Dr. Athanassios Kafkalides was a Greek
neuropsychiatrist
Neuropsychiatry is a branch of medicine that deals with psychiatry as it relates to neurology, in an effort to understand and attribute behavior to the interaction of neurobiology and social psychology factors. Within neuropsychiatry, the mind i ...
. He was born in 1919 and he died in 1989 while in
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
. He graduated in medicine from the
University of Athens
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; , ''Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Athens, Greece, with various campuses alo ...
and took post-graduate courses in
neurology
Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine) , medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous syst ...
, experimental
neurophysiology
Neurophysiology is a branch of physiology and neuroscience concerned with the functions of the nervous system and their mechanisms. The term ''neurophysiology'' originates from the Greek word ''νεῦρον'' ("nerve") and ''physiology'' (whic ...
,
neurosurgery
Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system ...
and
psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior.
...
at the Prince of Wales General Hospital, the
Institute of Neurology
The UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology is an institute within the Faculty of Brain Sciences of University College London, University College London (UCL) and is located in London, United Kingdom. Together with the National Hospital for Neur ...
in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, the
Serafimer Lazarettet and the
Karolinska Institutet
The Karolinska Institute (KI; ; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden and one of the foremost medical research institutes globally. ...
in
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, and the Eginition Hospital in
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
. From 1960 to 1987 he devoted a great deal of time to clinical research into the field of
psychedelic psychotherapy
Psychedelic therapy (or psychedelic-assisted therapy) refers to the proposed use of psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin, ayahuasca, LSD, psilocin, mescaline (peyote), DMT, 5-MeO-DMT, Ibogaine, MDMA, to treat mental disorders. As of 2021, ...
, using drugs such as
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...
,
psilocybin
Psilocybin, also known as 4-phosphoryloxy-''N'',''N''-dimethyltryptamine (4-PO-DMT), is a natural product, naturally occurring tryptamine alkaloid and Investigational New Drug, investigational drug found in more than List of psilocybin mushroom ...
and
ketamine
Ketamine is a cyclohexanone-derived general anesthetic and NMDA receptor antagonist with analgesic and hallucinogenic properties, used medically for anesthesia, depression, and pain management. Ketamine exists as its S- (esketamine) a ...
. At the IV World Congress of Psychiatry in Madrid, in 1966, he delivered a paper on the subject of intrauterine life, pioneering the field of
pre- and perinatal psychology
Prenatal and perinatal psychology explores the psychological and psychophysiological effects and implications of the earliest experiences of the individual, before birth, prenatal, as well as during and immediately after childbirth, perinatal. P ...
. He delivered further papers on intrauterine experiences and their repercussions
at the VI International Congress of Psychotherapy (Wiesbaden, 1967), the Panhellenic Congress of Psychiatry in Salonica (1972), Athens (in 1975), and at the Congress of Preventive Psychiatry (Athens, 1979).
He was invited to
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
by the Pancypriot Society of Mental Health to give a series of lectures on experiences during intrauterine life and their effects on everyday life
980
Year 980 ( CMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Europe
* Peace is concluded between Emperor Otto II (the Red) and King Lothair III (or Lothair IV) at Margut, ending the Franco-Germa ...
In 1983-1984 he was invited to Australia, where he gave a series of lectures on his clinical research with
ketamine
Ketamine is a cyclohexanone-derived general anesthetic and NMDA receptor antagonist with analgesic and hallucinogenic properties, used medically for anesthesia, depression, and pain management. Ketamine exists as its S- (esketamine) a ...
. He has published several papers on LSD and its psychotherapeutic application in ''Annales Medico-psychologiques de Paris'' (1963),
in ''Exerpta Medica'' (1968),
and in Proceedings of the IV World Congress of Psychiatry, Madrid (1966).
His two major works, ''The Knowledge of the Womb'', and ''The Power of the Womb'', were first published in
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
in 1980 and 1987.
His work on
prenatal and perinatal psychology
Prenatal and perinatal psychology explores the psychological and psychophysiological effects and implications of the earliest experiences of the individual, before birth, prenatal, as well as during and immediately after childbirth, perinatal. P ...
resonates with the work of his contemporaries like
Stanislav Grof
Stanislav Grof (born July 1, 1931) is a Czech-born American psychiatrist. Grof is one of the principal developers of transpersonal psychology and research into the use of non-ordinary states of consciousness for purposes of psychological hea ...
, who arrived at similar conclusions
regarding how early fetal and neonatal experiences affect the human psyche and how
psychedelic psychotherapy
Psychedelic therapy (or psychedelic-assisted therapy) refers to the proposed use of psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin, ayahuasca, LSD, psilocin, mescaline (peyote), DMT, 5-MeO-DMT, Ibogaine, MDMA, to treat mental disorders. As of 2021, ...
can help access those states.
References
Selected bibliography
* Kafkalides A. (1963). ''Application thérapeutique de la diéthylamide de l'acide d-lysergique (Delyside ou LSD-25) sur les psychonévroses'', Annales médico-psychologiques, Paris, t. 2, 121e année, no 2, pp. 191– 200.
* Kafkalides A.(1966). ''A Case of homosexuality treated with LSD-25''. Proceedings of the IV World Congress of Psychiatry, Madrid.
* Kafkalides A.(1966).
''Intra-uterine security: The cause of the Oedipus and Electra Complexes in two cases treated with LSD25'' paper presented at the International Congress of Psychotherapy, Wiesbaden.- see The International Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Medicine, V. 8, No 4, p. 427-431, December 1996.
* Kafkalides A. (1975). ''Causes of Sexual Conflicts - Effects on Behavior'', communiqué at the VII Panhellenic Congress of Psychiatry, Athens.
* Kafkalides A. (1980). ''Η Γνώση της Μήτρας. Η Αυτοψυχογνωσία με Ψυχοδηλωτικά φάρμακα''. Ολκός.
* Kafkalides A. (1983). ''The rejecting womb'', Lecture given at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, December 1983.
* Kafkalides A. (1987). ''Η Δύναμη της Μήτρας και η «Υποκειμενική Αλήθεια»''. Ελεύθερος Τύπος.
* Kafkalides A. (1989). ''Αυτοψυχογνωσία''. Εκδόσεις Οδυσσέας.
* Kafkalides A. (1998). ''The Power of the Womb and the “Subjective Truth”'', Triklino House.
* Kafkalides A. (2005).
The Knowledge of the Womb Autopsychognosia with Psychedelic Drugs'', Authorhouse, USA.
External links
* http://www.kafkalides.gr
Google scholar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kafkalides, Athanasios
1919 births
1989 deaths
Psychedelic drug advocates
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni
Greek neurologists
Greek psychiatrists
20th-century Greek non-fiction writers
Psychedelic drug researchers
20th-century Greek physicians
20th-century non-fiction writers
People from Athens
Psychonautics researchers
Greek male non-fiction writers