# Esther Bick

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**Esther Bick** (born **Esteza Lifsza Wander**; 4 July 1902 – 20 July 1983)[1][2] was a British [psychoanalyst](/source/Psychoanalyst) and child psychologist

## Biography

Bick was born in [Przemyśl](/source/Przemy%C5%9Bl), [Galicia](/source/Galicia_(Eastern_Europe)), as the oldest daughter in an [Orthodox Jewish](/source/Orthodox_Judaism) family. After completing her *[Abitur](/source/Abitur)* in 1924 she moved to [Vienna](/source/Vienna), where she studied [psychology](/source/Psychology) with [Charlotte Bühler](/source/Charlotte_B%C3%BChler) at the [University of Vienna](/source/University_of_Vienna). She also became a research assistant to Bühler, in which role she worked on a research project on child development. Bick received her doctorate in 1935. In 1936 she married Philipp Bick (1904–1972), a medical student; after the *[Anschluss](/source/Anschluss)* of Austria into [Nazi Germany](/source/Nazi_Germany) in 1938, the couple fled to [Switzerland](/source/Switzerland). As Bick didn't receive a work permit there she emigrated to [England](/source/England) later that year, while her husband remained in Switzerland. The marriage ended in divorce in 1945.[3]

Bick settled in [Manchester](/source/Manchester), where she worked in nurseries during [World War II](/source/World_War_II);[3] almost all of her family would perish in the [Holocaust](/source/Holocaust).[4] She entered into analysis with [Michael Balint](/source/Michael_Balint) in 1941. Following the end of the war Bick moved to [London](/source/London), where she began training at the Institute of Psychoanalysis of the [British Psychoanalytical Society](/source/British_Psychoanalytical_Society) (BPAS) in 1947, and entered into training analysis with [Melanie Klein](/source/Melanie_Klein). She became an associate member of the BPAS in 1948, and a full member in 1953.[3] At the invitation of [John Bowlby](/source/John_Bowlby), Bick established the child psychotherapy training at the [Tavistock Clinic](/source/Tavistock_and_Portman_NHS_Foundation_Trust) in 1948. She served as its head until 1960, and was succeeded by [Martha Harris](/source/Martha_Harris_(psychoanalyst)). Bick subsequently remained a supervisor of child therapists in training at the clinic, alongside teaching at the Institute of Psychoanalysis.[4]

Bick retired from practice of patients in 1980, and died in [Redbridge](/source/Redbridge,_London), London, in 1983.[2]

## Research

Main article: [Psychoanalytic infant observation](/source/Psychoanalytic_infant_observation)

While head of child psychotherapy training at Tavistock, Bick came to develop the method of [psychoanalytic infant observation](/source/Psychoanalytic_infant_observation). Her discovery of the potential of infant observation undertaken within the child's home over the first year or two of life became the foundation of the growth of a psychoanalytic perspective within the observer. It was a conceptual innovation in the history of child and later adult psychoanalytic training[4] and was pioneered in Italy by child neuropsychiatrist [Marcella Balconi](/source/Marcella_Balconi).[5] It has since become an essential feature of pre-clinical training in child and adult psychotherapy, psychoanalysis and related fields throughout the world.[6]

## Selected works

- "Notes on Infant Observation in Psycho-Analytic Training", *[The International Journal of Psychoanalysis](/source/The_International_Journal_of_Psychoanalysis)*, vol. 45, no. 4, 1964, pp. 558–566.
- "The Experience of the Skin in Early Object-Relations", *The International Journal of Psychoanalysis*, vol. 49, no. 2–3, 1968, pp. 484–486.
- "Further Considerations on the Function of the Skin in Early Object Relations. Findings from Infant Observation Integrated into Child and Adult Analysis", *British Journal of Psychotherapy*, vol. 2, no. 4, 1986, pp. 292-299.
- "Anxieties Underlying Phobia of Sexual Intercourse in a Woman", *British Journal of Psychotherapy*, vol. 18, no. 1, 2001, pp. 7–21.

## References

1. ["Dr. Esther (Estera Lifsza) Wander"](https://hohenemsgenealogie.at/getperson.php?personID=I51861&tree=Hohenems). *Hohenems Genealogie*. Retrieved 10 December 2025.

1. Harris, Martha (1983). ["Esther Bick (1901 - 1983)"](https://pep-web.org/browse/document/jcptx.009.0101a). *Journal of Child Psychotherapy*. **9** (2): 101. Retrieved 10 December 2025.

1. ["Esther Bick née Wander (1902-1983)"](https://www.psychoanalytikerinnen.de/greatbritain_biographies.html#Bick). *Psychoanalytikerinnen. Biografisches Lexikon*. Retrieved 2020-12-22.

1. Rustin, Margaret (2013). ["Esther Bick"](https://melanie-klein-trust.org.uk/writers/esther-bick/). Melanie Klein Trust. Retrieved 10 December 2025.

1. ["Balconi Marcella"](http://scienzaa2voci.unibo.it/biografie/1218-balconi-marcella). *scienzaa2voci.unibo.it*. Retrieved 2020-12-23.

1. ["Infant Observation"](http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=riob20). *www.tandfonline.com*. Retrieved 2016-11-19.

## Bibliography

- Psychoanalytikerinnen. Biografisches Lexikon: [http://www.psychoanalytikerinnen.de/greatbritain_biographies.html#Bick](http://www.psychoanalytikerinnen.de/greatbritain_biographies.html#Bick)
- Melanie Klein Trust. Esther Bick: [http://www.melanie-klein-trust.org.uk/bick](http://www.melanie-klein-trust.org.uk/bick)
- Margaret Rustin, "[Esther Bick's legacy of infant observation at the Tavistock - some reflections 60 years on](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F13698030902731691)", International Journal of Infant Observation and Its Applications, Vol. 12, Issue 1, 2009. DOI: [https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13698030902731691](https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13698030902731691)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Esther Bick](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Bick) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Bick?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.