She revised Sigmund Freud's theory of psychoanalysis by stressing security needs over sexual and aggressive drives, by calling for alterations in what she considered a male-biased view of feminine psychology, and by arguing that people are always capable of growth and change. She worked briefly at the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis, and then moved to New York City, where she soon broke with the New York Psychoanalytic Institute to help found the Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis and the American Institute for Psychoanalysis. Beginning in the 1970s, her work received increased attention, especially from feminists and psychoanalysts interested in self-esteem. Like Freud, Horney felt that parent-child relationships were of paramount importance.
Dependence is a trait that all small children share.
When the child is treated with apathy or harshness they are likely to develop feelings of insecurity and what Horney refers to as basic anxiety. Children also resent parents who neglect them, and Horney conjectured that a basic hostility would accompany anxiety. However, Horney did agree with Freud that children would hold in these feelings of hostility in fear of pushing the parents away. On the other hand, Horney was more optimistic than Freud that consistent love could alleviate the effects of the most traumatic experiences. Basic anxiety and repressed hostility return later in life and lead to one of three psychoneurotic ways of relating with others, or moving away from others.