(This book analyzes the normative stages of male and femal...)
This book analyzes the normative stages of male and female adolescence, as well as discussing the mutual influence of the adolescent and his surroundings, body image, acting out and delinquency and the developmental approach to psychic structure formation.
Peter Blos was a German-born American psychoanalyst, educator and author. He was a leading authority in the field of adolescent psychology. Also, he founded the Association for Child Psychoanalysis with Albert J. Solnit.
Background
Peter Blos was born on February 2, 1904, in Karlsruhe, Germany, to Edwin Blos and Eva Lewinstein-Blos. His father was a doctor, who inspired Peter by speaking often about the spiritual teachings of Gandhi and Luther. Eva, Peter's mother, had a large circle of friends, and particularly liked dancing and acting.
Education
In 1925, Blos attained a teaching certificate from Heidelberg University, and then, he obtained a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Biology from the University of Vienna.
During the 1920's, Blos was introduced to Anna Freud, who asked his help in creating a school for children, undergoing analysis. The project was supported and encouraged by Eva Rosenfeld and Dorothy Burlingham, a friend of Anna Freud, whose children attended the small school. Blos invited Erik Erikson to join him there. Within the Vienna psychoanalytic circle, August Aichhorn exerted a considerable intellectual influence on Blos, which strongly affected his psychoanalytic training. Blos entered psychoanalysis through teaching, while giving his work orientation and sensitivity, influenced by spirituality.
In 1934, to escape the rise of Nazism, Blos fled Vienna for the United States, where he settled down in New Orleans. There, he was hired as a teacher in a private school, before leaving for New York, where he continued his analytic training. According to Aaron H. Esman, Peter became a member of the New York Psychoanalytic Society, becoming a special member in 1965 and then a supervisor and trainer. As a teacher, he introduced, in 1972, a course on delayed adolescence, which he discontinued in 1977. Then, Blos continued his clinical practice and did some teaching at the Columbia Psychoanalytic Center as a co-founder of the Association for Child Psychoanalysis.
When Peter retired from professional life, he spent his time, writing poetry and fiction, playing the violin and practicing carpentry in his country home in Holderness, New Hampshire, where he died at the age of ninety-three by the side of his second wife.
During his career, Peter was called "Mr. Adolescence" as a result of his research into the problems of teenagers and his theories, describing their struggles between wanting to break free of their parents and desiring to remain dependent.
Quotes from others about the person
Albert J. Solnit described Blos as a strong-willed, but patient man, who had a flair for dealing with teenagers.
Connections
Peter was married twice. His first wife, Merta Grone, died in 1979. Bessy Thomas Blos was Peter's second wife. Also, Blos was a father of two children — Peter Blos Jr. and Lillemor Beenhouwer.