Fanita English

Fanița English (born October 22, 1916 – January 18, 2022) was a Romanian-born American psychoanalyst and psychotherapist.

Personal life and education Fanita English was born October 22, 1916, in the city of Galați, Romania. Her parents were Jewish, and moved to Turkey when she was five. Her childhood was passed in Istanbul, leaving school when she was 15. She then trained as a secretary and worked for Warner Brothers’ films first in Bucharest and then in Paris. She then studied psychology with Jean Piaget at the Institute of Pedagogical Psychology and was awarded a diploma in psychology from the University of Paris, Sorbonne and then continued graduate studies at the Paris Institute of Psychoanalysis. She migrated to the US with her mother and step-father in 1941 She later was awarded a scholarship to study at Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania and was awarded a master's degree in social work.

Career English was initially a psychoanalyst. In 1949, she was the executive director of the Alexandria Family Service Agency in Washington. As Eric Berne's first student, This was for her work on The Substitution Factor. She was given this award again in 1997. In 2010 English was awarded a gold medal by the European Association for Transactional Analysis for her outstanding contributions over forty years. The International Transactional Analysis Association established the Fanita English Lifetime Achievement Award in her honour, and English was its first recipient in 2020.

Publications English published in learned journals and also books. Her publications include: English, Fanita & Pischetsrieder Gerd: Ich – Beruf, Leben, Beziehungen. (I - job, life, relationships) Hamburg: Pischetsrieder Consulting 1996. English, Fanita & Wonneberger Klaus-Dieter: Wenn Verzweiflung zu Gewalt wird … Gewalttaten und ihre verborgenen Ursachen. (When despair turns into violence ... acts of violence and their hidden causes ) Paderborn: Junfermann Verlag 1992. Tauschhandel der Gefühle – Transaktionsanalyse mit Fanita English (Barter of Feelings - Transaction Analysis with Fanita English )(videocassette) Erlangen: Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg 1987 Es ging doch gut – was ging denn schief? Beziehungen in Partnerschaft, Familie und Beruf. (It went well - what went wrong? Relationships in partnership, family and work ) Munich: Christian Kaiser Verlag 1982/1992 (now Bertelsmann, 6th edition) Was werde ich morgen tun? (What will I do tomorrow) Berlin: Institut für Kommunikationstherapie, 1980. from the English original What shall I do tomorrow in G. Barnes (ed.) (1977) pages 287–347 Transaktionsanalyse – Gefühle und Ersatzgefühle in Beziehungen. (Transactional Analysis - Feelings and Substitutes in Relationships ) Hamburg 1991, 3rd revised edition of Transaktionale Analyse und Skriptanalyse: Aufsätze u. Vorträge von Fanita English Hilarion Petzold & M. Paula (eds.) – Dt. Studienausg. Hamburg: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Altmann, 1976 from original Selected Articles (1976)