Essay on John Bowlby 's Influence On Mental Disorders

John Bowlby was born in London on February 26, 1907. He came from an upper middle class family, was one of six children, and, as was common at the time, was raised by a nanny. His father was a surgeon, who at one time acted as a doctor to the king 's household. His father served in World War I, and was knighted for his service to the king. Bowlby never developed a close relationship with either of his parents. When Bowlby attended university, he demonstrated an aptitude for academics. He excelled at the Royal Naval College, and the transferred to Trinity College, Cambridge, to continue his studies. After graduating, he went on to study medicine at University College Hospital in London, finally enrolling in the Institute for Psychoanalysis. He became a psychoanalyst, and he did his training analysis under Melanie Klein. Although Klien was a leading psychoanalytic theorist, Bowlby did not agree with how she had developed Freudian analysis. Bowlby agreed with Freud that most personality issues and mental disorders could be traced to early childhood development (van der Horst, 2011, p 20-25). However, Bowlby was drawn more to clinical research rather than the analyst’s coach, and he began studying the methodology of psychology. He research was influenced by Conrad Lorenz and his theory of imprinting (van der Horst, 2011, p 75). Lorenz 's theory of imprinting argued that newly born animals, like ducks, instinctively recognized a similar animal nearby, and rapidly learned…