The mental hygiene movement drew much of its energy from the seminal work of Dr. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). This included belief in the importance of childhood development and experience, as well as the role unconscious motivation plays in behavior. Freud's "talking cure" of psychoanalysis emphasized the centrality of significant relationships to psychological health and well-being. Clinicians saw the real possibility that treatment might change behavior.
Freud's theories of psychological development have been criticized, but criticism has in no way diminished his influence in psychiatry, psychology, and education. Freud's early followers include Alfred Adler, August Aichorn, Carl Jung, H. Stack Sullivan, Karen Horney, and Erik Erikson, to name just a few. These and others of the "psychodynamic" school looked beyond biological determinants of behavior to social influences across the lifespan. As Freud's original theories have been elaborated upon and revised by others over the decades since his death, his place in modern history has been solidified.
Freud's pupil Alfred Adler (1870-1937) played an important role in the history psychoeducation. His "individual psychology" supported a holistic view of human nature. Unlike Freud, who believed that behavior is determined by drives and unconscious forces, Adler believed that human beings are goal-directed, and that social relationships have a significant impact upon behavior. He also had a strong interest in child mental health, establishing clinics in schools and treatment facilities for youth in his native Vienna.
