From degeneration to mental disorders: the development of child psychiatric theory and child psychiatric practices in Denmark, c. 1900-1950

Abstract

Despite child psychiatry not becoming officially acknowledged as a medical specialty in Denmark before 1953, the first half of the 20th century saw a significant development in both child psychiatric theories and child psychiatric practices. Whereas notions of heredity had previously dominated medical textbooks and limited treatment efforts, the first psychiatric clinic for mentally ill children opened at the Copenhagen University Hospital in 1935, heralding a new stance on children’s mental disorders. By the early 1950s, the importance of socio-economic conditions and intrafamilial relationships for children’s mental health was given new meaning in both textbooks and practices.