State of psychiatry in Germany

Psychiatry in Germany is characterized by high relevance both individually and socioeconomically, and by the burden caused by mental disorders as lifelong diseases. This is comparable to most industrialized countries in the world. For Germany, the role of psychiatry in Nazi-Germany has to be critically discussed and still remains incompletely researched. Another more current focus has to be directed to attracting the most promising young students to the discipline. Psychiatry promises to profit especially from new approaches that combine scientific and clinical expertise in education and professional career.     

State of psychiatry in Germany

Psychiatry in Germany is characterized by high relevance both individually and socioeconomically, and by the burden caused by mental disorders as lifelong diseases. This is comparable to most industrialized countries in the world. For Germany, the role of psychiatry in Nazi-Germany has to be critically discussed and still remains incompletely researched. Another more current focus has to be directed to attracting the most promising young students to the discipline. Psychiatry promises to profit especially from new approaches that combine scientific and clinical expertise in education and professional career.

     

Liaison psychiatry in the prison of Rottenburg (Germany)

The aim of this study was to get an idea of the need of psychiatric therapy in a prison. We report on the period May 2000 to January 2002. 60 medical files with the sociodemographic variables and the psychiatric diagnosis were evaluated. 45 % of the examined prisoners had a diagnosis of drug- or alcohol dependency and 31.3 % had a diagnosis of a schizophrenia. In 26.7 % the therapy was successful and the prisoners improved. This results show a great need of psychiatric therapy in a prison. Also in a prison improvements in the course of psychic disturbances are possible.     

Psychotherapy in psychiatry: the current situation and future directions in Germany

The aim of this article is to review how psychotherapy is dispensed to patients in psychiatric treatment and to render the future perspectives of psychotherapy in psychiatric outpatient and inpatient care in Germany. We demonstrate that--according to the currently available data about healthcare providers, allocation of financial resources and curricular regulations--the presently used definition of the term "psychotherapy" is ambiguous. One major problem for the application of psychotherapy in psychiatry is obviously constituted by the dominance of the major guideline therapies ("Richtlinienverfahren") within psychiatric services. Here, guideline therapies do not meet the needs of a significant proportion of acutely, severely and/or chronically ill psychiatric patients and restrain the application of scientifically approved, disorder-oriented and context compliant interventions in psychiatric practice. As a future perspective, we suggest that the training of psychiatrists should impart profound interpersonal skills and provide the competence to offer psychotherapy within a multimodal, modular, and flexible treatment plan on the background of the self-conception of psychiatry as a medical discipline. Moreover, future concepts of psychiatric psychotherapy should promote an evidence-based selection and application of scientifically approved, disorder-oriented, and integrative treatment methods, which are available in growing number.     

History of scientific and popular educational films in neurology and psychiatry in Germany 1985-1929

Based on a survey of a variety of sources from medical and film history, an account is given of the history of scientific and popular educational films in neurology and psychiatry in Germany in the era of the silent film 1895-1929. A central event for the centralization of the production and distribution of medical scientific educational films was the foundation, in 1918, of the 'cultural department' of the Ufa film company which established, under the direction of the neurologist Curt Thomalla, a large medical film archive. Curt Thomalla was also the first who developed a dramatic type of popular educational film amalgamating medical and melodramatical features, thereby greatly increasing its mass impact, but also anticipating central elements of its later misuse by the Nazi film propaganda.