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Germany: A "psychological revolution"?
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available. Washing in streams is routine practice when moving from one village to the next but, by the time the next village is reached, profuse sweating has restored the status quo. The second delight is the availability of electricity from a small diesel generator, which allows unhindered reading after nightfall without the need to jostle around a single Tilley pressure lamp. The third pleasure is sleeping on a comfortable bed secure in the knowledge that neither rats nor fleas nor bed-bugs will be unwelcome companions. The research in progress had its own amusing moments. We were carrying out a series of motor and cognitive tasks on young men and women. When calling out the names of those to be tested, the men were not shy in coming forward, but the women were far more reticent. That they were there was confirmed by the giggling among the crowd. Thinking this shyness arose from me being a male, I called to the only woman in our party, a young medical student, and asked her to collect the next subject for testing. My concern that the sex difference might be the cause of the reticence was ill founded, but one young man in the crowd volunteered the information that the reluctance of the young women to come forward arose not because I was a male but because I was white. When the next testing slot became vacant I called to my 15-year-old tall, fair-skinned, and eminently eligible son to collect the subject. Within a few moments a queue of young girls had formed, all eager to join in the testing
statements were recently supported by a poll about psychosomatic illnesses: people in the east have far more physical complaints of that kind than people in the west. According to Maaz there were two principal ways in which the psyche responded to this pressure. The oppressed character was dependent on receiving orders and obeying them, anxious to avoid mistakes. Maaz thinks that many of the informants of the security police, the Stasi, could be characterised in this way. For others, discipline, order, and security were the most important principles in life. The system gave special privileges to those with ambitious pursuits. Successful sportsmen and party activists were good examples of this type of personality. But probably most provocative is what Maaz writes about the people who started the peaceful resistance and the demonstrations. That the Berlin wall fell eventually, he says, was mainly due not to the fight of this opposition but to the combined political effects of events such as the massive stream of people leaving the country and perestroika. Because the opposition in East Germany had also been damaged psychologically and loathed any form of hierarchy, they had not been able to form a functioning political
which could propose a realistic alternative reunification with West Germany. structure
to
the
Annette Tuffs
procedure. Never has the definition of an epidemiologist-someone who is broken down by age and sex-been made explicit with such stark candour! However, every cloud has its silver lining-I was also made aware of how little skin colour really matters when anything important is at stake.
P. O. D. Pharoah
Germany: A "psychological revolution"? Are all former East Germans psychologically deformed? recent book by the East German psychotherapist Dr Hans-Joachim Maaz from Halle has caused quite a stir in the east. Naturally, the people there object to this unflattering assessment, and many of Maaz’ colleagues disagree with his provocative statements. Maaz has lectured on this theme all over the country, with obvious successhis book was sold out by the beginning of the year. The book is called Der Gefiihlsstau, which might be translated as ’Blocked Emotions’. And this title already stands for his theory that the whole of the former East Germany is suffering from the effects of suppression of natural aggressive feelings during 40 years of tyrannical rule. During the so-called "peaceful revolution" in the autumn of 1989 no violence occurred-for Maaz not necessarily a fact to be proud of, but a rather worrying sign. Only recently, more than a year after the revolution, have sporadic outbreaks of hooliganism and street fighting occurred in the east. Maaz calls for a "psychological revolution"-the people, he says, need to go through a phase of pain and to admit their failings in the past, if possible with psychotherapeutic support, before they start to build a new life in a free society. Maaz gives a detailed and unsettling description of the psychological mechanisms in an undemocratic socialist system, where neither the state nor the family allowed the free development of individuality. There was chronic stress and frustration affecting body and soul, he writes. His
A
Medicine and the Law Benzodiazepines and sexual assault, Canada The potential for certain types of benzodiazepine to induce sexual fantasies in women has only recently been recognised.12 In 1990 two British dentists using benzodiazepines for sedation were prosecuted for sexual assault; one was convicted on some counts but acquitted on others, and the second man was acquitted on all charges.3 Often in such cases there are no independent witnesses and English law has always been cautious of accepting uncorroborated claims of sexual assault.4 Sometimes, however, even if there are no witnesses, there may be forensic evidence and other suspicious circumstances that support the allegations. In Canada, a complaint against a 35-year-old hospital doctor resulted in legal proceedings stretching over more than 4 years. A criminal charge of sexual assault was dismissed on the grounds that the incident could have been a drug-induced fantasy, and the acquittal was upheld on appeal. However, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario subsequently charged the doctor with sexual impropriety with a patient. The doctor failed to have the charges quashed on the grounds that they would expose him to double jeopardy, and he was found guilty.s The different verdicts on the same evidence can be explained by the fact that in the disciplinary proceedings the burden of proof was civil (the balance of probability) not criminal (beyond reasonable doubt). None the less, in Canada a finding of professional misconduct does require "clear and cogent evidence". There was corroborating evidence of a largely forensic nature before the disciplinary committee and the doctor’s licence to practise was revoked; pending an appeal, this penalty was suspended. The Ontario Divisional Court upheld the finding of guilt but found the penalty too harsh, and substituted a reprimand and 9 months’ suspension.
