International Jewish welfare agencies are keenly aware of the need for wider acceptance of psychiatric treatment because of the high incidence of emotional disorders among victims of Nazism and Jewish refugees and migrants, Charles H. Jordan, director general of the Joint Distribution Committee said here today.
He spoke at the First International Conference on Community Pshychiatry, cosponsored by the International Council on Jewish Social and Welfare Services and organized by the medical department of the JDC, one of the Council’s affiliates. The three-day conference is also sponsored by the World Federation for Mental Health.
Dr. Louis Tramer of the Israeli Health Ministry told the conference that the medical profession was being “immune to the need for acceptance of psychiatric principles and understanding.” He said also there was a need to deal with that problem even at the medical school level. He declared that the typical medical school “seems to be not sufficiently aware of the importance of teaching respect for human beings as persons with great emotional needs and potentials.”
Reports on social psychiatric programs operated by private and public agencies in Belgium, France, Israel, Holland, Britain and the United States were presented by representatives of those countries. The reports indicated that a “revolution” was underway in western health practices through a sweeping reorientation and reorganization of psychiatric practices which is taking psychiatry out of the hospital and into the community. The conference is being held in the World Health Organization’s new headquarters here.
Mr. Jordan, who served as chairman for the opening session, expressed the hope that the conference would not only make a significant contribution to scientific knowledge, but would also lead to the expansion of psychiatric programs for the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of persons suffering from mental illness and emotional disorders.
He cited expert opinion that such problems affect 15 to 20 percent of the population of the highly industrialized countries. He cited the high incidence of such disorders among Nazi victims and Jewish refugees, adding “we are thus very conscious of the need to extend our activities in this area.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
