Title Page | Collection Summary | Biographical/Organizational Note | Biographical/Organizational Note | Scope and Content | Arrangement
Biographical Note for Elizabeth Severn
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1879, Nov. 17 | Born Leota Brown, Milwaukee, Wisc. |
| circa 1900 | Married Charles Kenneth Heywood (separated 1905) |
| 1901 | Gave birth to daughter, Margaret |
| 1906-1907 | After history of mental and emotional illness, treated for nervous breakdown by a medical doctor using "power of positive thinking" |
| 1907 | Determined to become a mental healer, she obtained a divorce, changed her name to Elizabeth Severn, and with her daughter moved to Texas |
| circa 1908-1912 | "Metaphysician and healer," traveled in the United States, including Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, and Washington, D.C., seeing patients |
| 1912-1914 | Moved to England, started a psychotherapy practice in London |
| 1913 | Published Psycho-Therapy: Its Doctrine and Practice. London: Rider |
| 1914-1924 | Returned to the United States and established psychotherapy practice in New York City; was increasingly troubled herself and sought help from several psychiatrists, without cure |
| 1917 | Published The Psychology of Behavior. New York: Dodd, Mead |
| 1924 | Traveled to Budapest, Hungary, to undergo analysis with Sándor Ferenczi |
| 1924-1933 | Analysand of Sándor Ferenczi; traveled frequently between Europe and New York for analysis while continuing her own practices in New York City and London, England |
| 1933 | Death of Sándor Ferenczi; Severn resumed her psychotherapy practice in London, England |
| 1933 | Published The Discovery of the Self. London: Rider |
| 1933-1939 | Traveled between London, England, and New York City; gave lectures and taught courses on psychology while continuing to see patients |
| 1939-1959 | With the advent of World War II, moved permanently to New York City; continued to write, lecture, and see patients |
| 1959, Feb. | Died, New York, N.Y. |
[Biographical note based in part on Christopher Fortune, "The Case of 'RN': Sándor Ferenczi's Radical Experiment in Psychoanalysis," chapter 6 of The Legacy of Sándor Ferenczi, Lewis Aron and Adrienne Harris, editors. (New Jersey: Analytic Press, 1993)]