Vladimir Serbsky facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Vladimir Serbsky
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| Born | 26 February 1858 Bogorodsk, Russian Empire
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| Died | 18 April 1917 (aged 59) |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Citizenship | Russia |
| Medical career | |
| Profession | Psychiatrist |
| Research | Forensic psychiatry |
Vladimir Petrovich Serbsky (Russian: Влади́мир Петро́вич Се́рбский) was a famous Russian psychiatrist. He was born on February 26, 1858, in Bogorodsk and passed away on April 18, 1917, in Moscow.
Serbsky is known as one of the people who started forensic psychiatry in Russia. This is a special field that combines law and mental health. He wrote an important book called The Forensic Psychopathology. Serbsky believed that bad behavior was not something people were born with. Instead, he thought it was caused by things in society.
In 1921, a special institute for forensic psychiatry was named after him. Today, it is known as the Serbsky Center.
Contents
Vladimir Serbsky's Life Story
Vladimir Petrovich Serbsky was born in 1858 in a town called Bogorodsk. His father was a doctor who worked for the local government, called a zemstvo doctor.
Later, his family moved to Moscow. There, Vladimir went to the Second Moscow Gymnasium, which was a type of high school. After finishing school, he went to Moscow University. He studied science and math and graduated in 1880.
In the same year, he started studying medicine at Moscow University. Because he already had a degree, he was able to start in his third year. He became very interested in mental and nervous diseases. He was a student of a famous doctor named S. S. Korsakov. In 1883, Serbsky earned a silver medal for his research on a medical topic.
After medical school, Serbsky worked with S. S. Korsakov at a private hospital. In 1885, he was asked to lead a mental health clinic in the Tambov province. He accepted and worked there until 1887. The local government then offered him a trip to Austria. He spent almost a year studying at a psychiatric clinic in Vienna.
When he returned to Russia, Serbsky worked for a few months in Tambov. Then he moved back to Moscow. He became a senior assistant at Moscow University's psychiatric clinic. In 1891, he earned his Doctor of Medicine degree. In 1892, he became a Privatdozent, which is a special university lecturer.
After S. S. Korsakov passed away, Serbsky became one of the most important psychiatrists in Russia. In 1902, he became a professor and director of the psychiatric clinic. From 1903 to 1911, he led the Department of Psychiatry at Moscow University.
In 1905, Serbsky gave a speech. He explained that the difficult situation in the country was causing more mental illnesses. He also wrote a book about how big changes in society can affect people's minds. This made the government unhappy with him.
In 1911, Serbsky resigned from his job. He did this to protest against the government's unfair policies. In the same year, he spoke out at a meeting of Russian psychiatrists. He criticized the government for limiting people's rights and freedoms. This led to the meeting being shut down.
In 1913, medical groups in England and Scotland made him an honorary member. They invited him to visit Britain. Serbsky accepted and was welcomed as a famous scientist. He gave talks, visited hospitals, and helped patients. The University of Edinburgh even offered him a job as a professor. But he chose to return to Russia.
In 1913, Serbsky publicly spoke out against an unfair trial. A man named M. Bayliss was wrongly accused of a crime because he was Jewish. Serbsky bravely defended him.
After a new government took power in Russia, Serbsky was invited to return to Moscow University. But the letter arrived too late. He was already very sick. Vladimir Petrovich spent his last days without much money because he had retired without a pension. He passed away on March 23, 1917, due to kidney problems. He was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery.
What Vladimir Serbsky Achieved in Science
Under Serbsky's leadership, the Tambov hospital became one of the best in Russia. He made sure that patients were treated with respect. He banned things like straight jackets and leather restraints. Instead, he encouraged patients to work and enjoy entertainment. Many patients, even those with long-term illnesses, took part in walks and other fun activities.
Serbsky always believed that patients should be treated as people first. He often disagreed with other psychiatrists who focused only on formal diagnoses. Serbsky looked at the whole person, including their physical and mental health. He tried to understand how everything connected to create their illness.
In 1892, Serbsky was the first teacher at Moscow University to give lectures on forensic psychiatry. He taught both law and medical students.
Serbsky also worked on how to diagnose different types of mental illnesses. He was the first to realize that some problems in adults could come from intellectual difficulties they had as children. He developed ways for psychiatrists to figure out if a patient was mentally sound enough to understand their actions.
Serbsky supported other doctors who believed in understanding mental disorders from a psychological point of view. This was important for solving legal questions related to mental health.
He also showed that a certain mental condition called catatonia was not a separate disease. In 1890, Serbsky found that catatonia could be a symptom of other conditions, like schizophrenia.
In 1895, Serbsky published the first part of his book, The Guide to Forensic Psychopathology. This book covered important ideas and laws about forensic psychiatry. The second part came out in 1900. For many years, this book was a key guide for psychiatrists around the world. In it, Serbsky described different forms of a serious mental illness called schizophrenia for the first time. He showed that doctors needed to examine patients very carefully to make an accurate diagnosis.
Serbsky argued that even dangerous criminals could be sick people. If they were sick, he believed they should be kept separate from society and helped to get better. He was sure that a person's environment often played a big role in why they committed crimes. He suggested that people accused of serious crimes should always have a mental health check.
In 1912, Serbsky started a group called the "Moscow Psychiatric Circle of Small Fridays." This was one of the first groups led by experts in psychoanalysis. He discussed and sometimes disagreed with some of Freud's ideas and the work of other psychoanalysts. But he always encouraged open discussions about these topics.
Serbsky also helped create modern ways to support psychiatric patients. He helped start the Journal of Neuropathology and Psychiatry and the Russian Union of Psychiatrists and Neuropathologists. He was very active in many medical meetings. He gave important talks on forensic psychiatry and took part in many complex legal cases involving mental health. He always bravely stood by his medical opinions.
Scientific Works
- Serbsky VP Report on the examination of psychiatric institutions in Austria, Switzerland, France, Germany and Russia, submitted to the Tambov Provincial Zemstvo Board. - Tambov, 1886.
- Serbsky VP Report on the state of the hospital for the mentally ill at Tambov Zemsky hospital, 1886.
- Serbsky VP About acute forms of insanity // Medical Review, 1885,? 3.
- Serbsky VP Review of reports on the status of institutions for the mentally ill in Russia for the years 1890-1900 "/ / Medical Review, 1893-1902 gg.
- Serbsky VP On the project of organizing zemstvo care of the mentally ill Moscow provincial zemstvos. - M., 1893.
- Serbsky VP Teaching psychiatry for lawyers / / Collection of Jurisprudence, 1893.
- Serbsky VP On forensic psychiatric examination // Proceedings of the Vth Congress of the Society of Russian Physicians in memory of NI Pirogov.
- Serbsky VP Judicial psychopathology. Volume I. - M., 1895.
- Serbsky VP Judicial psychopathology. Volume II. - M., 1900.
- Serbsky VP On the conditions for placing mentally ill persons who committed crimes in psychiatric hospitals by the definition of the court and their release. International Union of Criminalists. Russian Group / / Journal of the Ministry of Justice, 1901.
- Serbsky VP On the issue of early dementia (Dementia praecox) // Neuropathology and psychiatry them. S. S. Korsakov, 1902.
- Serbsky VP Duration, course and outcome of mental illness, 1906.
- Serbsky VP Recognition of mental illnesses. 1906.
- Serbsky VP A Guide to the Study of Mental Illnesses. - M., 1906.
- Serbsky VP Short therapy of mental illnesses. - M., 1911.
- Serbsky VP Psychiatry. - M., 1912.
Memory
Since 1912, the Central Institute of Forensic Psychiatry in Moscow has been named after Vladimir Petrovich Serbsky.
Major Works
- The Forensic Psychopathology (1896-1900)
- On Dementia praecox (1902)
- Manual of Study of Mental Diseases (1906)
