The Interplay between the Physical and the Psychological in the Overlooked Work of Jewish Refugee Psychoanalyst Barbara Lantos

This article explores the neglected contributions of Jewish refugee psychoanalyst Barbara Lantos (1896–1962) to British psychological intellectual history. A pioneer in her field, Lantos examined the psychology of work and the interplay between physiological and psychological processes, particularly in conversion hysteria during menopause. Her work, influenced in part by Therese Benedek, enriched the British Psychoanalytical Society, where Jewish analysts fleeing the continent due to antisemitism helped redefine the discipline. Situating Lantos within the intellectual milieu of exiled psychoanalysts, this study underscores her resilience and the vital work of women analysts displaced by war in advancing psychoanalytic thought amid the disruptions and turmoil of the twentieth century.