Johannes Heinrich Schultz

Johannes Heinrich Schultz (June 20, 1884 – September 19, 1970) was a German psychiatrist and an independent psychotherapist. Schultz became world famous for the development of a system of self-hypnosis called autogenic training.

Life

He studied medicine in Lausanne, Göttingen (where he met Karl Jaspers) and Breslau. He earned his doctorate from Göttingen in 1907. After receiving his medical license in 1908, he practiced at the polyclinic at the Medical University Clinic at Göttingen until 1911. Afterwards he worked at the Paul-Ehrlich Institute in Frankfurt, at the insane asylum at Chemnitz and finally at the Psychiatric University Clinic at Jena under Otto Binswanger, where he earned his habilitation in 1915.

During the First World War, he served as director of a sanitorium in Belgium. In 1919 he became a professor of Psychiatry and Neuropathology at Jena. In 1920 he became Chief Doctor and scientific leader at Dr. Heinrich Lahmann's sanatorium Weisser Hirsch in Dresden. In 1924, he established himself as a psychiatrist in Berlin.

From 1925-26 he was a member of the founding committee for the first General Doctors' Congress for Psychotherapy, board member of the General Medical Society for Psychotherapy (established in 1927). From 1928 he advised the organization's newsletter, and after 1930 he co-edited (with Arthur Kronfeld and Rudolf Allers) the journal, now named the Zentralblatt für Psychotherapie.[1] In 1933 he became a board member of the renamed German Medical Society for Psychotherapy under Matthias Heinrich Göring and from 1936 under this vice-director a board member of the German Institute for Psychological Research and Psychotherapy (Deutsches Institut für psychologische Forschung und Psychotherapie) as well as director of the polyclinic.

In 1956, he became editor of the journal Psychotherapie, and in 1959 founder of the German Society for Medical Hypnosis (Deutschen Gesellschaft für ärztliche Hypnose).

His most famous achievement was the development of autogenic training, that was based on the hypnosis research and self-experimentation. It was first publicly put forward in 1926 as "autogenic organ exercises," and received its current name in 1928. The program consists of a set of six mental exercises that target specific bodily reactions that are believed to underpin body-mind health. It is a myth that Autogenic Training is a technique based on creative visualisations. Rather, it is a technique that revolves around a set of sub-vocal instructions to different parts of the body with the trainee simply observing in a completely non-striving way the changes in the way the body feels. It is a passive process unlike creative visualisations which rely upon a more active cognitive state. Today, because of Schultz' contribution to body-mind health, Autogenic Training is practiced worldwide. NASA teaches AT to their astronauts to help them with the psychophysiological stressors of space travel. In Australia, UK, Italy and Spain AT is taught to assist with problems such as stress, Anxiety, Depression, anger management, insomnia, fatigue and for difficulties with concentration, memory, decision making amongst other things. In Japan and Germany, medical practices teach AT to assist with the treatment of a wide range of medical complaints. The Autogenic Training Institute of Australia teaches AT for Occupational Health and Safety and has become well-known for its' work with the Mining, Oil and Gas Industry as well as Police.

Writings

First edition of "Das Autogene Training (konzentrative Selbstentspannung)" (1932)
First edition of "Neurose Lebensnot ärztliche Pflicht" (1936)
Die Seelische Gesunderhaltung, 1941

Notes

References

External links

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