Gerald M. Edelman (1929–2014)

Stahnisch, Frank W.; Pow, Stephen; Hunt, Benjamin W.

doi:10.1007/s00415-018-9067-5

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…8 At the tail end of this migration phenomenon, we come across individuals like Gerald M. Edelman , whose families made the decision to leave Europe during their school years or preliminary professional training so that their talents ultimately developed in North American research settings. 9 Littman's emigration, while not forced by a malign state's hostility toward him because of his political affiliations or ethnic background, can also be seen in the wake of this wider brain-drain trend. Talented clinicians continued to be drawn from a troubled Central Europe to the perceived peace and stability of British and North American societies, 10 contributing their expertise and novel perspectives to emerging or established research programs and departments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reflections on the Life and Career of Émigré German-Canadian Psychiatrist Sebastian Klaus Littmann (1931-1986)

Stahnisch

Hunt

Pow³

2019

Can J Psychiatry

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Objective: This article explores the life and career of Sebastian K. Littmann. He was a foundational figure of the University of Calgary’s Department of Psychiatry in his role as its second chair and, before this, as an influential administrator at Toronto’s Queen Street Mental Health Centre and Clarke Institute during a transitional period in the 1970s-1980s. According to McGill University’s Heinz Lehmann, this transitional period was when the field of psychiatry underwent an identity crisis that threatened to dissolve the discipline and see its functions increasingly filled by counsellors, neurologists, and primary physicians. Littmann’s professional background and training in Edinburgh was followed by periods of community work in New York, which—by the time he immigrated to Canada—predisposed him to favour a humane and community-based approach to psychiatric work; this approach encompassed the cultural variations that were increasingly characterizing North America’s urban social landscape. His compassionate and progressive approach to treatment was remarkable in light of his troubled and deprived upbringing in Nazi-era Germany. Conclusions: The present sketch of Littmann’s personal and professional biography serves to highlight the ways that major historical events and large-scale migration movements, which affected Central Europe, impacted the development of Canadian psychiatry and, by extension, individual Canadians in the twentieth century.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%