Evening star., 1952-05-16
New Schizophrenio Treatment
Uses Bright Light on Patient

proper doses OF c0rtiSOne.
In the discussion of DR.. Apter':
report. however, it was stressed
that all sorts of severe shocks
such as those from any surgical
operation. have been found tc
benefit dementia praecox victims
for a time. It may well be, it was
said, that the good results report
ed are from the shock of the oper-
alton alone and will disappear
with time. It also was pointed
out that there is quite likely to
be a misdiagnosis of dementia
praecoX. which is a sort of catch
all for a wide variety of mental
illnesses which have a similar
symptom picture. Some may be
purely psychological, induced by
the stresses of life. Others may
be due to physical factors in
fluencing the brain.
If a wife become psychiatric II
may be well to have the husband
treated also. by another psychia-
trist. This was stressed before tile
association by DR.. Peter A. Mar
tin of Detroit.
Visit Different Psychiatrists.
In his private practice, he re-
ported. he found that treatment
Of married persons was not pro-
good results because OF
emotional problems of the hus-
bands, who were not being treat
ed. Both tended grossly to dis
tort their stories of life situations
and there was no way to check up
on the truth. This difficulty was
DIR. Martin said, when
the husband was referred to an.
other psychiatrist and then the
dictors got together.
Psychiatric symptoms invari-
ably reflect a patients intellectual
and social biases, 1t was reported
by DR.. Gregory Ziborg of New
York Medical College and con-
sultant to the Social and Eco
nomic Council Of the United Ma
tionS.
Cites Doctors Problems
I'm extreme cases." DR.. Zilborg
said. "the psychiatrist has no Diff
flculty In remaining objective
when an hallucinated schizo-
phrenic tells him Communists or
Nazis are ambushed on top of the
Empire State building.
1.-THE difficulty begins when it
becomes necessary to find out
whether a given patients anti
Semitism, communism. anti
catholicism or anti-protestantism
Is q part Of his character symp-
toms rather than a part of his
convictions. The difficulty Is still
greater when the psychiatrist's
own social and religious sympa-
thies find themselves in contradic-
ton to those of the patient. You
cannot expect from him that OBJ
jectivity which you find in a pa
thologist in relation to death.
"A psychiatrist who is intense
about his social and religious con-
victions will misunderstood his
patients and needs social and re-
ligious hygiene himself In order
to serve without injury to the
patients and himself, especially
in times of social crises such as we
are living through today"
DR.. Overholsef Honored.
At the annual dinner of the
Psychiatric Association
DR.. Winfred Overholser. superin-
tendant of st. Elizabeth'S Hos
pital, was announced as the first
winner Of the society's Isaac Ray
award. He received an honora-
rum Of $1,000 and will deliver q
series Of lectures at Harvard Uni
versity later in the year. The
award has been established in
honor Of DR.. Isaac Ray. one of
the founders Of the association.
DR.. Overholser was described by
DR.. Leo II. Bartemeir of Detroit,
president Of the association. as
"a modern-day pioneer in the field
Of psychiatry and legal prob
lems." He is a former president
Of the association and recently
was made chevalier Of the Le-
gion Of Honor by the French gov
He is professor of psy-
at George Washington
University.