Our History

The Hanna Fenichel Center is named in memory of Dr. Hanna Fenichel, a psychoanalyst and educator known for her work in the field of early child development and for her association with The School for Nursery Years in Los Angeles.

The Hanna Fenichel Center was founded in 1975 by the Psychoanalytic Society and Institute and was originally located in La Jolla. Since then, the Center has resided on several different sites in Del Mar. In July of 2001, The Center purchased it's current property (previously The Learning Tree) in Solana Beach. During the Summer of 2007, the center under went a major remodel and upgrade. The newly designed entry and building inspires us to provide a stimulating, interesting & playful learning environment for our children.

Members of the Institute continue to participate on the Board of Trustees and provide support to the Center. The school has been endorsed and its philosophy is based on a distinguished group of international professionals in early childhood development including: Erik Erikson, Rudolph Ekstein, Ph.D., Anna Freud, Merton Gil, M.D., and Ralph R. Greenson, M.D.