Christian Friedrich Wilhelm Roller (11 January 1802 – 3 January 1878) was a German

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 ...

born in

Pforzheim Pforzheim () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany. It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the ...

Career

Roller studied medicine at the Universities of

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

and

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

, and following graduation returned to Pforzheim to practice medicine. In 1827 he became an assistant at a mental institution in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, and from 1835 to 1842 was director of the asylum. At the Heidelberg asylum he was distressed by the conditions he experienced, and in collaboration with physician Friedrich Groos (1768-1852), he developed plans for construction of a larger, more modern facility. Later his plans became reality when in 1842 he founded the Illenau Healing and Care Institution (''Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Illenau'') at

Achern Achern (; ) is a city in Western Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located approximately 18 km southwest of Baden-Baden and 19 km northeast of Offenburg. Achern is the fourth largest town in the district of Ortenau (Ortenaukreis), aft ...

. Roller was director of the Illenau institution until his death in 1878. As a psychiatrist Roller was vehemently opposed to "city asylums", a standpoint which placed him at odds with a number of his contemporaries. He believed that an isolated non-urban setting such as Illenau was beneficial for a patients' return to mental health. In addition, he stressed the importance of separating the patient from his/her familiar surroundings. Two of the better known psychiatrists who served under him at Illenau were

Bernhard von Gudden Johann Bernhard Aloys von Gudden (7 June 1824 – 13 June 1886) was a German neuroanatomist and psychiatrist born in Kleve. Career In 1848, von Gudden earned his doctorate from the University of Halle and became an intern at the asylum in Siegbu ...

(1824-1886) and Richard von Krafft-Ebing (1840-1902).Google Books
Stepchildren of Nature: Krafft-Ebing, Psychiatry, etc.

Selected publications

* ''Die Irrenanstalt nach allen ihren Beziehungen dargestellt'', 1831. * ''Psychiatrische Zeitfragen aus dem Gebiet der Irrenfürsorge in und außer den Anstalten und ihren Beziehungen zum staatlichen und gesellschaftlichen Leben'', 1874.

References

* This article is based on a translation of articles on "Christian Friedrich Wilhelm Roller" and "Illenau" at the German Wikipedia, that includes: *
ADB:Roller, Christian Friedrich Wilhelm
@

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roller, Christian Friedrich Wilhelm 1802 births 1878 deaths People from Pforzheim German psychiatrists History of psychiatry