History of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology: With an Epilogue on Psychiatry and the Mind-Body Relation (review)

Edwin R. Wallace and John Gach intend their ambitious History of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology to be a reference book, an introduction and bibliography, a resource text for training programs as well as students and scholars, a demonstration of interpretative strategies in the history of psychiatry, and a book that is good for reading (xvii). The volume covers mostly Western history and is organized into four sections: Prolegomenon (two chapters on general approaches with annotated bibliographies), Periods (eleven chapters that cover antiquity through the twentieth century), Concepts and Topics (nine chapters on diagnosis, profession, and approaches to treatment), and Epilogue (five chapters that consider the relationship between mind and body over time). Seventeen authors produced the twenty-seven chapters, with the largest contribution (close to a third of the volume in five chapters) by Wallace.

Much of the volume is composed of essays that explore the intellectual history of different time periods (ancient to modern) and the context for shifting ideas about psychology and psychiatry (broadly speaking). For at least half of the authors (including Wallace) who were trained in psychoanalysis, the impetus for this comprehensive view of history and the mind comes from a psychoanalytic approach toward reading civilization, analogous to a psychoanalytic approach toward a patient in his or her life context. Many of the essays are written in a traditional style of intellectual history, and the lengthy bibliographies reflect the authors’ engagement in physicians’ and other learned individuals’ writings in the history of ideas.

In addition to the psychoanalytically inspired contributions, there are several essays by historians in the field that are particularly noteworthy. Sander Gilman’s enlightening exploration of the construction of schizophrenia highlights the contingent nature of diagnosis. Gerald Grob’s overview of the history of American psychiatry provides a clear and accessible summary of his considerable body of work. In addition, the outstanding essay by Nancy Tomes on the history of clinical psychology, social work, and psychiatric nursing helps to remind us that the history of psychiatry is not just the history of physicians.

One major strength of this volume is its extensive reference material, provided in both annotated list form and in citations within essays. Further, the essays by Gilman, Grob, and Tomes, as well as others (such as Dora Weiner on Pinel, David Healy on psychopharmacology, and Edward Brown on the history of neurology’s effect on psychiatry) will be useful for teaching in undergraduate and graduate education (including medical education). But though the editors report that they feel this collection will be of use to clinicians (including trainees), much of the writing is quite dense, and it would be difficult for those audiences to sit down and read the book. Further, the volume’s bulk (862 pages) and price (listing for $219 from Springer) might limit its use within the classroom.

It would have been instructive if the editors had included more of a sense of the history of the production of the volume itself. As several of the contributors noted, many (if not most) of the essays for this collection appear to have been originally written more than twenty years ago. Three of the contributors had passed away before the volume was published, and German Berrios indicates in his contribution that his thinking on his topic changed between his writing of the chapter and its publication (though the reader is not told why or how). The long lag time between the original writing and publication may explain why parts of the volume seem dated. Although the bibliographies that accompany the essays are lengthy, the majority of the cited works were published before 1985, and some of the authors’ reports of “recent” works refer to publications from the late 1970s. In addition, there is a curious discussion strand through much of the volume; many of the contributors (including Wallace) put...