Henri Baruk

Henri Baruk , born the August 15th 1897 with Saint-Ave (Morbihan) and deceased the June 14th 1999 with Saint-Maurice (the Valley-of-Marne) is a Psychiatre French.

Biography

Wire of the mental specialist Jacques Baruk, Henri passes his childhood to the center even of the psychiatric institution in which his/her father works (the doctors lived then in apartments of function placed in the institution). Engage in medical studies. He is mobilized as doctor during the First World War, and is decorated with the return with the Military Cross. He continues then his boarding school and his clinicat in the service of Henri Claude with the Hôpital Holy-Anne. In 1932, it takes the direction of the national Establishment of Saint-Maurice, or Maison of Charenton which will become later the Hôpital Esquirol. During the Second world war, it is constrained to carry the yellow star. This period leads it to wonder about the transmission, on the values of the Hebraic religion which it then starts to study and which little by little will take an important place in its work. Baruk is named Professor at the medical college of Paris, then member of the Académie of medicine in 1965.

Theoretical contributions

Baruk is interested in the developments of the psychopharmacology and defends the " psychiatry morale" , i.e. which refers to the values morals and nuns. That will lead it to give an opinion against the Psychanalyse.

" The patient is too often seen in a police attitude, i.e. like a man who hides unavowable thoughts. In addition, the psychoanalytical doctrines which put the point on the individual pleasure, the hedonism, are contrary with the altruism. Consequently, it destroys morals and determines an attitude of aggressiveness of the individual, this not only among patients, but in the psychoanalysts themselves. The process of the transfer comprises itself sometimes turbid and doubtful consequences. The research of the responsibility for the disease is likely to lead to an excessive development of the mentality of the " scapegoat " and to charge the family unceasingly, which determines conflicts, ruptures, divorces and the war instead of pacification. Lastly, the psychoanalysis, if it continues too a long time maintains a relaxation the will and a fall of moral energy, the subject being unceasingly folded up on him-même".

He is opposed also vigorously to the Psychochirurgie:

" But the keenest war that I carried out relate to the Lobotomie. My hostility goes back even to a time when this method was not invented (…) The battle of the electric shock S and the lobotomy extended over many years and I had happiness to see the theses which I supported with others to carry it finally about everywhere in the world (…) I always lined up among the adversaries of this technique which I regard as barbarian and dangerous. I was thus faithful to the policy which was always mine: to join the scientific data to the feelings of humanité".

He also decides against the therapies of shock, the abuses regulation of Psychotrope S, like against the protection measures of the major incompetents then installation, that he judges alienating and infantilisantes. He also challenges the theory organo-dynamics of Henri Ey, which he judges too materialist and mecanicist.

He is the author of a great number of works, articles, and treaties of psychiatry and history of medicine.

See too

History of psychiatry

External bonds

Biographical note on the site '' Histoire of psychiatry in France ''
an analysis of its autobiography '' Of the men like us ''
Henri Baruk in the emission '' Apostrophes '' of January 9th, 1976 on the site of the INA

References