Tag Archives: psychiatry

The white-collar antisocial personality

February 2, 2023

Richard Zhang Farmington, Connecticut, United States   Man in a Hat. Painting by Josef Capek, 1915–16. Via Wikimedia. Public domain. A frequently overlooked topic in psychiatry is “antisocial personality disorder” (ASPD) or “sociopathy,” specifically as it manifests in higher socioeconomic backgrounds and thus evades recognition. I once cared for a well-spoken, charming patient who practiced […]

Winnie Ille Pu and Dr. Alexander Lenard

February 2, 2023

Avi Ohry Tel Aviv, Israel   Alexander Lenard. Photo via Wikimedia. Public domain. Sandor (Alexander) Lenard1 was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1910 and died in Dona Irma, Santa Catarina, Brazil in 1972. He was a Jewish poet, author, physician, painter, musician, translator, language teacher, philosopher, and polyglot. A short outline of Lenard’s life events […]

Christian Sibelius: Finland’s first professor of psychiatry

January 10, 2023

Jonathan Davidson Durham, North Carolina, United States   Photo of Christian Sibelius taken c. 1915–1920 by Atelier Nyblin. Via Wikimedia. Public domain. When the name Sibelius is mentioned, most people will think of the famous Finnish composer, Jean. Outside of Scandinavia, few will know that Jean’s younger brother, Christian, achieved distinction in a very different […]

It’s not the patient who hit you…

November 23, 2022

JP Sutherland North America   The Entombment. Oil painting by Federico Barocci, early 18th century. Victoria and Albert Museum. Although Christopher’s appearance was extraordinary, there was no sign (not even in retrospect) that he would kick me in the groin within the next hour. He was naked, and standing motionless with his arms held out […]

Movie review: Kings Row – assassins in white coats

April 21, 2022

Howard Fischer Uppsala, Sweden   “Above all, I must not play God.” — Revised Hippocratic Oath2   Artificial limb factory in Rome: six women working at benches, one using a sewing machine, and one stitching the back of a full-length leg, used in reference to Drake’s fate in the film. Photo by Studio Leonardi, 1914. […]

Qualis artifex pereo

March 16, 2022

Henri Colt  Laguna Beach, California, United States   Man sitting. Photo by Gadiel Lazcano on Unsplash. This short story is a work of fiction. Translation: “What an artist the world is losing with me!” — cited by Suctonius, The Twelve Caesars, Nero 49; Loeb ed., 2:177   Michael had jet black hair and sorrowful brown […]

Hope

January 6, 2022

Rima Nasser Beirut, Lebanon   Cedar tree of Lebanon. Originally located atop the police and investigative branch building in Martyr’s Square in downtown Beirut. Photo by an anonymous photographer. 2021. Private collection. Modified from the original by Rima Nasser. Published with permission.  “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.   This is not an incendiary rant about […]

Lebanon: a thumbprint in medicine

December 22, 2021

Jonathan Mina Beirut, Lebanon   Fig 1. Dr. Debakey, holding the MicroMed-DeBakey VAD (ventricular assist device) with one of his heart transplant patients, David Saucier, a NASA Johnson Space Center engineer. Photo by NASA. July 29, 2013. Via Flickr. CC BY-NC 2.0. Lebanon is a country that has long developed and exported physicians and other […]

The talented Dr. Cotton and other quacks

September 30, 2021

Philip R. Liebson Chicago, Illinois, United States   Portrait of Henry Andrews Cotton from Appleton’s Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1924. Via Wikimedia. Over the centuries there has been a surfeit of talented medical quacks in all parts of the world. The word “quack,” indeed, is derived from the archaic Dutch word “quacksalver,” meaning “boaster who […]

Eugen Bleuler and schizophrenia

August 20, 2021

JMS Pearce East Yorks, England, United Kingdom   Fig 1. Eugen Bleuler, 1900. from: G. Wehr, Jung, ed. René Coeckelberghs, Collection Les Grands Suisses, ISBN=2-8310-0009-2. Clinique du Burghölzli. Paul Eugen Bleuler (1857-1939) (Fig 1) was one of the most influential psychiatrists of his time, best known today for his introduction of the term schizophrenia to […]