Alice Miller (born 1923) is a psychologist noted for her work on child abuse and its effects upon society as well as the lives of individuals. She was born in Poland and in 1946 migrated to Switzerland. She gained her doctorate in philosophy, psychology and sociology in 1953 in Basel. In 1986, Alice Miller was awarded the Janusz Korczak Literary Award by the Anti-Defamation League. She has two adult children. 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... A psychologist is a scientist and/or clinician who studies psychology, the systematic investigation of the human mind, including behavior and cognition. ... Child abuse is the physical or psychological maltreatment of a child by an adult, often synonymous with the term child maltreatment or the term child abuse and neglect. ... For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ... Psychology is an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of mental processes and behavior. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Sociological inquiry. ... Basel (British English traditionally: Basle and more recently Basel , German: Basel , French: Bâle , Italian: Basilea ) is Switzerlands third most populous city (166,563 inhabitants (2004); 690,000 inhabitants in the conurbation stretching across the immediate cantonal and national boundaries made Basel Switzerlands second-largest urban area as... Janusz Korczak Janusz Korczak, real name Henryk Goldszmit (July 22, 1878 or 1879 – August, 1942) was a Polish-Jewish pediatrician, childrens author and child pedagogist, known as Old Doctor (Stary Doktor). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Miller’s worldview

The introduction of Miller’s first book, The Drama of the Gifted Child, first published in 1979, contains a famous line that summarizes her views: “Experience has taught us that we have only one enduring weapon in our struggle against mental illness: the emotional discovery and emotional acceptance of the truth in the individual and unique history of our childhood”.

Miller became strongly disenchanted with her chosen field of psychoanalysis after many years spent in practice. Her first three books originated from research she took upon herself as a response to what she felt were major blind spots in her field. However, by the time her fourth book was published she no longer believed that psychoanalysis was viable at all. Psychoanalysis is a family of psychological theories and methods based on the work of Sigmund Freud. ...

Miller blames psychoanalysis for not acknowledging the reality of experienced trauma claiming those memories to be mere phantasy. She admits them to be true, focussing on parents as the one and only source of evil, though. Traumatical experiences of other type, for example caused by politically motivated and intentional traumatization, she does not pay attention to, as psychoanalysis did neither.

Drawing upon the work of psychohistory, Miller has analyzed writers Virginia Woolf, Franz Kafka and others to find links between their childhood traumas and the outcome of their lives. She maintains that all instances of mental illness, crime and falling prey of religious cults are ultimately caused by childhood trauma and inner pain not processed by a helper which she has come to term an "enlightened witness". She extends this trauma model to include all forms of child abuse, including those that are commonly accepted (such as spanking) which she calls poisonous pedagogy (schwarze Pädagogik). Psychohistory is the study of the psychological motivations of historical events. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Kafka at the age of five Franz Kafka (IPA: ) (July 3, 1883 – June 3, 1924) was one of the major German-language novelists and short story writers of the 20th century, whose unique body of writing — much of it incomplete, and published posthumously despite his wish that it be destroyed... Mental Illness is a concept in psychiatry and other mental health professions referring to mental abnormality associated with distress and/or dysfunction. ... This article does not discuss cult in its original sense of religious practice; for that usage see Cult (religious practice). ... Poisonous pedagogy is a concept by which present-day psychologists and educators distance themselves from child-raising methods that were propagated in previous centuries. ...

In the 1990s Miller strongly supported a new method from Konrad Stettbacher, who was later charged with incidents of sexual abuse. Since then she has refused to bring forward therapist or method recommendations. In open letters, Miller explained her decision and how she originally fell for Stettbacher but in the end distanced herself from him and his regressive therapies. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

In our culture “Sparing the parents is our supreme law” wrote Miller. Even psychiatrists, psychoanalysts and clinical psychologists are unconsciously afraid to blame parents for the neuroses and psychoses of their clients. According to Miller mental health professionals are also creatures of the poisonous pedagogy internalized in their own childhood. This explains why the command “Honor your parents” has been one of the main targets in Miller’s school of psychology. Psychiatry is a branch of medicine that studies and treats mental and emotional disorders (see mental illness). ... Clinical psychology is the application of psychology to troublesome mental distress in a health and social care context. ... A neurosis, in psychoanalytic theory, is an ineffectual coping strategy that Sigmund Freud suggested was caused by emotions from past experience overwhelming or interfering with present experience. ... Psychosis is a psychiatric classification for a mental state in which the perception of reality is distorted. ...

