Eric Cunningham Dax
Encyclopedia
Dr Eric Cunningham Dax, AO, BSc Lond, HonMD, FRACP, FRANZCP
, HonFRCPsych (18 May 1908 – 29 January 2008) was a British
psychiatrist
resident in Australia
from 1952.
during the 1930s and 1940s, Dax worked with John Rawlings Rees
, Francis Reitmann
and other biological psychiatrists
who advocated the use of somatic (physical) treatments for patients with mental problems. He contributed to the development of chemical shock, electroconvulsive therapy
, and lobotomy
while working at Netherne Hospital, Coulsdon
, and continued to use lobotomy in Australia.
Between 1946 and 1951, while the Medical Superintendent of Netherne Hospital, Dax pioneered the use of art programs as part of mainstream psychiatric treatment. His interest was to research using art both for treatment and for assisting the diagnosis of mental disorder. He employed the artist Edward Adamson
to facilitate the program. He published his findings in Experimental Studies in Psychiatric Art . He began a collection of artworks produced by psychiatric patients The Cunningham Dax Collection has become one of the largest collections of its type in the world, and is located in Parkville, Victoria.. Adamson carried on the programs for 35 years, and went on to be one of the pioneers of Art Therapy in Britain .
, Australia to take up an appointment as founding Chairman of the Mental Hygiene Authority of Victoria (later known as the Mental Health Authority). The Authority was formed as a response to public concern about the treatment and welfare of psychiatric patients, and particularly as a response to the Kennedy Report of 1950 which highlighted the plight of these patients in Victoria
in the immediate post war era. Dax remained in this position until 1968, introducing major reforms of mental health services. These included the moving of psychiatric treatment from asylums to community settings and the introduction of art programs for patients. In 1961, the World Federation for Mental Health
sponsored the publication of Dax's book Asylum To Community, which describes the rapid expansion of community psychiatric centres in Australia. In his introduction to this book the Federation's Chairman, John Rawlings Rees
, praised Dax's Mental Hygiene Authority as 'a major training ground in psychiatry and mental health work for all the English-speaking populations of the South-western Pacific region'. However, abuse of psychiatric patients was still occurring at such institutions as Newhaven Hospital
.
As part of his general strategy to expand psychiatric services, the teaching of psychiatry and the education of doctors in psychiatric principles, Dax lobbied for the creation of a chair of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne
; this was achieved in 1963. He supported the establishment of the Parkville Psychiatric Unit as a teaching unit of the University.
Although health services in Australia were funded and administered at state level, Dax advocated federal intervention to coordinate and further resource psychiatric services.
in Australia, in response to that Church's criticism of the practices of shock therapy
and psychosurgery
. In 1962 he wrote to the Minister of Health in each Australian state, warning of what he considered to be the dangers of this new religion.
When the Government of Victoria convened a Board of Inquiry into Scientology
in 1964, in addition to appearing as an expert witness, Dax conferred with other medical witnesses regarding their evidence. He also instructed one of his staff, Dr. M.B. Macmillan, to recruit and coordinate other expert witnesses appearing before the Board.
.
On retirement he returned to Victoria and became a Senior Associate in medical history at the University of Melbourne. However, he continued to provide diagnoses and recommendations for Tasmanian patients including in 1984 Martin Bryant
, who went on to commit the Port Arthur massacre in 1996. Dax was admitted to the degree of Doctor of Medicine honoris causa at the university on 15 December 1984, and remained a Senior Fellow in Psychiatry at the Royal Melbourne Hospital
.
Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists is the principal organisation representing the medical specialty of psychiatry in Australia and New Zealand and has responsibility for training, examining and awarding the qualification of Fellowship of the College to medical...
, HonFRCPsych (18 May 1908 – 29 January 2008) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
psychiatrist
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
resident in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
from 1952.
Clinical Work in England
In EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
during the 1930s and 1940s, Dax worked with John Rawlings Rees
John Rawlings Rees
John Rawlings Rees OBE MD RAMC was a wartime and civilian psychiatrist and became a brigadier in the British Army. He was a member of the group of key figures at the original Tavistock Clinic and became its medical director from 1934...
, Francis Reitmann
Francis Reitmann
Dr. Francis Reitmann was a British psychiatrist. After studying with Ladislas J. Meduna in the 1930s, he worked at Maudsley Hospital and later with Eric Cunningham Dax at Netherne Hospital in Coulsdon ....
and other biological psychiatrists
Biological psychiatry
Biological psychiatry, or biopsychiatry is an approach to psychiatry that aims to understand mental disorder in terms of the biological function of the nervous system. It is interdisciplinary in its approach and draws on sciences such as neuroscience, psychopharmacology, biochemistry, genetics and...
who advocated the use of somatic (physical) treatments for patients with mental problems. He contributed to the development of chemical shock, electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy , formerly known as electroshock, is a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect. Its mode of action is unknown...
, and lobotomy
Lobotomy
Lobotomy "; τομή – tomē: "cut/slice") is a neurosurgical procedure, a form of psychosurgery, also known as a leukotomy or leucotomy . It consists of cutting the connections to and from the prefrontal cortex, the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain...
while working at Netherne Hospital, Coulsdon
Coulsdon
Coulsdon is a town on the southernmost boundary of the London Borough of Croydon. It is surrounded by the Metropolitan Green Belt of the Farthing Down, Coulsdon Common and Kenley Common...
