Anthology of Venezuelan psychiatry

Reception of Psychiatry in Venezuela since the 19th Century to the late 20th Century merits a historical approach. The following work proposes to research some of the very origins of Venezuelan psychiatry and its possible influence on contemporary mental health practice. Through documental research, the early works of local authors from the 19th Century through 20th Century finals: Carlos Arvelo, Lisandro Alvarado, Francisco Herrera Luque, Jose Luis Vethencourt and Jose Solanes, are subjected to study. This journey illustrates a descriptive panoramic view which allows to better comprenhend the current state of our psychiatry. In a brief introduction the most important events are described, since the arrival of Pinel's ideas, followed by the early research paperworks published and the beginnings of the academic teachings of this specialty in Venezuela and displaying the main contemporary research groups thorough the country.