Heimo Gastager / Psychiatrist - Economy-point.org

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Heimo Gastager (* 18. May 1925 in Salzburg; " 29. March 1991 in matte lake) was reform psychiatrist and university professor.

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Life

Born 1925 in Salzburg. After the Matura to the war service drawn in, nearly one year wounds in American war shank in Italy. Its study in Vienna financed itself Gastager by translations (Italian, Spanish). After the conclusion of the medicine study unpaid guest physician at the Viennese psychiatric university clinic ("hospital hope").

1956 marriage with Viennese a teacher and a psychology student, Susanne Lettmayer. In the course of the years five daughters and a son came to the world.

1962 were vakant in Salzburg the line of the "welfare and institute for care at that time". This institute was no more the medieval "fool tower" - there were already forms of work therapy: thus for example an agriculture was operated. But in principle it was an institute, into which the "patients" became away closed. It was closed. Straitjackets were at the agenda. Once inside the patient had to leave hardly chances it again.

Gastager had been interested already early in the development of the psychiatry in other countries (study stays with its wife in England and the Netherlands). If one had taken up the new possibilities of a medicamentous treatment in the psychiatry in the German linguistic area, then nevertheless the dynamic personality development remained to a large extent unconsidered.

Opening of the psychiatry

Gastager received 1962 under the management from Gerhard Harrer the Primariat of the psychiatric photograph department, which he held up to its retirement at the end of of 1990.

In Salzburg now much occurred: first hospital status was awarded to the old "institute". The new name "national mental hospital" contributed to defusing the image of the lunatic asylum. The doors were opened to a large extent. The patients got fork and measurer into the hand. (Up to then the fear was too large: "Err" cannot nevertheless not with a measurer be armed!) The patient was regarded as humans. Creative activities belonged soon to the hospital everyday life: Music, times, tinkering, Psychodramatherapie. The number of the compulsory memberships could be within a short time drastically lowered. The duration of the stationary stays became shorter. This above all because there were not no more excluding a dismissal with written undertakings. This overtaxed frequently the members, since with it the responsibility for the patient was put into its hands. Thus it came often unnecessarily to stationary stays for many years.

Family dynamics -

The reform work Gastagers - again and again recognition as "Salzburger way of the psychiatry" - would be above not possible been despite all outside conversions like aforementioned without the criterion the "dynamic psychiatry", how Gastager in its scientific developed it as in its practical everyday life work:

The rehablitation of the psychiatric patient - as reintegration into the society - is not possible without embracing knowledge and consideration of his becoming. Who is it, how it is become and how its parents were, how its childhood, which expectations it should fulfill,

Gastager studied already in Vienna 400 schizophrene patients on the basis of these criteria and wrote according to these studies his Habilitationsarbeit: "The rehablitation of the Schizophrenen".

One of the most important results interesting from the abundance: the "family-dynamic position" of the later patient in its childhood has significant influence on his later rehablitation chances: if it stood in "central position" with its parents, i.e., expectations were very high to it, then its rehablitation chances are clearly smaller than with children in "peripheral position", one could say in "completely normal" parents - child - a relationship. Completely bad chances however have children in a "flogging boy position".

These and other realizations of its research work convinced Gastager of the necessity for a multifactorial diagnostics of the schizophrenia (personality, family and soziodynamisch). Results of such kind required providing and considering "life stories", thus far more than "normal" patient stories. They require also a special kind of the therapy. Gastager drew from it in Vienna therapeutic conclusions already. Together with Raoul Schindler it introduced the so-called "bifokale group therapy" there for young Schizophrene and their parents, because it already at that time recognized the meaning of the family dynamics for the patient: a group of discussions for - usually young - the patient, another for its parents.

Scientific work on the University of Salzburg

Three-seminar Caruso - Gastager - written undertaking

Gastager was scientifically oriented in this regard at the phenomenological psychology: Ey Henry: "consciousness", Maurice Merleau Ponty: of the perception" and others. This very much personality-oriented psychology could bring new aspects into the schizophrenia research.

At at that time the again created Salzburger university the full professor for psychology, William Josef written undertaking, gave to these ideas broad area, published even in addition a whole series of publications. Gastager received a training order for Psychopathologie.

In addition Igor Caruso from Vienna, which had justified its own branch of the psychoanalysis, pushed (Viennese working group for depth psychology). Gastager had been already in Vienna its pupil and friend.

The Triumvirat Caruso - Gastager - written undertaking formed soon at the University of Salzburg one point of attraction for students from in and foreign country, particularly from Germany. One could study nevertheless here a psychology, which was deeply in the human one founded and went over the then usual prevailing experimental psychology far outside.

The so-called "three-seminar" (Caruso, Gastager, written undertaking) took up still in addition social topics and became in such a way the approach place of the 68er generation. From it concrete social activities which are still effective partially today, developed (see below).

Social psychiatry

A fundamental view Gastagers was those the fact that an admission is rarely alone illness-conditioned into the psychiatric hospital but always also has a family or social cause. Therefore family therapy and social psychiatry are so important. A series of theses confirmed this view. First of it was concerned with the topic imbecility (Susanne Gastager, "imbecility and society", youth and people 1973), whereby at many case examples it could be shown that always a social cause leads to the psychiatric admission. This could be proven in the consequence also for other diagnostic's groups.

From this comprehensive beginning 1973 the book "the front family" (Heimo and Susanne Gastager) developed - owing to the awake interest of the Kindlerverlages one of the first German-language books to the family therapy. Here these criteria of the family-dynamic and social relations are expanded also on other diagnostic's groups and seen also completely generally social: the patient, humans at all, embedded into its family and social purchases.

Therapeutic community

A particularly important goal was for Gastager the so-called "therapeutic community", a term from England: in the center the patient is to be located, around him in a horizontal order the therapeutic team - from the Primararzt to the cleaning personnel (the latter by the way due to the increasing number at "foreign" patients importantly for the overcoming of language barriers). Horizontal, one could say: democratically, coordinated. Not as necessarily in the accident surgery vertical authoritarian. How one can introduce oneself easily, Gastager only partly succeeded in achieving this goal - the overcoming of the gap between the individual occupational groups -: in numerous "conferences of station", in "ski min arene" become the tradition: more or less operating trips - during the day ski haven operated, in the evening gave it seminars. Lady doctors, sisters, were male nurse, PsychologInnen, social female workers,"

Soil for new initiatives and associations

The fact that all this work within the practical range could being pulled through only laboriously and approximately substantial of resistances of "above" as of "down" is understandable. Under national captain Hans Lechner, which made itself the trouble to study Gastagers of reform suggestions in detail could be carried out some at flanking measures. On the one hand by the hospital branch offices were furnished (external welfare service, socialmedical service, crisis intervention). On the other hand initiatives could develop and prosper in a liberal and an open climate: by members, partly by other engaged humans numerous associations were partly created: