'Paranoia and its historical development (systematized delusion), by Eugenio Tanzi (1884)
This was the first paper by the Italian alienist Eugenio Tanzi (1856–1934). It surveyed existing works and provided an analysis of clinical categories such as monomania, sensory madness, moral insanity, Wahnsinn, Verrücktheit and systematized delusions, which had been used in France, Germany, Britain and Italy since the early nineteenth century to deal with paranoia. As pointed out by Tanzi, discrepancies and discontinuities in diagnostic concepts affected both psychiatric nosology and practice. Paranoia (from the Greek αacute; and oα) made for greater clarity in psychiatric terminology, and denot...
Source: History of Psychiatry - May 3, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Castagnini, A. Tags: Classic Text No. 106 Source Type: research
Max Schelers theory of the hierarchy of values and emotions and its relevance to current psychopathology
The philosopher Max Scheler (1874–1928) set out a hierarchical theory of values and emotions in the early twentieth century. This inspired Kurt Schneider to distinguish two sorts of depressive illness, each conforming to a Störung (disorder) in different levels of Scheler’s hierarchy. No other psychopathologist, except Stanghellini, gave the matter much attention. I believe that Scheler’s theory is a rich source of insight into psychopathology, general and neuropsychiatric. I therefore give an account of Scheler’s scheme, review its extant applications (Schneider’s, Stanghellini’...
Source: History of Psychiatry - May 3, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Cutting, J. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
'God grant it may do good two all: the madhouse practice of Joseph Mason, 1738-79
Private madhouses made a significant contribution to the development of psychiatric practices in eighteenth-century England. Joseph Mason of Bristol, proprietor of a madhouse at Stapleton and then at nearby Fishponds, was part of a dynasty of successful and respected mad-doctors. A deeply religious man, his Christian ethics constituted the guiding force in his work with patients and interactions with their relatives. He was also an astute man of business, who recognized that comfortable domestic surroundings and the achievement of recoveries would enhance his reputation and attract lucrative middle-class custom. His treatm...
Source: History of Psychiatry - May 3, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Smith, L. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
The DSM and learning difficulties: formulating a genealogy of the learning-disabled subject
The article examines the manner in which the learning-disabled subject is created as an object within contemporary psychiatric discourse by means of a genealogical analysis of the learning-disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). It investigates how this pathology was formed historically in the text, what metamorphoses it underwent, and their epistemic significance. First, the theoretical underpinnings of the sociological discourse on DSM are presented, giving a brief background of the DSM status in the Israeli context. Many problematic characteristics in the text are unveiled, by means...
Source: History of Psychiatry - May 3, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Katchergin, O. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Neurotoxicity and LSD treatment: a follow-up study of 151 patients in Denmark
LSD was introduced in psychiatry in the 1950s. Between 1960 and 1973, nearly 400 patients were treated with LSD in Denmark. By 1964, one homicide, two suicides and four suicide attempts had been reported. In 1986 the Danish LSD Damages Law was passed after complaints by only one patient. According to the Law, all 154 applicants received financial compensation for LSD-inflicted harm. The Danish State Archives has preserved the case material of 151 of the 154 applicants. Most of the patients suffered from severe side effects of the LSD treatment many years afterwards. In particular, two-thirds of the patients had flashbacks....
Source: History of Psychiatry - May 3, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Larsen, J. K. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
'We are all a little mad in one or other particular. The presentation of madness in the novels of Muriel Spark
This paper examines the presentation of madness in the novels of the great Scottish writer, Muriel Spark (1918–2006). In her work, there is a large cast of mad characters as well as a succession of psychiatrists and psychoanalysts. Spark suggests several explanations as to the origins of madness. We see mental disturbance conceived in terms of the supernatural, the religious and the Gothic. She also depicts insanity as a form of personality defect, eccentricity or mental enfeeblement. She drew on Romantic notions of the madman as a seer and speaker of truth. In her portrayal of psychiatrists, both the pill-prescriber...
Source: History of Psychiatry - May 3, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Beveridge, A. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Psychiatric governance, völkisch corporatism, and the German Research Institute of Psychiatry in Munich (1912-26). Part 2
This is the second of two articles exploring in depth some of the early organizational strategies that were marshalled in efforts to found and develop the German Research Institute of Psychiatry (Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Psychiatrie). The first article analysed the strategies of psychiatric governance – best understood as a form of völkisch corporatism – that mobilized a group of stakeholders in the service of higher bio-political and hygienic ends. This second article examines how post-war imperatives and biopolitical agendas shaped the institute’s organization and research. It also...
Source: History of Psychiatry - May 3, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Engstrom, E. J., Burgmair, W., Weber, M. M. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
The emergence of psychiatric semiology during the Age of Revolution: evolving concepts of 'normal and 'pathological
This article addresses some important questions in psychiatric semiology. The concept of a sign is crucial in psychiatry. How do signs emerge, and what gives them validity and legitimacy? What are the boundaries of ‘normal’ and ‘pathological’ behaviour and mental experiences? To address these issues, we analyse the characteristics and rules that govern semiological signs and clinical elements. We examine ‘normality’ from the perspective of Georges Canguilehm and compare the differences of ‘normal’ in physiology and psychiatry. We then examine the history and the philosophical...
Source: History of Psychiatry - May 3, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Londono, D. E., Dening, T. Tags: Articles Source Type: research
Obituary: John Forrester (1949-2015)
(Source: History of Psychiatry)
Source: History of Psychiatry - March 7, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Obituary Source Type: research
Dissertation Abstracts
(Source: History of Psychiatry)
Source: History of Psychiatry - March 7, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Research on the history of psychiatry Source Type: research
Book Review: Neil Krishan Aggarwal, Mental Health in the War on Terror: Culture, Science, and Statecraft (Matthias Reiss)
(Source: History of Psychiatry)
Source: History of Psychiatry - March 7, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Reiss, M. Tags: Book Reviews Source Type: research
Book Review: Ali Haggett, A History of Male Psychological Disorders in Britain, 1945-1980 (John Stewart)
(Source: History of Psychiatry)
Source: History of Psychiatry - March 7, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Stewart, J. Tags: Book Reviews Source Type: research
Book Review: Livia Prüll and Philipp Rauh (eds), Krieg und medikale Kultur. Patientenschicksale und ärztliches Handeln in der Zeit der Weltkriege 1914-1945 (Maike Rotzoll)
(Source: History of Psychiatry)
Source: History of Psychiatry - March 7, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Rotzoll, M. Tags: Book Reviews Source Type: research
Book Review: Emmanuel Akyeampong, Allan G. Hill and Arthur Kleinman (eds), The Culture of Mental Illness and Psychiatric Practice in Africa (Leonard Smith)
(Source: History of Psychiatry)
Source: History of Psychiatry - March 7, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Smith, L. Tags: Book Reviews Source Type: research
Book Review: Matthew Warner Osborn, Rum Maniacs: Alcoholic Insanity in the Early American Republic (Thora Hands)
(Source: History of Psychiatry)
Source: History of Psychiatry - March 7, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Hands, T. Tags: Book Reviews Source Type: research
