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“Our belief is that the constructive possibilities stem from man's essential nature, from the core of his being… We believe that man turns unconstructive or destructive only if he cannot fulfill himself”.
It is not libido that drives us, Karen Horney discovered, but “evolutionary constructive forces” which urge us to realize our potential. The driving force of the family and society into which we are born creates a conflict by both encouraging and inhibiting the realization of that potential …
… and with that revolutionary departure from a mechanistic biological determinism, Karen Horney liberated the psychoanalytic basis for understanding men and women alike. She also radically altered the goals of psychoanalytical treatment by changing them from encouraging patients to sublimate their biological drives to a richer experience of life in which free choice (based on conflict resolution) became a possibility.
As a result of Horney's writings, women's motivation and behavior were much better understood. They came to be seen as subject to and driven by the same kindly and malignant forces to which men have always been subject—with some special considerations and difficulties of their own.
It is toward the continuing understanding and liberation of men, women and children that the Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis is dedicated.
In addition to the regular meetings under auspices of our Scientific Program, Public Education and Film Discussion Committees, we conduct an annual Karen Horney Memorial Lecture and other special meetings on significant topics for professionals and the public.
The Association publishes The American Journal of Psychoanalysis four times each year and maintains a bookshop to provide books by Karen Horney and others.
Marylou Lionells, Ph.D. has been elected as Director of the William A