The Life and Works of Karen Horney

Written by Kelly L. Hunter


Many intellectual women have contributed to the development of Psychology throughout the years; Karen Horney is among these women. Born in 1885 to parents who could not have been more opposite, Horney’s childhood had its ups and downs. These experiences shaped Horney into a woman of mental unbalance, amazing intellect, and fueled her desire to find answers to human behaviors through her own self analysis. Horney’s theory of neurosis is said to be the best explanation of this disorder to ever be written then and now. “She looked at neurosis in a different light, saying that it was much more continuous with normal life than other theorists believed. Furthermore, she saw neurosis as an attempt to make life bearable, as an interpersonal controlling and coping technique” (Boeree, 2006).
Karen Horney battled with depression throughout the majority of her lifetime. Her first experience with this disorder was around the age of nine. Karen had a crush on her brother and when her overwhelming attention began to trouble him, he pushed her away. This rejection had a substantial affect on young Karen’s emotional wellbeing which led to her becoming deeply depressed. A couple of years later, Horney’s mother divorced her father and left her and her brother in their father’s care. Karen soon after enrolled in medical school against her parent’s wishes and societies for-that-matter. Three years later, she met the man she would marry; his name was Oscar Horney. One year after her marriage to Oscar, Karen gave birth to their first child, the first of three girls (Boeree, 2006). During 1911, the year after Karen gave birth to their fist daughter, her mother passed away; it was during this time that Karen began her study of psychoanalysis. According to some reports, Karen’s husband was much like her father in that he was a strong disciplinarian. In the beginning, Karen did not dispute her husband’s authoritarian ways and thought his discipline was good for their children. However, in later years, Karen’s views changed along with her perspective on childrearing.
1923 also proved to be yet another rough year for Horney. With the death of her brother and her husband’s failed business ventures, not to mention his meningitis, Karen began to develop an even darker state of emotional turmoil. “Karen became very depressed, to the point of swimming out to a sea piling during a vacation with thoughts of committing suicide” (Boeree, 2006). Three years later, Karen left Oscar and took her daughters to the U.S. Karen and her children decided to call Brooklyn, New York home which forever changed their lives. 1930’s Brooklyn has been notarized as being the intellectual capital of the world and it was here that Horney became associated with scholarly minds like those of Harry S. Sullivan and Erich Fromm. With the profound exposure to such intellect and her experience with psychotherapy, Karen began the development of her theories on neurosis. “Horney believed neurosis to be a continuous process — with neuroses commonly occurring sporadically in one’s lifetime” (“Karen Horney,” 2008).
Horney believed in order to understand an individual’s neurosis, one needed to be able to understand how that individual as a child perceived the events and experiences in his or her life. For example, Horney believed that parental indifference toward a child could have harmful affects on his or her mental stability, thus causing emotional damage to the child. Horney developed 10 patterns to explain her theories on neurotic behaviors: the need for affection and approval, the need for a partner, the need for power, the need to exploit others, the need for social recognition, the need for personal admiration, the need for personal achievement, the need for self sufficiency and independence, the need for perfection, and the need for restriction (“Karen Horney,” 2008). After careful examination of these patterns and reevaluation of her theories, Horney divided the patterns into three distinct categories of behavior: compliance (Moving Toward People), aggression (Moving Against People), and detachment (Moving Away From People).
Horney was a published author during her lifetime and two years before her death she summarized her theories of neurosis; putting this summarization into what is said to be the most accomplished work of her career. The book is titled, Neurosis and Human Growth: The Struggle Toward Self-Realization. “In this book she summarizes her ideas regarding neurosis, clarifying her three neurotic “solutions” to the stresses of life” (“Karen Horney, 2008). Helping Alfred Adler develop “Neo-Freudian” discipline was another milestone and achievement in the life and career of Karen Horney. “Perhaps the most important contribution Karen Horney made to psychodynamic thought was her disagreements with Freud's view of women” (“Psychodynamic,” 2003). During her career, Horney taught in Berlin and New York at the Psychoanalytic Institute where her Neo-Freudian views were not appreciated nor were they accepted. Horney left the institute on her own accord to embark on an altogether new journey in which she co-founded her own school known as the American Institute for Psychoanalysis.
Horney disagreed with Freud’s theories on virtually every level and made no apologies for her contempt of his work. In regard to Freud’s theory of penis envy, Horney developed her own theory of how men suffered from womb envy causing them to strive harder to achieve success in other areas because they were unable to bear children. Horney believed the inability to give birth to a child caused men to feel somewhat inferior to women, hence the reason that women had few rights during this era. Horney also disagreed with Freud’s theories of gender personality indifference stating that biology had nothing to do with these indifferences and in fact, culture and society were more likely the cause. She believed societal and cultural standpoints placed heavy restrictions on women and viewed men and women as being equal otherwise. “These views, while not well accepted at the time, were used years after her death to help promote gender equality” (“Psychodynamic,” 2003). Although Karen Horney died long before the feminist movement went into full swing, she has been credited with being the one who helped start this movement by offering up her theories on gender diversity; thus allowing psychologists a different perspective from Freud’s theories on gender inequality.
Horney was not afraid to challenge popular Freudian theories privately or publicly and believed that environmental factors were more substantial to an individual’s mental state than biological factors presented by Freud himself. She was the first woman to present a paper on feminine psychology during an international meeting; an achievement not common during a time when women were not taken seriously. Horney wrote many papers and books ranging in topics from but not limited to feminine value, marriage, childhood, and parenting. Her theory on self-actualization opened up doors for her and other women that had been closed to them in the past. The Karen Horney Clinic which opened their doors five years after her death is a research, training, and affordable treatment facility dedicated to her life’s work. Horney’s struggles through depression and a non-accepting world have blessed men and women alike in more ways than one can describe.
In conclusion, Karen Horney may have been well ahead of her time and although her theories were not always accepted by society, she never gave up. Coming from a seemingly dysfunctional and neurotic family gave Horney the drive she needed to explore neurosis through self-analysis and eventually challenge the theories and mind’s of her doubters. She was a theorist, a teacher, a leader, a mother, and survivor. A true pioneer to the field and study of psychology, Horney had a firsthand account of what it means to be neurotic and mentally unstable. Her bouts of depression did not stop her from achieving success and although she may not have had the support of society, Horney defied the odds of not only being a women of her generation but being an intellectual mind who managed to leave an ever lasting impression on psychology and the world. If Horney were alive today, she may or may not be surprised at how much her hard work and dedication truly paid off in the end. Either way, she should be proud of her accomplishments and achievements because she is a true role model for young women growing up in today’s society.

















Reference(s)

Boeree, Dr. G.C. (2006). Karen Horney. C. George Boeree. Retrieved July 27, 2008. http://www.psychology.org/links/People_and_History/

“Karen Horney: Theory of Neurosis.” (2008). Psychotherapy Resources, Inc. Retrieved July 30, 2009. http://www.psychotherapy.ro/resources/psychotherapists/karen-horney-theory-of-neurosis/

“Personality Synopsis: Psychodynamic and Neo-Freudian Theories.” (2003). AllPsych and Heffner Media Group, Inc. Retrieved August 1, 2009. http://allpsych.com/personalitysynopsis/horney.html