Max Meier Glatt (26 January 191214 May 2002) was a German 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

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

expert. A survivor of the

Dachau concentration camp Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

, he went on to become a prominent expert in the treatment of addiction in the United Kingdom. He was one of the pioneers in the treatment of people with an addictive

personality trait In psychology, trait theory (also called dispositional theory) is an approach to the study of human personality. Trait theorists are primarily interested in the measurement of ''traits'', which can be defined as habitual patterns of behavior, thou ...

Early life

Born in Berlin, because of his Jewish origins, Glatt had to overcome considerable resistance in order to be able to study under the

Nazi regime Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

. Nevertheless, he received his doctorate as a

neurologist Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the ...

from the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

in 1936. When he tried to flee to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

after the November pogrom in 1938, he was arrested at the border and sent to the

. After his release from the Dachau concentration camp, he emigrated to Great Britain. After the start of the Second World War, he was deported as an enemy alien first to the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

and then on a prison ship to Australia. In 1942 he returned to Britain. There he learnt that his parents had been deported to

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, where they were later murdered in a concentration camp. Only he and his sister, who managed to escape to Holland, survived the Holocaust.

Addiction treatment pioneer

From 1951, Glatt worked as a doctor and psychotherapist in various London clinics, including Warlingham Park Hospital. He made significant breakthroughs in the development of the " Jellinek curve" of alcoholic addiction. Glatt treated

HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs (nicknamed "The Scrubs") is a Prison security categories in the United Kingdom, Category B men's local prison, located in the White City, London, White City area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West ...

' addicts, and such was the success of his programmes that the prison's football team was nicknamed the "Glatt Dynamos". Glatt was appointed as a consultant in 1958 he set up an

alcohol dependency Alcohol dependence is a previous (DSM-IV and ICD-10) psychiatric diagnosis in which an individual is physically or psychologically dependent upon alcohol (also chemically known as ethanol). In 2013, it was reclassified as alcohol use disorder ...

unit in a female ward in

St Bernard's Hospital, Hanwell St Bernard's Hospital, also known as Hanwell Insane Asylum and the Hanwell Pauper and Lunatic Asylum, was an asylum built for the pauper insane, opening as the First Middlesex County Asylum in 1831. Some of the original buildings are now part of ...

. His approach of creating a "

therapeutic community Therapeutic community is a participative, group-based approach to long-term mental illness, personality disorders and drug addiction. The approach was usually residential, with the clients and therapists living together, but increasingly resident ...

" with a 12-week inpatient stay to help patents come to terms with their problems and explore new methods of living in the future without their addiction was found to be a great success. In 1982 this facility was moved and became a drug and alcohol dependence unit; it moved again in 2000. It is currently run by the Central North West London Mental Health NHS Trust Substance Misuses Service. He was one of the scientists who early on postulated that alcohol addiction was a disease and lobbied the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

to this end. Glatt also firmly opposed the criminalization of drug addiction. In 1962, Glatt took over as editor of the '' British Journal of Addiction'', a position he held for fifteen years. He was also a vice-president of the Medical Council on Alcohol.

Personal life

Glatt was married to Gisella, also a Holocaust survivor; the couple had a son and several grandchildren. He was described as deeply religious, modest and gentle with a sense of humour. He ran a weekly group at Florence Nightingale Hospital after retirement until he suffered a fall. Glatt died on 14 May 2002 at age 90.

Honours

Glatt was elected distinguished

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the Society for the Study of Addiction. The therapeutic community he founded is now known as the "Max Glatt Unit".

Publications (selection)

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glatt, Max Jewish German scientists 1912 births 2002 deaths 21st-century German Jews English people of German-Jewish descent German emigrants to the United Kingdom Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom Dachau concentration camp survivors German psychotherapists British psychotherapists German psychiatrists British psychiatrists German neurologists British neurologists Leipzig University alumni 21st-century British Jews