Frances Tustin (born Frances Daisy Vickers; 1913) was a pioneering British child

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

renowned for her work with children with

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

in the 1950s. She became a teacher and began studying

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...

in 1943 at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

.Frances Tustin
/ref> 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 The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health trust based in north London. The Trust specialises in talking therapies. The education and training department caters for 2,000 students a year from the United Kin ...

, which was chaired by the pioneer in child development

John Bowlby Edward John Mostyn Bowlby (; 26 February 1907 – 2 September 1990) was a British psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, notable for his interest in child development and for his pioneering work in attachment theory. A ''Review of General Psychology'' ...

Psychotherapy career

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. 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.

Legacy

Her contribution to the development of

was recognized in 1984 by the

British Psychoanalytical Society The British Psychoanalytical Society was founded by Ernest Jones as the London Psychoanalytical Society on 30 October 1913. It is one of several organisations in Britain training psychoanalysts. The society has been home to a number of psych ...

, which awarded her the rare status of Honorary Affiliate Member. The Frances Tustin Memorial Trust awards an annual prize for papers addressing the treatment of autistic states in children, adolescents or adults.

Controversy

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.

References

External links

The Frances Tustin Trust
(featuring the history of Frances Tustin and her life's work) Alumni of the University of London 1913 births 1990 deaths Analysands of Wilfred Bion Autism researchers British psychotherapists People educated at Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School People from Grantham Psychology writers {{autism-stub