Memory and Appreciation: Sebastian Klaus Littmann 1931–1986

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

“…He remained at Edinburgh until 1969, winning the Gaskell Prize of the Royal College of London, the United Kingdom's highest honour for psychiatric training. 2 During his final years of training, Littmann met Milton Rosenbaum , an eminent clinician and researcher and close associate of the recently deceased John W. Thompson, who had arrived in Edinburgh on sabbatical leave-another fortuitous meeting that influenced his decision to move to North America. After forming a close relationship with Littmann, Rosenbaum invited him to New York where a faculty position in social psychiatry was created for him.…”

“…This "deinstitutionalization" process in mental health in the western Canadian provinces resulted in fewer available beds in the psychiatric institutions of Alberta, and the University of Calgary's affiliated Foothills Hospital was no exception. 2,21 Keith Pearce (1927-2013), the inaugural head of the Department of Psychiatry, which had been founded only in 1972, had to persuade the administration for additional funding. 22 As health care costs began to spiral, Pearce recognized the necessity to move toward outpatient care, and eventually care in the community.…”

“…He remained at Edinburgh until 1969, winning the Gaskell Prize of the Royal College of London, the United Kingdom’s highest honour for psychiatric training. 2…”

“…11 Patients were routinely locked in rooms and dozens of them shared a single bathroom. 2 The new chief of service was tasked with developing innovative treatment services, a day hospital, as well as outpatient programs, among others. It was during his time in Toronto that Littmann began to provide art therapies to patients.…”

“…His work with patients represented a type of philanthropy in the original sense of the term and Sebastian Littmann had a colourfully diverse but unfortunately brief career; cut short by illness during his first term (1982)(1983)(1984)(1985)(1986) as chairman of the University of Calgary's newly established Department of Psychiatry. 2 This article intends to provide a summary of Littmann's journey from a European to North American setting, beginning with a brief overview of his traumatic early experiences during his adolescence, his transition to academic training and clinical practice, his immigration to Canada, and finally his substantial influence on the University of Calgary's Department of Psychiatry in its early years.…”