Karl Wilhelm Ideler was a German psychiatrist

Psychiatrist

A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...

 who was a native of Bentwisch

Bentwisch

Bentwisch is a municipality in the Rostock district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, to the east of Rostock. The village has 2.455 inhabitants and covers 14.74 square kilometres...

. In 1820 he earned his doctorate from the Friedrich Wilhelm Institute in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, and spent the next several years as a general practitioner in the cities of Bernau

Bernau

Bernau may refer to:*Bernau bei Berlin, a town in Brandenburg, Germany*Bernau am Chiemsee, a municipality in the district of Rosenheim in Bavaria, Germany*Bernau im Schwarzwald, a municipality in Baden-Württemberg, Germany...

, Rathenow

Rathenow

Rathenow is a town in the district of Havelland in Brandenburg, Germany, with a population of 26,433 .-Overview:The Protestant church of St. Marien Andreas, originally a basilica, and transformed to the Gothic style in 1517-1589, and the Roman Catholic Church of St...

 and Genthin

Genthin

Genthin is a town in the Jerichower Land district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the Elbe-Havel Canal, approx. 50 km northeast of Magdeburg, and 27 km west of Brandenburg....

. In 1828 he returned to Berlin as head of the department for mental illness at the Charité

Charité

The Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin is the medical school for both the Humboldt University and the Free University of Berlin. After the merger with their fourth campus in 2003, the Charité is one of the largest university hospitals in Europe....

. In 1840 he became a full professor and director of the psychiatric clinic. From 1839 until his death in 1860 he taught classes at the University of Berlin. His uncle was noted astronomer Christian Ludwig Ideler

Christian Ludwig Ideler

Christian Ludwig Ideler , German chronologist and astronomer, was born near Perleberg on the 21st of September 1766.-Life:...

 (1766-1846).

Ideler was one of the more important figures regarding German psychiatric thought during the first half of the 19th century. This era is often described as the German "romantic" school of psychiatry. In his numerous publications, Ideler theorized on issues such as mind-body correlations, religious

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

 mania and religious confusion. Ideler created complex theories concerning the relationship between illnesses of the mind and the state of the physical body.

During this period of time, conditions at the Charité for mentally ill patients were often considered barbaric and inhumane. Ideler, not averse to punitive measures, made little effort to change these conditions. Later, Wilhelm Griesinger

Wilhelm Griesinger

Wilhelm Griesinger was a German neurologist and psychiatrist born in Stuttgart. He studied under Johann Lukas Schönlein at the University of Zurich and physiologist François Magendie in Paris....

 (1817-1868) would advocate significant changes regarding humane and dignified treatment of the mentally ill at the Charité. Although Ideler is often portrayed as a product of an unenlightened era in psychiatric thought, he had several ideas that are consistent with modern psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...

. He stressed the importance of the emotional life, and believed that unfulfilled passions could be a source of mental disturbance. He considered passion to be a form of mental disturbance, and that the physician needed to analyze the passion that provoked the mental imbalance.

Selected Writings

• Anthropologie für Ärzte (Anthropology for Physicians), (1827)
• Grundriss der Seelenheilkunde (Outline of "Soul Treatment"), (1835)
• Biographien Geisteskranker in ihrer psychologischen Entwicklung (1841)
• Die Geisteskrankheiten in Beziehung zur Rechtspflege (Mental Disorders in Relationship with Justice), (1844)
• Der religiöse Wahnsinn, erläutert durch Krankengeschichten. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der religiösen Wirren der Gegenwart (Religious Insanity, Description of Patient Stories. A Contribution to the History of Religious Confusion of the Present), (1847)
• Aversuch einer Theorie des religiösen Wahnsinns: ein Beitrag zur Kritik der religiösen Wirren der Gegenwart (Theorical Attempt regarding Religious Insanity: Contribution regarding Criticism of Religious Confusion of the Present):
  • 1. Die Erscheinungen des religiösen Wahnsinns (The Features of Religious Insanity), (1848)
  • 2. Die Entwickelung des religiösen Wahnsinns (1850) (The Development of Religious Insanity), (1850)