This paper will describe and illustrate the life of Erik Erikson. It will account for all the events and findings he accomplished during his lifetime which began in Frankfurt, Germany and ended in Harwich, Massachusetts. This paper will outline his achievements in the field of Identity Crisis and Psychosocial Development, which left his defining mark on the field of psychology.
Life of Erik Erikson.
Erik Erikson was born June 15th, 1902 in Frankfurt Germany to a young Jewish women named Karla Abrahamsen and an unidentified Danish man who left before young Erik was born (Boeree, 2002). "He was adopted by his Jewish stepfather, and took the name of Erik Homberger. But because of his blond-and-blue-eyed Nordic look, Erikson was rejected by his Jewish neighbors" (Who is Erik Erikson, 2002, p.1). While attending school as a child, Erikson was quite often at the brunt end of jokes for being a Jewish boy, and that began his very own identity crisis (Who is Erik Erikson, 2002). .
When Erikson was finished with high school he became focused on becoming an artist. "When not taking art classes, he wandered around Europe, visiting museums and sleeping under bridges. He was living the life of the carefree rebel, long before it became "the thing to do"" (Boeree, 2002, pp. 2-3). While working on his art, Erikson also began to work towards a certificate in Montessori education as well as one from the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society where he was psychoanalyzed by Anna Freud (Boeree, 2002).
It was during Erikson's time at the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society that he met his wife and mother of his three children. Joan Serson was at the Society as a Canadian dance teacher (Boeree, 2002). "With the Nazis coming into power, they left Vienna, first for Copenhagen, then to Boston. Werikson was offered a position at the Harvard Medical School and practiced child psychoanalysis privately" (Boeree, 2002, p.