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Sylvester papers
SFCP.MSS.006
SFCP.MSS.006
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Table of contents
Title: Sylvester papers
Identifier/Call Number: SFCP.MSS.006
Contributing Institution:
San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
12.0 Linear feet
18 cartons
Date (inclusive): 1924-1995
Abstract: The Sylvester papers include work done by Sylvester both in the realm of child psychology and without, primarily dedicated
to patient files from fifteen years of child therapy practice and manuscripts both written by and collected by Sylvester.
Smaller sections of child psychology include notes, case discussions, business finances, and work with the Child Analysis
Committee. Also collected are records from Sylvester's work with the Mt. Zion nursery school, California State Personnel Board,
Marin Health Services and teaching material from her time as an educator. Personal items included correspondence, both personal
and professional, biographical material, therapy toys used in practice and and small collection of photos, slides and negatives.
creator:
Sylvester, Emmy
For use by researchers and students of psychoanalysis subject to archive rules and regulations.
Subject to copyright restrictions.
'The San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis Archives' Record Unit/Accession # and/or Collection Title.
Emmy Sylvester was born in Vienna on August 4th, 1910. Her father worked as a civil engineer for the Austrian government as
a bridge builder who died during her early adult years. She attended the University of Vienna and received her Ph.D. in psychology
in 1932. As a psychologist she worked with Charlotte Buhler on, among other things, an early study of infant sleep patterns.
She continued to study medicine, receiving her medical degree in 1937 before interning at the Children's Hospital in Vienna
in 1937.
Sylvester left Vienna for the United States in 1938 shortly before the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany. Traveling to
Chicago, she served another internship at Michael Reese hospital in 1938 followed by a residency there in 1938 and 1939. She
continued her analytic training begun in Vienna at the Chicago institute. She was also associated with the Orthogenic School
and worked for some time with Bettelheim on a number of projects. She remained with the Michael Reese Hospital during the
40's on the staff and as a teacher before moving to San Francisco in 1951.
Becoming a training analyst shortly after arriving in the Bay Area, she served on the teaching staff at Mt. Zion and Letterman
Hospitals where she practiced with friends and colleagues Emmanual Windholz and Norman Reider and was a Clinical Professor
at Stanford Medical School. Moving to Mill Valley in the 60's, she continued her psychological work with children as evidenced
by her nearly two hundred patient files over fifteen years of child psychotherapy.
Though married twice she never had children. Retiring in 1990, Emmy Sylvester died on August 9th, 1994 just five days after
her 85th birthday, after a four year long battle with Alzheimer's disease.
The collection has been arranged in the following series: Child Psychology, Non-child psychology work, Manuscripts, Correspondence,
Patient files, biographical material, and Miscellaneous. Photographs, negatives and slides and therapy toys are housed separately
from the main collection.
The Sylvester papers include work done by Sylvester both in the realm of child psychology and without, primarily dedicated
to patient files from fifteen years of child therapy practice and manuscripts both written by and collected by Sylvester.
Smaller sections of child psychology include notes, case discussions, business finances, and work with the Child Analysis
Committee. Also collected are records from Sylvester's work with the Mt. Zion nursery school, California State Personnel Board,
Marin Health Services and teaching material from her time as an educator. Personal items included correspondence, both personal
and professional, biographical material, therapy toys used in practice and and small collection of photos, slides and negatives.
The materials in the collection span the years 1924-1995 and feature work done by Sylvester and contemporaries. The vast majority
of the collection is dedicated to nearly two hundred patient files from her work as a child psychoanalyst. Material is arranged
by date where dates exist with patient files organized alphabetically by patients last initial and manuscripts collected by
Sylvester arranged alphabetically by author's last name. Collections of brochures from treatments centers and psychoanalysis
schools, reprints and handwritten note are undated and arranged only at the series level. Correspondence with Dr. Egan is
in German and has been filed separately from English correspondence. Dated material primarily spans the dates 1960-1984.
Photos, negatives and slides and therapy toys are housed separately from the main collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Child analysis
Children -- Research
Correspondence
Photographs
Psychoanalysis -- Case studies
Psychoanalysis--Study and teaching
Reprints
Toys