Eugen Bleuler - Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia

Bleuler successfully introduced the term schizophrenia to replace Kraepelin's term dementia praecox through his seminal study of 1911, Dementia Praecox, oder Gruppe der Schizophrenien. He argued against Kraepelin that schizophrenia was not the product of organic deterioration, and not necessarily incurable.

Instead, he saw its central characteristics to be the product of a process of splitting between the emotional and the intellectual functions of the personality; and favoured early discharge from hospital into a community environment to avoid institutionalisation.