CYC-Net

CYC-Net on Facebook CYC-Net on Twitter Search CYC-Net

Join Our Mailing List

Quote

Just a short piece ...

28 March

NO 1278

Fritz Redl

Unfortunately there is no definitive biography of Fritz Redl, but there is a most fascinating and revealing question and answer discussion by Gottesfeld and Pharis (1977) Profiles in Social Work, which Henry Maier pointed out for our benefit, and which should be read in its entirety. The chapter is exciting and informative and will give the reader some of the authentic Redl feeling. Redl crossed more lines than most in his professional career which may account for his open and eclectic approach. He was a teacher in Germany during the period of reformation when less rigid innovations were being tried in schools. For example, once a month a camping trip was required to knit teachers and children through informal activities. His zeal for camping as prime therapeutic environment maintained for life. Also as a teacher he gained his authoritive appreciation of the role of activities in working with childrenwhich subsequently contributed so much to his milieu writings. His teaching and camping stimulated his interest in group psychology.

The next phase of Redl's professional development emphasized academic and clinical study. A theoretical depth combined with his hands-on experience made him the stellar expert that he was. In 1925 he earned his PhD from the University of Vienna. There was a close affiliation between analysis and education at that period in Austria: He was trained as a psychoanalyst in the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society. He became a conduit between the analytic founding fathers and later child psychiatry. These experiences were the source of profound theoretical understanding which enabled enlightening interpretations to flow from his keen observations.

The General Education Board brought him to America in 1936 for a study of normal adolescence. When Hitler took over in Europe he stayed, working at the Cranbrook School in Michigan, and then taught simultaneously at the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago as a commuting professor. He became clinical director of the University of Michigan Fresh Air Camp and subsequently organized his own camp, Chief Noonday. These camps embodied both professional training and treatment for disturbed children in a unique action setting. In 1944 came the work with delinquents at Pioneer House in Detroit. Here he emphasized the need for different methods with different types of child disturbance. The concept of marginal interviewing which later became the Life Space Interview was initiated. By this time his 12 year affiliation with the School of Social Work at Wayne University had begun, and he recalled these years as his happiest and most creative period. Again Fritz continued to cross lines between the academic and direct practice which always fertilized his unique creativity. At this time he was much involved with community affairs and what he called clinical group experience.

Redl was a vigorous advocate for children who were suffering in substandard and even corrupt services. His no-nonsense realism and actual experience with difficult delinquents brought him a great following. In 1953 his work moved to NIMH in Washington where he elaborated many of his concepts of treatment for the new type of delinquents. He said delinquents who just needed a well-meaning friendly adult were no more. He worked to help all professionals develop new skills in dealing with these most difficult and socially threatening youngsters. A continuing campaign was his effort to make child care an equal status mental health profession. He often remarked that there was an inverse relationship between the time spent with children and the intensity of professional training. Redl continued to consult in the States and in Europe. He was in contact with the international leaders and continued his writing. The magnetism of the man maintained for the new recruit and the seasoned worker.

WILLIAM C. MORSE

Morse, William C.(Ed.). (1991). Introduction and perspective. Crisis Intervention in Residential Treatment: The clinical innovations of Fritz Redl. New York. Haworth Press. pp.4-6.

REFERENCES

Gottesfeld, M.L. and Pharis, M.L. (1977). Profiles in Social Work. New York. Human Science Press.

The International Child and Youth Care Network
THE INTERNATIONAL CHILD AND YOUTH CARE NETWORK (CYC-Net)

Registered Public Benefit Organisation in the Republic of South Africa (PBO 930015296)
Incorporated as a Not-for-Profit in Canada: Corporation Number 1284643-8

P.O. Box 23199, Claremont 7735, Cape Town, South Africa | P.O. Box 21464, MacDonald Drive, St. John's, NL A1A 5G6, Canada

Board of Governors | Constitution | Funding | Site Content and Usage | Advertising | Privacy Policy | Contact us

iOS App Android App