[Ernst Simmel and psychosomatic medicine today]

The contribution made by Ernst Simmel to the development of psychoanalytic psychosomatics has been suitably appreciated only during the last few years. At the end of World War I, Simmel attracted the first time public attention with his book on war neuroses and psychic trauma. In 1921 he founded the first psychoanalytic outpatient service, together with Max Eitingon and in 1927 he opened the first psychoanalytic clinic, both in Berlin. He treated patients who were inappropriate for out-patient settings, like psychotic and addicted persons. His own treatment system already embodied essentials of modern clinical psychotherapy, for example the inclusion of nurses in psychotherapy. His clinic served as a model for the Menninger Clinic in Topeka. After the failure of his project following the breakdown of world economy in 1931 and his emigration, his model appeared to have faded out without establishing a tradition. However, further research may assess his possible indirect influence on the German development after the 2nd World War, by reimportation of his ideas from the U.S.A.