Miller calls electroconvulsive therapy —a treatment occasionally used for severe cases of depression— “a campaign against the act of remembering”. She also criticizes psychotherapists’ advice to clients to forgive their abusive parents. For Miller this can only hinder the way to recovery: to remember and feel the pain of our childhood. “The majority of therapists fear this truth. They work under the influence of destructive interpretations culled from both Western and Oriental religions, which preach forgiveness to the once-mistreated child”. Forgiveness does not resolve hatred but covers it in a very dangerous way in the outgrown adult: displacement on scapegoats, as she discussed in her psycho-biographies of Adolf Hitler and Jürgen Bartsch, both of which she describes as having suffered atrocious parental abuse. Small TextElectroconvulsive therapy (ECT), also known as electroshock therapy, is a controversial medical treatment involving the induction of a seizure in a patient by passing electricity through the brain. ... Clinical depression (also called major depressive disorder, or sometimes unipolar when compared with bipolar disorder) is a state of intense sadness, melancholia or despair that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individuals social functioning and/or activities of daily living. ... Psychotherapy is a set of techniques intended to improve or cure mental health, emotional or behavioral issues in individuals, who are often called the client. ... The term Western World or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ... The term the Orient - literally meaning sunrise, east - is traditionally used to refer to Near, Middle, and Far Eastern countries. ... Hitler redirects here. ... Jürgen Bartsch (born November 6, 1946 in Essen; died April 28, 1976 in Eickelborn; original name Karl-Heinz Sadrozinski) was a German serial killer who murdered four children and attempted to kill another. ...

A common denominator in Miller’s writings is to explain why human beings prefer not to know about their own victimization during childhood: to avoid unbearable pain. However, the unconscious command of the individual, not to be aware how he or she was treated in childhood, leads to displacement: the irresistible drive to repeat traumatogenic modes of parenting in the next generation of children.

Writings

The following is a brief summary of Alice Miller's books.

The Drama of the Gifted Child (Das Drama des begabten Kindes, 1979)

In her first book (also published under the titles Prisoners of Childhood and The Drama of Being a Child) Miller defines and elaborates the personality manifestations of childhood trauma. She seeks the truth about her own childhood experiences and in so doing defines the model that has become widely accepted in psychotherapeutic circles, such as the Tavistock Institute. She addresses the two reactions to the loss of love in childhood, depression and grandiosity; the inner prison, the vicious circle of contempt, repressed memories, the etiology of depression, and how childhood trauma manifests itself in the adult. From this book flow the others. The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations was an outgrowth of the original parent body, the Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology, commonly referred to then as the Tavistock Clinic, which was founded in 1920 in Tavistock Square in London. ...

For Your Own Good (Am Anfang war Erziehung, 1980)

Miller proposes here that German traumatogenic methods of childrearing produced Hitler and a serial killer of children named Jürgen Bartsch. In this work Miller introduces the term “poisonous pedagogy”. Children learn to take their parent’s point of view against themselves “for their own good”. In the case of Hitler, he learned to take his parents' point of view against himself against Jews and other groups or people. For Miller, the traditional pedagogic process is manipulative, resulting in that the grown-up adult is deferential to authorities, even to tyrannical leaders or dictators like Hitler. Miller even argues for abandoning the term “pedagogy” in favor of the word “support”, something akin to what psychohistorians call the helping mode of parenting. Poisonous pedagogy is a concept by which present-day psychologists and educators distance themselves from child-raising methods that were propagated in previous centuries. ... World dictatorships. ... Psychohistory is the study of the psychological motivations of historical events. ...

This book is (legally) available online here.

