Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Use of a Psychophysiological Script-driven Imagery Experiment to Study Trauma-related Dissociation in Borderline Personality Disorder
Published on: March 8, 2018
[Trauma and psychosis in german psychiatry - a historical analysis]
Ruth Kloocke1, Heinz-Peter Schmiedebach, Stefan Priebe
1Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry, Queen Mary University of London.
Objective:
The paper reports an historical analysis of the debate on trauma and psychosis in German psychiatry.
Methods:
Content analysis of five leading German psychiatric journals between 1889 and 2005.
Results:
A substantial number of publications until the late 1960s addressed different aspects of potential links between trauma and subsequent psychosis. Papers exclusively focused on traumatic experience in adulthood. Most papers showed a negative attitude towards the idea of traumatic experiences causing psychosis.
Conclusions:
The debate on psychological trauma and psychosis refers to a long tradition in German psychiatry. Whilst the discussion contributed significantly to concepts and classifications of psychotic illnesses, it did not generate a coherent model for the potential association of trauma and subsequent psychotic disorder.
Related Concept Videos
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
Psychosis: Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders
Researchers have identified genetic factors that increase susceptibility to schizophrenia, underscoring the intricate interplay between genetics and environment in disease development. At the core of schizophrenia's pathophysiology is excessive dopaminergic neurotransmission within the...
Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychosurgery
Historical Development of Psychosurgery
In the 1930s, Portuguese neurologist Antonio Egas Moniz introduced a surgical procedure designed...
Schizophrenia
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Symptoms and Behavioral Manifestations
A spectrum of distressing symptoms characterizes PTSD. Recurrent flashbacks, where individuals involuntarily relive traumatic events, are a...

