Felix Post (25 July 1913 – 23 March 2001)[1] was a German-born British doctor, and a leading psychiatrist of the second half of the 20th century.[1] Post was a pioneer of psychogeriatrics and the first chair of the psychogeriatricians in the Royal College of Psychiatrists.[1]
Felix Post | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 25, 1913 |
| Died | March 23, 2001 (aged 87) |
| Monuments | Felix Post Unit, Maudsley Hospital |
| Alma mater | St Bartholomew's Hospital |
| Occupation(s) | Doctor, psychiatrist |
| Employer | Maudsley Hospital |
| Known for | Pioneering geriatric psychiatry |
| Notable work | The clinical psychiatry of late life (1965) |
Life
editFelix Post was born in Berlin on 25 July 1913.[1] His mother was Jewish, and he arrived in England in 1934 as a refugee from Nazi Europe.[2] There, he completed his medical studies at St Bartholomew's Hospital, qualifying as a doctor in 1939.[2][3]
Post worked at Hammersmith Hospital (alongside Sir Aubrey Lewis) and at Whipps Cross, taking up psychiatry at the Mill Hill Emergency Hospital (part of Maudsley Hospital during the war).[1] He was interned for a short time as an "enemy alien" on the Isle of Man.[1] In 1942, Post took up a psychiatric role in Edinburgh, working under Professor Sir David Henderson.[3] There, he was encouraged to focus on the elderly people on the wards, leading him to a career emphasis on geriatric psychiatry.[1] Following the war, he was called up to the Royal Army Medical Corps, ending up as a major.[3]
In 1947, Post joined the staff of the joint Bethlem-Maudsley Hospital, where he established a pioneering psychiatric unit for people over 60.[1] He remained at the Hospital until retirement in 1978.[1] His biography for the Royal College of Physicians describes Post as "possibly the best teacher among the large and talented staff" of the Maudsley.[1]
In addition to his practical work, Post was a researcher and writer on geriatric psychiatry, publishing a number of papers, chapters, and monographs.[1] The Significance of Affective Symptoms in Old Age, published in 1962, was a follow-up study of 100 patients admitted to Bethlem with a depressive illness.[3] His 1965 textbook The clinical psychiatry of late life became a standard text.[1] In 1972 his article "The management and nature of depressive illness in late life" was published in the�British Journal of Psychiatry, this and his 1962 work being "of cardinal importance for research in old age depression".[3]
Post was the first chairman of the psychogeriatricians in the Royal College of Psychiatrists (later the faculty of psychiatry of old age), and a foundation fellow of the College.[1] Between 1969–1970, he was president of the psychiatry section at the Royal Society of Medicine.[1] Post was awarded the 50th anniversary medal of the British Geriatrics Society "in recognition of outstanding services to geriatric medicine", and was honoured in 1995 by the International Psychogeriatric Association.[1]
Death and legacy
editFelix Post died suddenly in March 2001, survived by his second wife, Kathleen, and two children from his first marriage.[4]
The Felix Post Unit at Maudsley Hospital commemorates him.[5][1] He has been described as "probably the first dedicated old age psychiatrist anywhere in the world".[6] Tom Arie, for the Royal College of Physicians, wrote:
He inspired a generation of pupils in many countries who, stimulated by his clinical teaching and research, built special services for old people.[1]
An oral history interview with Felix Post is held by the Imperial War Museum.[7]
Selected bibliography
edit- The significance of affective symptoms in old age (London, Oxford University Press, 1962)
- The clinical psychiatry of late life (Oxford, Pergamon Press, 1965)
- Persistent persecutory states of the elderly (Oxford/New York, Pergamon Press,1966)
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Felix Post | RCP Museum". history.rcp.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
- ^ a b Hilton, Claire (2007). "The life and work of Felix Post (1913-2001): pioneer in the psychiatry of old age". Journal of Medical Biography. 15 (1): 31–37. doi:10.1258/j.jmb.2007.05-63. ISSN 0967-7720. PMID 17356727.
- ^ a b c d e Jacoby, Robin (2001). "Felix Post MD, FRCP, FRCPsych, 1913–2001". International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 16 (11): 1025–1027. doi:10.1002/gps.555. ISSN 0885-6230.
- ^ Arie, Tom (2002). "Remembering Felix Post: Recollections assembled by Tom Arie". Psychiatric Bulletin. 26 (5): 199–200. doi:10.1192/pb.26.5.199-a. ISSN 0955-6036.
- ^ "Felix Post Unit". AccessAble.
- ^ Hilton, Claire (2010-12-17), Abou‐Saleh, Mohammed T.; Katona, Cornelius; Kumar, Anand (eds.), "Commentary on 'In the Beginning' by Felix Post", Principles and Practice of Geriatric Psychiatry (1 ed.), Wiley, pp. 12–14, doi:10.1002/9780470669600.ch3, ISBN 978-0-470-74723-0, retrieved 2024-10-15
- ^ "Post, Felix (Oral history)". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 2024-10-15.