Thou Shalt Not Be Aware (Du sollst nicht merken, 1981)

Unlike Miller’s later books, this one is written in an academic style. It is her first critique of psychoanalysis, charging it with being similar to the poisonous pedagogies that she described in For Your Own Good. Miller is critical of both Freud and Jung. She scrutinizes Freud’s drive theory, a device that blames the child for the abusive sexual behavior of adults. Miller also criticizes Kafka, who was abused by his father but fulfills the politically-correct function of mirroring abuse in metaphorical novels, instead of exposing it. Sigmund Freud His famous couch Sigmund Freud (May 6, 1856 - September 23, 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology, a movement that popularized the theory that unconscious motives control much behavior. ... Carl Jungs autobiographical work Memories , Dreams, Reflections, Fontana edition Carl Gustav Jung (July 26, 1875, Kesswil, – June 6, 1961, Küsnacht) (IPA: ) was a Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology. ...

The Untouched Key (Der gemiedene Schlüssel, 1988)

This book is partly a psychobiography of Nietzsche, Picasso, Kollwitz and Buster Keaton (in Miller’s latest book, The Body Never Lies published in 2005, she includes similar analyses of Dostoyevsky, Chekhov, Schiller, Rimbaud, Mishima, Proust and James Joyce). Friedrich Nietzsche, 1882 Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 - August 25, 1900) was a highly influential German philosopher. ... A young Pablo Picasso Pablo Picasso, formally Pablo Ruiz Picasso, (October 25, 1881 - April 8, 1973) was one of the recognized masters of 20th century art. ... Statue of Kollwitz in East Berlin Käthe Schmidt Kollwitz (July 8, 1867 - 22 April 1945) was a German artist whose work, mostly produced in the print media, offered an eloquent and often searing account of the human condition in the first half of the 20th century. ... Joseph Frank Keaton Jr. ... Fyodor Dostoevsky. ... Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (Russian: , Anton Pavlovič ÄŒehov) (29 January 1860 [O.S. 17 January] – 15 July 1904 [O.S. 2 July]) was a physician, major Russian short story writer and playwright. ... Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (November 10, 1759 - May 9, 1805), usually known as Friedrich Schiller, was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and dramatist. ... Rimbaud can refer to: Arthur Rimbaud, 19th century poet and literary figure Penny Rimbaud, founder and drummer of the anarchist punk rock band Crass This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Yukio Mishima Yukio Mishima ) was the public name of Kimitake Hiraoka , January 14, 1925—November 25, 1970), a Japanese author and playwright, famous for both his highly notable nihilistic post-war writings and the circumstances of his ritual suicide by seppuku. ... The name Proust can refer to: Antonin Proust (1832-1905), French journalist and politician Joseph Proust (1754-1826), French chemist Marcel Proust (1871-1922), French author This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (Irish Seamus Seoighe; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish writer and poet, widely considered to be one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. ...

According to Miller, Nietzsche did not experience a loving family and his philosophical output is a metaphor of an unconscious drive against his family's oppressive theological tradition. She believes the philosophical system is flawed because Nietzsche was unable to make emotional contact with the abused child inside him. Though Nietzsche was severely punished by a father who lost his mind when Nietzsche was a little boy, Miller does not accept the genetic theory of madness. She interprets Nietzsche’s psychotic breakdown as the result of a family tradition in Prussian modes of childrearing. For a non-technical introduction to the topic, please see Introduction to genetics. ...

Banished Knowledge (Das verbannte Wissen, 1988)

In this more personal book Miller confesses she herself was abused as a child. She also introduces the fundamental concept of “enlightened witness”: a person who is willing to support a harmed individual, empathize with her and help her to gain understanding of her own biographical past.

Banished Knowledge is autobiographical in another sense. It is a pointer in Miller’s thoroughgoing apostasy from her own profession, psychoanalysis. She believes society colludes with Freud’s theories in order to not know the truth about our childhood, a truth that human cultures have “banished”. She concludes that the feelings of guilt instilled in our minds since our most tender years reinforce our repression even in the psychoanalytic profession. Apostasy (from Greek αποστασία, meaning a defection or revolt , from απο, apo, away, apart, στασις, stasis, standing) is a term generally employed to describe the formal renunciation of ones religion, especially if the motive is deemed unworthy. ...