available. Washing in streams is routine practice when moving from one village to the next but, by the time the next village is reached, profuse sweating has restored the status quo. The second delight is the availability of electricity from a small diesel generator, which allows unhindered reading after nightfall without the need to jostle around a single Tilley pressure lamp. The third pleasure is sleeping on a comfortable bed secure in the knowledge that neither rats nor fleas nor bed-bugs will be unwelcome companions. The research in progress had its own amusing moments. We were carrying out a series of motor and cognitive tasks on young men and women. When calling out the names of those to be tested, the men were not shy in coming forward, but the women were far more reticent. That they were there was confirmed by the giggling among the crowd. Thinking this shyness arose from me being a male, I called to the only woman in our party, a young medical student, and asked her to collect the next subject for testing. My concern that the sex difference might be the cause of the reticence was ill founded, but one young man in the crowd volunteered the information that the reluctance of the young women to come forward arose not because I was a male but because I was white. When the next testing slot became vacant I called to my 15-year-old tall, fair-skinned, and eminently eligible son to collect the subject. Within a few moments a queue of young girls had formed, all eager to join in the testing
statements were recently supported by a poll about psychosomatic illnesses: people in the east have far more physical complaints of that kind than people in the west. According to Maaz there were two principal ways in which the psyche responded to this pressure. The oppressed character was dependent on receiving orders and obeying them, anxious to avoid mistakes. Maaz thinks that many of the informants of the security police, the Stasi, could be characterised in this way. For others, discipline, order, and security were the most important principles in life. The system gave special privileges to those with ambitious pursuits. Successful sportsmen and party activists were good examples of this type of personality. But probably most provocative is what Maaz writes about the people who started the peaceful resistance and the demonstrations. That the Berlin wall fell eventually, he says, was mainly due not to the fight of this opposition but to the combined political effects of events such as the massive stream of people leaving the country and perestroika. Because the opposition in East Germany had also been damaged psychologically and loathed any form of hierarchy, they had not been able to form a functioning political
which could propose a realistic alternative reunification with West Germany. structure
to
the
Annette Tuffs
procedure. Never has the definition of an epidemiologist-someone who is broken down by age and sex-been made explicit with such stark candour! However, every cloud has its silver lining-I was also made aware of how little skin colour really matters when anything important is at stake.
P. O. D. Pharoah
Germany: A "psychological revolution"? Are all former East Germans psychologically deformed? recent book by the East German psychotherapist Dr Hans-Joachim Maaz from Halle has caused quite a stir in the east. Naturally, the people there object to this unflattering assessment, and many of Maaz’ colleagues disagree with his provocative statements. Maaz has lectured on this theme all over the country, with obvious successhis book was sold out by the beginning of the year. The book is called Der Gefiihlsstau, which might be translated as ’Blocked Emotions’. And this title already stands for his theory that the whole of the former East Germany is suffering from the effects of suppression of natural aggressive feelings during 40 years of tyrannical rule. During the so-called "peaceful revolution" in the autumn of 1989 no violence occurred-for Maaz not necessarily a fact to be proud of, but a rather worrying sign. Only recently, more than a year after the revolution, have sporadic outbreaks of hooliganism and street fighting occurred in the east. Maaz calls for a "psychological revolution"-the people, he says, need to go through a phase of pain and to admit their failings in the past, if possible with psychotherapeutic support, before they start to build a new life in a free society. Maaz gives a detailed and unsettling description of the psychological mechanisms in an undemocratic socialist system, where neither the state nor the family allowed the free development of individuality. There was chronic stress and frustration affecting body and soul, he writes. His
A
Medicine and the Law Benzodiazepines and sexual assault, Canada The potential for certain types of benzodiazepine to induce sexual fantasies in women has only recently been recognised.12 In 1990 two British dentists using benzodiazepines for sedation were prosecuted for sexual assault; one was convicted on some counts but acquitted on others, and the second man was acquitted on all charges.3 Often in such cases there are no independent witnesses and English law has always been cautious of accepting uncorroborated claims of sexual assault.4 Sometimes, however, even if there are no witnesses, there may be forensic evidence and other suspicious circumstances that support the allegations. In Canada, a complaint against a 35-year-old hospital doctor resulted in legal proceedings stretching over more than 4 years. A criminal charge of sexual assault was dismissed on the grounds that the incident could have been a drug-induced fantasy, and the acquittal was upheld on appeal. However, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario subsequently charged the doctor with sexual impropriety with a patient. The doctor failed to have the charges quashed on the grounds that they would expose him to double jeopardy, and he was found guilty.s The different verdicts on the same evidence can be explained by the fact that in the disciplinary proceedings the burden of proof was civil (the balance of probability) not criminal (beyond reasonable doubt). None the less, in Canada a finding of professional misconduct does require "clear and cogent evidence". There was corroborating evidence of a largely forensic nature before the disciplinary committee and the doctor’s licence to practise was revoked; pending an appeal, this penalty was suspended. The Ontario Divisional Court upheld the finding of guilt but found the penalty too harsh, and substituted a reprimand and 9 months’ suspension.