The research trajectory of Judith Kestenberg
from the study of movements to research with child victims of the Holocaust
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35699/1982-3053.2024.55802Keywords:
Judith Kestenberg, Holocaust, Surviving childrenAbstract
The physician and psychoanalyst Judith Kestenberg created a method of body movement analysis called the “Kestenberg Movement Profile” (KMP). She proposed an innovative approach to prevention and intervention in early childhood development and conducted extensive research on child survivors of the Holocaust and on the children of survivors. This latter research produced a great deal of knowledge about the psychological effects of severe childhood trauma. Most of the published material about Kestenberg addresses the KMP. Her research on child survivors of the Holocaust and on the children of survivors is still the subject of little systematic research in the fields of psychology and psychoanalysis. This article aims to present the course of Kestenberg’s research and characterise her work on child survivors of the Holocaust, with a view to contributing to the appreciation and dissemination of her work.
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