Alexis Brook (24 January 1920 – 7 August 2007) was a British

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

and

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

Early life

Alexis Brook was born in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...

. He was the eldest son of Simon Brook and his wife Ida (née Jansen), both

Lithuanian Jewish {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Litvaks , image = , caption = , poptime = , region1 = {{flag, Lithuania , pop1 = 2,800 , region2 = {{flag, South Africa , pop2 = 6 ...

immigrants from Latvia. The family home was at 27 Fairfax Road,

Turnham Green Turnham Green is a public park on Chiswick High Road, Chiswick, London, and the neighbourhood and conservation area around it; historically, it was one of the four medieval villages in the Chiswick area, the others being Old Chiswick, Littl ...

. He was educated at St Paul's School, and then studied medicine at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. His younger brother was theatre and film director

Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Shak ...

Career

He did clinical training at the

Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...

in London, and qualified as a medical doctor in 1943. He served with the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

from 1944 to 1947, in the later stages of Second World War and immediately afterwards, in the Far East: in India, Burma and Indochina (now Vietnam). His experiences in the war, of the effects of poor morale, led him to pursue a career in mental health. After the war, he trained as a psychiatrist at the

Maudsley Hospital The Maudsley Hospital is a British psychiatric hospital in south London. The Maudsley is the largest mental health training institution in the UK. It is part of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and works in partnership with the I ...

in London and at

Napsbury Hospital Napsbury Hospital was a mental health facility in London Colney near St. Albans in Hertfordshire. It had two sister institutions, Harperbury Hospital and Shenley Hospital, within a few miles of its location. History The hospital was designed by ...

in Hertfordshire. He specialised in psychoanalytic psychotherapy at the

Cassel Hospital The Cassel Hospital is a psychiatric facility in a Grade II listed building at 1 Ham Common, Richmond, Ham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is run by the West London NHS Trust. History The hospital The hospital was founded ...

in Richmond from 1956, and moved to the

Tavistock Clinic The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health trust based in north London. The Trust specialises in talking therapies. The education and training department caters for 2,000 students a year from the United Kin ...

in 1971. For a time, he was also a lecturer at

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by ...

. He retired from the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

in 1985 but continued to practise as an honorary consultant psychotherapist at

St Mark's Hospital St Mark's Hospital, The National Bowel Hospital (informally St Mark's) is a hospital in Park Royal, Greater London, England. Managed by London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, it is the only hospital in the world to specialise entirel ...

Harrow Harrow may refer to: Places * Harrow, Victoria, Australia * Harrow, Ontario, Canada * The Harrow, County Wexford, a village in Ireland * London Borough of Harrow, England * Harrow, London, a town in London * Harrow (UK Parliament constituency) * ...

from 1986 to 1995. He also wrote books and articles on research interests that included emotional problems in general practice, mental health and emotional environment as part of

occupational health Occupational safety and health (OSH) or occupational health and safety (OHS) is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at work (i.e., while performing duties required by one's occupation). OSH is re ...

and

health and safety Occupational safety and health (OSH) or occupational health and safety (OHS) is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at work (i.e., while performing duties required by one's occupation). OSH is re ...

at work, the impact of mental health on gut disorders, and psychosomatic ophthalmology.

Personal life

He was survived by two children from his marriage to his first wife Maureen, and by his second wife Ruth and two stepdaughters.

References

External links

Brook, Alexis (1920-2007) psychoanalyst
*
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
Volume 23, Issue 4, 2009; http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rpps20/23/4
Alexis Brook's publications
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Volume 23, Issue 4, 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brook, Alexis 1920 births 2007 deaths British Jews British people of Latvian-Jewish descent Place of death missing British psychiatrists British psychotherapists People from Chiswick Brook family Alumni of the University of Cambridge People educated at St Paul's School, London Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers