Joan Erikson was well known as a collaborator with her husband, Erik Erikson.
29 Facts About Joan Erikson
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Joan Erikson was born in Brockville, Ontario, one of three children of John Reaby and Mary Louise MacDonald Serson.
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Joan Erikson later changed her name to Sarah Mowat Serson, then to Sally Mowat Serson, then to Joan Mowat Serson.
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Joan Erikson persuaded Erik to move to the United States three years later, where they became citizens in 1939.
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In 1944, Joan Erikson gave birth to a fourth child, Neil, who was born with Down's Syndrome and was immediately institutionalized.
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Joan Erikson died on August 3,1997, in a nursing home in Brewster, Massachusetts, three years after the death of her husband, Erik.
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Mrs Joan Erikson's survivors included two sons, Kai of Hamden, Conn.
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Joan Erikson obtained an undergraduate degree from Barnard College and a master's from Columbia's Teachers College.
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Joan Erikson completed doctorate course work before moving to Europe to conduct research for a dance dissertation.
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Joan Erikson spent time observing dance schools and teaching dance to children in Austria and Germany.
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Joan Erikson believed that children should be taught based on their interests, and structured lessons accordingly.
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Joan Erikson taught English to many of the psychoanalysts at the school, including her husband.
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In 1951, Joan Erikson became the director of activities at the Austen Riggs Center, a psychiatric treatment facility for children and adults in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
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Joan Erikson created the Theatre Program and the Montessori Nursery School there.
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Joan Erikson wrote several books, including The Universal Bead; Activity, Recovery, and Growth; and Wisdom and the Senses.
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Joan Erikson was the main collaborator in developing the eight stages of psychosocial development with her husband Erik Erikson.
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Joan Erikson had a great influence on the development of the stages and on the inclusion of the eighth stage.
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Joan Erikson believed that during the ninth stage, older adults can shift towards a more transcendent perspective, which increases life satisfaction.
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Joan Erikson describes transcendence as regaining skills such as play, activity, and song.
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Joan Erikson believed that "aging is a process of becoming free" and should not be treated as the opposite.
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Joan Erikson contributed to the writings on the first eight stages in the book, The Life Cycle Completed, and later added the final part on the ninth stage.
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Joan Erikson believed that the arts possess their own healing properties and can be used as an exclusive form of therapy.
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Joan Erikson believed that people's artwork should not be psychoanalyzed or interpreted but should be used solely for healing through creative process.
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Joan Erikson came into conflict with Anna Freud over this issue while working at the school in Vienna, stating that children's creativity should not be psychoanalyzed.
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Joan Erikson created the Activities Program at the Austin Riggs Center in Massachusetts, which included a theatre program and other artistic outlets for patients.
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Joan Erikson encouraged artwork to be its own form of healing and to help patients learn new skills, instead of focusing on an absence of skills or abilities.
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Joan Erikson thought that adults spend too much time doing what they think they are supposed to be doing, and not taking time to do what they enjoy.
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Joan Erikson related play and humor, and believed that without a sense of humor, people lose freedom and the ability to play.
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Joan Erikson thought it was especially important for older adults facing retirement to engage in creative activities.