The Therapy of Anxiety Disorders Around 1900. Hermann Oppenheim (1858-1919) and his Early Innovations

Abstract

As a teacher and textbook author in psychiatry, Oppenheim initially received high national as well as international scientific recognition. In 1892, with his monograph on traumatic neurosis, which he regarded as the result of organic or molecular changes, his views became increasingly controversial and were met with rejection from the specialists of his time. mainly from German colleagues, probably not least because of his Jewish origin. Less historical attention, however, has been paid to Oppenheim's examination of the phenomenon of anxiety, which at his time was still a poorly elaborated pathological disorder. In his work, Oppenheim considered anxiety disorders to be an etiologically multifactorial disease and a syndrome in their own right. Oppenheim not only oriented himself towards common treatment methods such as dietetics or psychoanalysis but also considered the patient with his multi-dimensional problems as an individual deserving respect. What was more, he also applied self-developed psychotherapeutic treatment methods that show similarities with cognitive behavioral therapy that is predominantly used for anxiety disorders today. Oppenheim's work on anxiety disorders can be considered as highly innovative for his time.