Gustav Nikolaus Specht (1860­1940): psychiatric practice, research and teaching during a change of psychiatric paradigm before and after Kraepelin.

Gustav Specht (1860-1940) developed academic psychiatry in Erlangen. After studying medicine in Würzburg, Munich and Berlin, he became assistant medical director in the mental asylum of Erlangen. In 1897 he was appointed extraordinary, and in 1903 ordinary, Professor of Psychiatry. A good clinician and teacher, Specht worked during a time of paradigm change in psychiatry. He was an expert in chronic mania, and introduced the concept of the 'grumbler's delusion'. Paranoia he believed to be the core problem of psychopathology and considered the depressive syndrome as an 'exogenous-type' of reaction. For him, trauma was important in the genesis of mental illness, and his 'hystero-melancholy' anticipated the concept of borderline personality disorder.

[Gustav Nikolaus Specht (1860-1940) : His impact on Kraepelin's nosology and approaches to his position in National Socialism]. / Gustav Nikolaus Specht (1860­1940) : Sein Einfluss auf die Nosologie Kraepelins und Annäherungen an seine Position im Nationalsozialismus.

INTRODUCTION: Gustav Specht (1860-1940) represents the beginning of the university psychiatry in Erlangen. 80 years after his death, this article focuses on Specht's role in the psychopathologic nosological discussion initiated by Kraepelin. Despite the sparse data situation, the authors approach for the first time Specht's position within psychiatry under National Socialism. METHODS: The relevant primary and secondary literature as well as archival sources were evaluated. RESULTS: In 1897 Specht was appointed supernumerary professor and in 1903 the first full professor for psychiatry in Erlangen. Specht elaborated the role of the manic element in paranoia. Specht added the depressive reaction to Bonhoeffers "exogenic reaction type" in 1913; Specht himself was in the view of some colleagues suspected of having a cyclothyme temperament and twice suffered from exogenous depressive reaction. DISCUSSION: Specht's research studies on the pathological affect in chronic paranoia influenced the contemporary psychopathological discussion in a sustainable manner. Specht's change of attitude towards eugenic measures can be interpreted as an adaptation to the National Socialist regime. CONCLUSION: The work of Gustav Specht can stimulate the cultivation of an interdisciplinary psychopathological discourse.

Strengthening mentalizing in a depressed mother of an infant with sleep disorders.

Parent-infant psychotherapy treats parents to reduce infants' symptoms and strengthen the quality of the parent-infant relationship. However, little is known about the change processes that are set in place in parent-infant psychotherapy and the therapeutic techniques that are most helpful. The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive description of the course of one treatment with a depressed mother of an 8 months old infant who received focused parent-infant psychotherapy (fPIP), a brief psychological intervention that aims at fostering mentalizing in the parent. This study also aimed at examining the specific interventions that fostered mentalizing in this case. We assessed therapeutic interventions with the fPIP adherence scale and in-session mentalizing with the Reflective Functioning Scale, and we analyzed qualitatively the moments in therapy that were relevant for the treatment focus and during which the mother demonstrated an increase in reflective functioning. We discussed the results with regard to the processes in the course of treatment and the strengths and limitations of fPIP.

Case Report of Bukuryo-shigyaku-to / 日本東洋医学雑誌

Literature on Bukuryo-shigyaku-to describes it as “those who perspire, have diarrhea, do not recover from disease and are afflicted by restlessness.” In this study we examined 4 cases where the administration of Bukuryo-shigyaku-to had an effect, where complaints which accompanied autonomic disorder and psychoneurosis brought about by automobile accidents were diagnosed as restlessness. With the experience of these cases and consideration of the literature, we consider the following to be appropriate states of illness for the administration of Bukuryo-shigyaku-to in psychoneural sicknesses.<br>1) states of illness where conditions of psychological introversion caused by such things as fear, heart palpitations, and depression exist, and it is necessary to lift spirits.<br>2) states of illness where such Ki-depressions as whole body weariness and lack of appetite exist.3) states of illness where such stasis of body fluids as dull headache and dizziness exist.<br>4) where epigastric region tenderness and abdominal palpitations exist.