Bibring, Grete L. (Grete Lehner), 1899-1977

Grete L. Bibring, (1899-1977), noted psychoanalyst, was one of the members of the "second generation" of Freudian Scholars, and played a leading role in the integration of psychiatry with general patient care. Bibring served as head of the psychiatry department at the Beth Israel Hospital, from 1946-1965 as the first woman head of a clinical department, and in 1961 was appointed Harvard Medical School's first woman full professor.

Grete L. Bibring, (1899-1977), noted psychoanalyst, was one of the members of the "second generation" of Freudian Scholars, and played a leading role in the integration of psychiatry with general patient care. Bibring served as head of the psychiatry department at the Beth Israel Hospital, from 1946-1965 as the first woman head of a clinical department, and in 1961 was appointed Harvard Medical School's first woman full professor.

Born to a non-practicing Jewish family in Vienna, Austria, Bibring received her MD from the University of Vienna in 1924. There, she became captivated by Freud's theories and joined Freud's Vienna Psychoanalytic Society. In 1922, she married Edward Bibring, a fellow psychoanalytic student. The marriage produced two children, Thomas and George.

From 1933-1938, she worked as a training analyst and instructor at the Vienna Psychoanalytic Institute. In 1938, she and her family left Vienna for London with Sigmund and Anna Freud in advance of the Nazi occupation of Austria. The Bibrings soon emigrated to Boston, Mass. in 1941.

In Boston, Bibring's career soon flourished. She worked as a special lecturer on psychoanalytic psychology at the Simmons College School of Social Work from 1942-1955. In 1946, she was appointed head of the department of psychiatry at the Beth Israel Hospital, the first woman head of a clinical department at Harvard Medical School. Bibring continued in that role until 1955, when she was appointed psychiatrist- in-chief. She remained there until her retirement in 1965.

Bibring also held leadership roles in several other organizations and professional associations in which she was involved. She continued in her role as a training analyst at the B oston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, and in 1955, she was elected President. In 1962, she was elected president of the American Psychoanalytic Association. In 1968 Bibring was selected to be a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She was affiliated with numerous other organizations, including the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Brandeis University, and the International Psycho-Analytic Association, until her death in 1977.