances Daisy Vickers; 1913 in Northern England) was a pioneering child psychotherapist renowned for her work with children with autism in the 1950s. She became a teacher and began studying psychoanalysis in 1943 at the University of London.[1]

Frances Tustin
from Frances Tustin Memorial Trust
Born
Frances Daisy Vickers

(1913-10-15)October 15, 1913
Died1994(1994-00-00) (aged 80–81)
NationalityBritish
SpouseArnold Tustin
Scientific career
FieldsPsychotherapy
InstitutionsUniversity of London

Following the war, in 1950 she began the child psychotherapy training headed by the psychoanalyst Esther Bick in the children's department of London's Tavistock Clinic, which was chaired by the pioneer in child development John Bowlby.

Psychotherapy career edit

In the mid-1950s she traveled to the US to work at the James Jackson Putnam Center which treated autistic children through what today is seen as behavior therapy and began to extensively study, research and write about autism in what are some of the earliest writings on the condition.[1]

She returned to London and published her first book Autism and Childhood Psychosis in 1972 followed by three more books and numerous journal articles, translated worldwide, up until her death, at age 81, in 1994.[1]

Legacy edit

Her contribution to the development of psychoanalysis was recognized in 1984 by the British Psychoanalytical Society, which awarded her the rare status of Honorary Affiliate Member.[1]

The Frances Tustin Memorial Trust awards an annual prize for papers addressing the treatment of autistic states in children, adolescents or adults.[1]

Controversy edit

At the beginning of the 21st century, with a gestalt shift in autism studies underway, Tustin's views on autism and the medical treatment have come under severe attack from self-advocating Autistic groups and some peer-reviewed articles. [2]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Frances Tustin
  2. ^ Kenney, Dianna (2019). "Faulty Theory, Failed Therapy: Frances Tustin, Infant and Child Psychoanalysis, and the Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders". SAGE Open. 9 (1). doi:10.1177/2158244019832686. S2CID 151193164.

External links edit