Eugen Bleuler was born in 1857 in Zurich and, as can be seen in his biography, made many relevant contributions to the field of psychology throughout his professional career, which is why, and for others we will see below, we believe it is important. to learn more about this psychiatrist’s life and some of his most important work and research.
Before we begin this biography, we cannot fail to mention the important influence Freud had on Eugen Bleuler, all the work of the father of psychoanalysis captivated him to become his greatest reference, we will see later how this influence has impacted. in his studies.
- As the article Paul Eugen Bleuler and the origin of the term schizophrenia indicates.
- This psychiatrist began his medical studies in his hometown of Zurich.
- And after working as a psychiatrist moved to Paris.
- London and then Munich.
- With the aim of continuing the research.
- Had begun in this field.
In Munich, he worked in a laboratory until in 1885 he became an assistant physician in Burghilzli and the following year was appointed director of Rheinau Psychiatric Hospital at the age of 29.
After this excellent start in his professional career, he was appointed Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Zurich exactly 12 years later.
One of the aspects that interested Eugen Bleuler most about Freud’s studies was his articles on hysteria, for some reason Bleuler had a particular interest in hypnosis and introspection, which made him immerse himself in all the knowledge and progress Freud had made.
However, despite the fixation that Eugen Bleuler may seem to have with Freud, he has always been very careful, as indicated in the article we have already mentioned, he did not agree with some Freud concepts, such as libido.
‘The successful transposition of the objectal libido into narcissistic libido leads to a resignation of sexual purposes, a desexualization and, therefore, a kind of sublimation. ‘ – Sigmund Freud-
Thus, although he was a great reference for him and used the concepts of psychoanalysis to come up with some of his great discoveries, it is essential to say that, while he agreed with Freud, he also diverged in many respects.
According to Paul Eugen Bleuler’s article in the American Journal of Psychiatry and the Birth of Schizophrenia (1908), Eugen Bleuler coined the term schizophrenia for the first time in April 1908.
In addition to using some of Sigmund Freud’s concepts, he also used the concept of dementia and its forms, which had been defined by Kraepelin. However, Eugen Bleuler realized that the term referred to a symptom of schizophrenia.
From his extensive studies on the subject, he concluded that people affected by the disease suffered from division in their thought process, which is why, from the Greek language, the name schizophrenia was born from “skiff” (division) and “frenia”. “(spirit).
Once the term was coined, Eugen Bleuler did not stop looking for this disease and, based on Kraepelin’s research on dementia, concluded that there were different subtypes of schizophrenia.
The three subtypes were: paranoid, catatonic and emotional or hebephrase. All had already been analyzed by Kraepelin, but Eugen Bleuler did not follow all his theories.
Kraepelin-defined dementia did not take into account that progressive deterioration did not always occur, nor did it appear at an early stage, let alone that the subtypes were exclusive.
For all this, Eugen Bleuler has carried out his own research to define a new concept, more in tune with the reality that he himself was able to analyze, that is why today we use it clearly what it means for all the work done by this psychiatrist. .
Before finishing, it is important to highlight the concept of eugenic sterilization, a practice of sterilizing people with schizophrenia to prevent the disease from being inherited by their children.
Currently we know that schizophrenia is not a disease that can be considered hereditary, because the fact that a relative has already developed it does not mean that other members will suffer it, however, at the time of Eugen Bleuler there were few studies on the matter. Schizophrenia and knowledge about the subject were taking their first steps.
Despite this, Eugen Bleuler has investigated a disease that currently affects more than 21 million people, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Although, considering that, at the time, there were many aspects to be discovered, this psychiatrist made important advances that will always be remembered.