Norman Gregory Hamilton (born October 4, 1945) is an American

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 author known for his contributions to the fields of

psychotherapy 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 ...

and

object relations theory Object relations theory is a school of thought in psychoanalytic theory and psychoanalysis centered around theories of stages of ego development. Its concerns include the relation of the psyche to others in childhood and the exploration of re ...

and for his participation in the national and international debate over the legalization of doctor-assisted suicide.

Biography

Hamilton was born into a family of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

educators. After growing up in the Portland area, he attended

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is ...

and completed his bachelor's degree in literature and writing at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. He earned his M.D. from

Oregon Health and Science University Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a public research university focusing primarily on health sciences with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland, Oregon. The institution was founded in 1887 as the University of Oregon Medi ...

in 1977. He completed psychiatry residency at the Karl Menninger School of Psychiatry and served on the faculty there for two years before returning to Oregon Health and Science University, where he taught

for more than a decade and became Associate Professor of Psychiatry.Hamilton NG (1998). Testimony of Physicians for Compassionate Care. Congressional Digest 77(11):276-286 In 1997 he co-founded Physicians for Compassionate Care,Sshwartz J (2004). Opponents of Oregon Suicide Law Say Depressed Man Was Wrongly Given Drugs. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 2004-05-07 an organization dedicated to promoting education about care for dying patients. He was active nationally and internationally in the debate about whether or not doctor-assisted suicide should be legalized. He has published three books and numerous articles on psychotherapy. He has also authored articles about the medical ethical controversy surrounding doctor-assisted suicide. Awards include the Menninger Alumni Association Scientific Writing Award in 1980, the Linacre Award for Excellence in Medical Journalism in 2002, and Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association in 2003.

Object relations theory and psychiatry

Hamilton's approach to

as described in ''Self and Others: Object Relations Theory in Practice'', first published in 1988, was integrative. He originally described object relations theory as having an important place in psychiatry's biopsychosocial model but as not being a complete psychology for the broader field of psychiatry in that it lacked explanations of the effects of physical and cognitive factors on internal and external relationships. In 1996, with the publication of ''The Self and the Ego in Psychotherapy'', he added specific ego functions, including cognitions, and physical factors into the concept of object relations units in an attempt to make object relations theory sufficiently inclusive to serve as a general framework for psychiatry and clinical psychology. Along these lines, he published articles on combining object relations theory and pharmacotherapy as well was object relations and end-of-life decisions.

Publications

Books

• Hamilton NG (1988). ''Self and Others: Object Relations Theory in Practice''. Jason Aronson • Hamilton NG (1992). ''From Inner Sources: New Directions in Object Relations Psychotherapy''. Jason Aronson • Hamilton NG (1996). ''The Self and the Ego in Psychotherapy''. Jason Aronson

Selected articles

• Hamilton NG (1989). A critical review of object relations theory. ''American Journal of Psychiatry'' 146(12):1552-1560 • Hamilton NG, Sacks LH, Hamilton CA (1994). Object relations theory and pharmacopsychotherapy of anxiety disorders. ''American Journal of Psychotherapy'' 48(3):380-391 • Hamilton NG, Hamilton CA (2005). Competing paradigms of response to assisted suicide requests in Oregon. ''American Journal of Psychiatry'' 162(6):1060-1065

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, N. Gregory Living people American psychiatrists University of Oregon alumni Oregon Health & Science University alumni 1945 births Occidental College alumni Oregon Health & Science University faculty Writers from Portland, Oregon