Phon Sangsingkeo (or Fon Saengsingkaew, th, ฝน แสงสิงแก้ว) (April 24, 1907–1980) is a Thai medical doctor whose studies on factors that contribute to the mental well-being of a person earned him the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service in 1966. His holistic approach led him to integrate how the rapid advancement of technology and cultural changes affect mental health, resulting in a more humane treatment of mental patients thus putting the dictum "treat the person as a person" in practice. For this, he is known as the father of modern psychiatry in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Personal life

Phon is the son of Sang Panich, a businessman who came from a noble family. Sang Panich was bestowed the title ''khun'' by King Vajiravudh for his honesty and hard work. The sixth of eleven children, young Phon was a devoted student who dreamed to be a doctor. He was sent to live in a temple under the care of a priest in preparation for his secondary schooling at Suankularb College. He finished medicine in

Chulalongkorn University Chulalongkorn University (CU, th, จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย, ), nicknamed Chula ( th, จุฬาฯ), is a public and autonomous research university in Bangkok, Thailand. The university was originally fo ...

's School of Medicine in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

at the age of 22. He married Pravas Rasanonda in 1935, the same year he became assistant director to Dr. Luang. The marriage brought forth three sons.

Career

Phon joined the Department of Health in 1929. From 1930 to 1934, he was provincial medical officer at Sakolnakorn where he developed in interest in providing comfort and easing the miseries of the mentally ill. In 1935, he became assistant director of the mental hospital in Thonburi under Dr. Luang Vichien Patayakorn who sent the young man to study and observe medical practices in Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia. At that time, straitjackets were used to subdue mental patients but Phon and his colleagues pushed for reforms, banking instead on gentleness and love. As more mental hospitals were established and as the number of mental patients increased, Phon's career advanced when the government sent him to train at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

, Denver Psychopathic Hospital and at the

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. Upon his return he was assigned as chief of a division on welfare at the Ministry of Interior, establishing an orphanage school which promote mental hygiene. He stayed on with the job even during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

when many of contemporaries left the country in search of greener pastures. In 1942, he succeeded Dr. Luang to become the director of the

Mental Hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

(''Rong Phayaban Khon Sia Sati'' in Thai) in Thonburi. At the same time, he was appointed director of a new division in the Department of Health responsible for mental institutions, a position he would hold until 1954. When the war ended, he helped build parks within facilities and gave "happy names" to buildings. This practice of providing green spaces for patients still continue until the present day. Instead of using the donations to renovate the old director's house where he lived, he focused on upgrading facilities for the benefit of patients and hospital staff. He also became instrumental in sending young doctors and nurses abroad to study, with the hope that they will continue his work in the future. At an annual meeting of the

World Federation for Mental Health The World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) is an international, multi-professional non-governmental organization (NGO), including citizen volunteers and former patients. It was founded in 1948 in the same era as the United Nations (UN) and the W ...

in 1962, he talked about the problems posed by social and cultural changes to mental health today and is quoted to have remarked that:

''"Wherever a population grows much faster than its economy--- and this is frequently the case in the present-day world-- starvation, sickness, poverty and mental health are specters on the horizon."''

References

External links

Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sangsingkeo, Phon Phon Sangsingkeo Ramon Magsaysay Award winners Phon Sangsingkeo 1907 births 1980 deaths