Brierley began her affiliation with the British Psychoanalytical Society in 1927.[2] She went through a double training analysis of four years from 1927 onwards.[4] She became a Full Member of the British Psychoanalytical Society in 1930 and a Training and Supervising Analyst in 1933.[3] She retired from practice in 1944.
Significant among the eleven papers Brierley published between 1932 and 1947,[5] were her contributions on female gender and early development, and on the nature of the affect.[6] Her proposal of a "temporary armistice" in the heated debates of the wartime Society was significant in paving the way for their ultimate resolution.[7]