, and continued to use lobotomy in Australia.
Between 1946 and 1951, while the Medical Superintendent of Netherne Hospital, Dax pioneered the use of art programs as part of mainstream psychiatric treatment. His interest was to research using art both for treatment and for assisting the diagnosis of mental disorder. He employed the artist Edward Adamson
Edward Adamson
Edward Adamson was a British artist and pioneer of Art Therapy, who has been called “the father of art therapy in Britain”.- Life and work :...
to facilitate the program. He published his findings in Experimental Studies in Psychiatric Art . He began a collection of artworks produced by psychiatric patients The Cunningham Dax Collection has become one of the largest collections of its type in the world, and is located in Parkville, Victoria.. Adamson carried on the programs for 35 years, and went on to be one of the pioneers of Art Therapy in Britain .
Mental Hygiene Authority of Victoria
In 1952, Dax emigrated to MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia to take up an appointment as founding Chairman of the Mental Hygiene Authority of Victoria (later known as the Mental Health Authority). The Authority was formed as a response to public concern about the treatment and welfare of psychiatric patients, and particularly as a response to the Kennedy Report of 1950 which highlighted the plight of these patients in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
in the immediate post war era. Dax remained in this position until 1968, introducing major reforms of mental health services. These included the moving of psychiatric treatment from asylums to community settings and the introduction of art programs for patients. In 1961, the World Federation for Mental Health
World Federation for Mental Health
The World Federation for Mental Health is an international membership organization founded in 1948 to advance, among all peoples and nations, the prevention of mental and emotional disorders, the proper treatment and care of those with such disorders, and the promotion of mental health. Members...
sponsored the publication of Dax's book Asylum To Community, which describes the rapid expansion of community psychiatric centres in Australia. In his introduction to this book the Federation's Chairman, John Rawlings Rees
John Rawlings Rees
John Rawlings Rees OBE MD RAMC was a wartime and civilian psychiatrist and became a brigadier in the British Army. He was a member of the group of key figures at the original Tavistock Clinic and became its medical director from 1934...
, praised Dax's Mental Hygiene Authority as 'a major training ground in psychiatry and mental health work for all the English-speaking populations of the South-western Pacific region'. However, abuse of psychiatric patients was still occurring at such institutions as Newhaven Hospital
Santiniketan Park Association
The Santiniketan Park Association, also known as The Family and The Great White Brotherhood, is a controversial New Age group formed in Australia under the leadership of the Yoga teacher Anne Hamilton-Byrne.-Beginnings:...
.
As part of his general strategy to expand psychiatric services, the teaching of psychiatry and the education of doctors in psychiatric principles, Dax lobbied for the creation of a chair of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
; this was achieved in 1963. He supported the establishment of the Parkville Psychiatric Unit as a teaching unit of the University.
Although health services in Australia were funded and administered at state level, Dax advocated federal intervention to coordinate and further resource psychiatric services.
Opposition to Scientology
Dax used his position to campaign actively against the Church of ScientologyChurch of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
in Australia, in response to that Church's criticism of the practices of shock therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy , formerly known as electroshock, is a psychiatric treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect. Its mode of action is unknown...
and psychosurgery
Psychosurgery
Psychosurgery, also called neurosurgery for mental disorder , is the neurosurgical treatment of mental disorder. Psychosurgery has always been a controversial medical field. The modern history of psychosurgery begins in the 1880s under the Swiss psychiatrist Gottlieb Burckhardt...
. In 1962 he wrote to the Minister of Health in each Australian state, warning of what he considered to be the dangers of this new religion.
When the Government of Victoria convened a Board of Inquiry into Scientology
Anderson Report
The Anderson Report is the colloquial name of the report of the Board of Inquiry into Scientology, an official inquiry into the Church of Scientology conducted for the State of Victoria, Australia. It was written by Kevin Victor Anderson QC and published in 1965.-Background:In 1959, L...
in 1964, in addition to appearing as an expert witness, Dax conferred with other medical witnesses regarding their evidence. He also instructed one of his staff, Dr. M.B. Macmillan, to recruit and coordinate other expert witnesses appearing before the Board.
Later career
From 1969 to 1978 Dax was Community Health Services Co-ordinator in the Mental Health Services Commission, TasmaniaTasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
.
On retirement he returned to Victoria and became a Senior Associate in medical history at the University of Melbourne. However, he continued to provide diagnoses and recommendations for Tasmanian patients including in 1984 Martin Bryant
Martin Bryant
Martin Bryant is an Australian who has been convicted of murdering 35 people and injuring 21 others in the Port Arthur massacre, a shooting spree in Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia, in 1996. He is currently serving 35 life sentences plus 1,035 years without parole in the psychiatric wing of...
, who went on to commit the Port Arthur massacre in 1996. Dax was admitted to the degree of Doctor of Medicine honoris causa at the university on 15 December 1984, and remained a Senior Fellow in Psychiatry at the Royal Melbourne Hospital
Royal Melbourne Hospital
The Royal Melbourne Hospital , located in Parkville, Victoria an inner suburb of Melbourne is one of Australia’s leading public hospitals. It is a major teaching hospital for tertiary health care with a reputation in clinical research...
.