Biographical Note: Born in New York City to German parents, Pavenstedt received her medical degree from the University of Geneva in 1929. In 1934 she became director of the child psychiatry outpatient clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. The following year she began her analytic training at the Boston Psychoanalytic Institute with Hans Sachs and Helene Deutsch. Her book “The Drifters: Children of Disorganized Lower Class Families” was published in 1967. She was a chairman of the education committee at BPSI and a chairman of subcommittees on early development and social problems at the American Psychoanalytic Association.
Summary: the collection consists of one manuscript box of reprints, papers and related materials. BPSI Audiovisual Archive also holds an interview with Eleanor Pavenstedt recorded in 1976 (audiocassette 440). Additional Pavenstedt’s papers and biographical materials could be found in the Related BPSI Collections listed below.
Finding Aid for this collection is available here (viewing it requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).
Related BPSI Collections
Audiovisual Materials
BPSI History Collections: Scientific Meetings
Child Analysis Materials, 1926-1989
Vertical File (includes an article about Eleanor Pavenstedt by Frederick M. Ehrlich, 1994)
Related Archives
Viola Wertheim Bernard Papers at Columbia University Archives (include a reprint of Pavenstedt’s “An Intervention Program for Infants from High Risk Homes,” 1972)
Related Sites
Abstract of “The Drifters” from American Academy of Pediatrics
Articles by Eleanor Pavenstedt (PubMed citations)
Articles by Eleanor Pavenstedt (Google Scholar citations)
