October 9, 1884

Helene Deutsch: A Psychoanalyst's Life (1985) by Paul Roazen, describes the subject as "the last survivor of Freud's original circle from Vienna." Helene Deutsch (October 9, 1884 to March 29, 1982 ) is also mentioned as the first analyst to focus on women's particular psychology. Much of her work was done in the United States as the Deutsches were able to flee Germany, for Cambridge Massachusetts, in 1935. In her 1951 book Psycho-Analysis of the Neuroses we read about a patient who exhibited multiple phobias-- a young woman who was phobic of "space, heights, ships, and cats".

But in the glory years Deutsch was a young doctor, married to another one, when, interested in psychoanalysis, she became one o fthe first four women analyzed by Freud (1918-1919), the second woman admitted to the Vienna Psychoanalytical Society, and in fact, worked as Freud's personal assistant. Her husband, an internist, became himself eventually a psychoanalyst and the couple hosted in the late 20s a regular Saturday night salon they named the "Black Cat Card Club", and so called after a game they all played. The members were all analysts, and all married couples. The story is told that this setup was designed to exclude Freud's unmarried daughter Anna.

We also consulted the  Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives From Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century (2000, edited by Marilyn Ogilvie,  Joy Harvey). Here it is noted that Deutsch saw women as having a special capacity for empathy. She received the Menninger Award in 1962. Her autobiography, Confrontations with Myself, appeared in 1973.