Dr. Enid B. Young, renowned psychoanalyst, beloved sister and loving friend, sadly passed away on Oct. 5, 2022 at the age of 76.
Enid, a highly respected psychoanalyst, was revered by her patients, who described her as brilliant and having the ability to imbue others with tools to live honestly and courageously. She encouraged all who knew her to be fully and truly alive.
Enid lived in the Berkeley Hills where she loved walking in her beautiful neighborhood. She was tragically robbed of this pleasure on Dec. 1, 2021, when she was hit by an SUV while walking near her home in a crosswalk at at Marin and Euclid avenues. Sadly, she sustained traumatic brain injuries that day which she never recovered from.
Enid was raised in the Boston area, where she lived with her parents, her older sister, Ilene, and her twin sister, Elise. Second-generation Jews whose family became refugees fleeing from genocide, Enid and her sisters valued their Jewish heritage.
Enid, a passionate scholar, holds degrees from Brandeis University, Harvard University and UC Berkeley. She continued her education at the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California in San Francisco (PINC). After four years at PINC, she became a well-known and highly respected psychoanalyst. In addition to her private practice, she taught psychoanalytic theory nationally and internationally, supervised other clinicians and published papers on addiction, chronic pain, neuroscience and psychoanalysis. Enid developed a curriculum on chronic pain with clinicians at UCSF. She facilitated a major conference bringing together psychoanalysts and neuroscientists at PINC, the results of which have been incorporated into their curriculum. She formed a nonprofit for veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries.
As children Enid and Elise were inseparable, and throughout their lives they maintained a deeply connected bond. Throughout these past 10 months, Elise, a resident of Massachusetts, remained by Enid’s side, a fierce and loving advocate for her healing and care. There are no words to describe Elise’s grief and suffering as a result of the immense loss of her sister.
Enid was drawn to Buddhism and became a Buddhist practitioner in the school of Thich Nhat Hanh. She was deeply involved in the Gurdjieff movement, as well as being a practicing Jew. She had an incredible gift of learning from her own life experiences and then quite skillfully and profoundly attending to the suffering of others. Enid’s creativity, compassion and courage were an inspiration to all who came across her path. She was deeply loved.
Enid is preceded in death by her parents and her sister Ilene. She is survived by her devoted twin sister, Elise. She will be mourned by countless others who were touched by her — mentors; mentees; colleagues; students; friends who became family, including Lyn Fine, Robert Kroll and Rose, Ray, Rita and Denis Rauzin; and family, Linda Beigel, Norman Feinstein, Tatiana Xenelis, Mercedes Hinkson, Mykael and John Moss, The Gabriels (Elise, David, Noah and Aiden); and so many more.
During the months she suffered from the effects of her brain injury and the loss of so many things that mattered to her, Enid was very brave. The tragic accident that prevented her from being able to safely return home after her walk is still very hard for her family and friends to hold.