Breaking Down the Wall of Silence (Abbruch der Schweigemauer, 1990)

Written in the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Miller takes to task the entirety of human culture. What she calls the “wall of silence” is the metaphorical wall behind which society —academia, psychiatrists, clergy, politicians and members of the media— has sought to protect itself: denying the mind-destroying effects of child abuse. She also continues the autobiographical confession initiated in Banished Knowledge about her abusive mother. In Pictures of a Childhood: Sixty-six Watercolors and an Essay Miller says that painting helped her to ponder deeply into her memories. In some of her paintings Miller depicts baby Alice as swaddled, sometimes by an evil mother. [1] East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, 20 November 1961. ... Swaddling is an age-old practice of wrapping infants snugly in swaddling cloths, blankets or similar cloth so that movement of the limbs is tightly restricted. ...

I betrayed that little girl [...]. Only in recent years, with the help of therapy, which enabled me to lift the veil on this repression bit by bit, could I allow myself to experience the pain and desperation, the powerlessness and justified fury of that abused child. Only then did the dimensions of this crime against the child I once was become clear to me.

See also

• Child abuse
• Psychohistory
• Anti-psychiatry
• Trauma model of mental disorders
• Poisonous pedagogy – further explanation of Miller’s theories
• Dani Levy

Child abuse is the physical or psychological maltreatment of a child by an adult, often synonymous with the term child maltreatment or the term child abuse and neglect. ... Psychohistory is the study of the psychological motivations of historical events. ... Beginning in the 1960s, a movement called anti-psychiatry claimed that psychiatric patients are not ill but are individuals that do not share the same consensus reality as most people in society. ... The “Trauma model” of mental disorders is an expression coined by psychiatrist Colin Ross as a solution to the problem of comorbidity in the mental health field. ... Poisonous pedagogy is a concept by which present-day psychologists and educators distance themselves from child-raising methods that were propagated in previous centuries. ... Dani Levy (born in Basel, Switzerland, 1957) is a film maker, theatrical director and actor. ...

Bibliography

Miller’s published books in English:

• The Drama of the Gifted Child, (1978), revised in 1995 and re-published by Virago as The Drama of Being a Child. ISBN 1-86049-101-4
• Prisoners of Childhood (1981) ISBN 0-465-06287-3
• For Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelty in Child-Rearing and the Roots of Violence (1983) ISBN 0-374-52269-3 (available on line)
• Thou Shalt Not Be Aware: Society's Betrayal of the Child (1984) ISBN 0-374-52543-9
• Banished Knowledge: Facing Childhood Injuries ISBN 0-385-26762-2
• The Untouched Key: Tracing Childhood Trauma in Creativity and Destructiveness ISBN 0-385-26764-9
• Pictures of a Childhood: Sixty-six Watercolors and an Essay ISBN 0-374-23241-5
• Paths of Life: Seven Scenarios (1998) ISBN 0-375-40379-5
• Breaking Down the Wall of Silence: The Liberating Experience of Facing Painful Truth ISBN 0-525-93357-3
• The Truth Will Set You Free: Overcoming Emotional Blindness (2001) ISBN 0-465-04584-7
• The Body Never Lies: The Lingering Effects of Cruel Parenting (2005) ISBN 0-393-06065-9

Miller's essays include:

• Childhood Trauma
• The Political Consequences of Child Abuse

Book reviews

• The Truth Will Set You Free reviewed by John A. Speyrer
• Paths of Life: Seven Scenarios reviewed by Steven Khamsi
• The Body Never Lies: The Lingering Effects of Cruel Parenting reviewed by Steven Khamsi

External links

• Child abuse and mistreatment - Alice Miller official website
• Alice Miller Library of the Natural Child Project
• Alice Miller's Annotated Book List
• Alice Miller: "Communication to My Readers"
• Alice Miller Index at No-Spank
• Interview by Diane Connors (1997)
• The Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences on Adult Health and Well Being
• Resolving the Effects of Child Mistreatment, by Alice Miller, Thursday November 16, 2006

Critical:

• "An Analysis of the Limits of Alice Miller" – biographical criticism by Daniel Mackler
• Alice Miller & Primal Therapy: A Summary