Authors:

J. de Korte, D. de Hoop, H.J. Hulsebosch, F.J. van Sandwijk, W.A. van Vloten

Affiliation:

Herman Musaph Foundation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

In 1995 the Herman Musaph Foundation for Psychodermatology was established in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The Foundation commemorates Herman Musaph, psychiatrist and one of the founding fathers of psychodermatology. The primary aim of the Foundation is to promote psychodermatological research.

Biennally, the Foundation presents the Herman Musaph Award to a scientist who has made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of psychodermatology. A presentation ceremony is held during each International Congress on Dermatology and Psychiatry, organized by the European Society for Dermatology and Psychology.

The Herman Musaph Award is a Medal of Honour, made by a renowned Dutch artist, Geer Steyn. The first Award was presented to Uwe Gieler (1999), the second to Caroline Koblenzer (2001). The third Award will be presented during the 10th International Congress on Dermatology and Psychiatry, to be held in Brussels, May 8 – 10, 2003.

Herman Musaph

Herman Musaph was born in Amsterdam in 1915 , the eldest son of orthodox Jewish parents. He studied medicine at the University of Amsterdam, and he started to work as a general practitioner in 1940. He was the only member of his family to survive the Nazi holocaust, and he remained eternally grateful to a Dutch family who took him in and protected him during the war years.

Following the war, he specialized in psychiatry and psychoanalysis, and he became a distinguished scientist in the fields of psychodermatology, sexology, and psychotraumatology. He made valuable contributions to the understanding of the long-term psychosocial implications of World War II, elucidating how that tragedy of repression and terror affected daily life in contemporary society. In 1977, he was appointed Professor in Medical Sexology at the University of Utrecht. In that year he published a Handbook of Sexology, subsequently translated in many languages. A basic theme in all his work was the development and protection of the harmonious emotional life.

From 1953, Herman Musaph was consulting psychiatrist in the Department of Dermatology of the University of Amsterdam, and later became Head of the Department of Psychodermatology. Musaph’s psychoanalytic background enabled him to develop a thorough understanding of emotional factors in skin diseases. He wrote publications on the role of aggression in self-induced conditions, such as dermatitis artefacta, on emotional conflicts in psychogenic pruritis, and on defence mechanisms in psoriasis. He was particularly interested in itching states and scratching behaviour. In 1974, an important and comprehensive study on Itching and scratching, psychodynamics in dermatology was published.

Herman Musaph, Nestor of Psychodermatology, enjoyed the renewed interest in psychodermatology, which started in the late 1980s. In 1987, the first International Congress on Dermatology and Psychiatry was held in Vienna. In many countries, including the Netherlands, societies for psychodermatological research were founded. Moreover, initiatives were taken to establish a European Society for Dermatology and Psychiatry, and an Association for Psychocutaneous Medicine of North America. Until the very last moment, Herman Musaph was committed to and actively involved in psychodermatology. He fell ill during a meeting of the European Society in Paris, and died only a few weeks later, at the age of 77.

Uwe Gieler

The first Herman Musaph Award was presented to Uwe Gieler in Paris in 1999. Gieler became active in the field of psychodermatology in the eighties, and wrote his first publications on emotional factors and body image. He published on many skin diseases, such as acne and psoriasis, as well as pruritus, artefacts and delusions. However, he became renowned and respected for his outstanding studies on atopic dermatitis. Gieler was trained as a dermatologist and a psychotherapist. He has thus been able to integrate his dermatological and psychotherapeutic expertise. In Germany, his home-country, he made an outstanding contribution to the national working group on psychosomatic dermatology. He is one of the founders of the Arbeitskreis Psychosomatische Dermatologie and the European Society for Dermatology and Psychiatry.

In 1995, Gieler became Professor in Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy at the Medical Centre for Psychosomatic Medicine of the University of Giessen, Germany. He established the International Journal on Dermatology and Psychosomatics, and he is currently managing several important research projects.

The Herman Musaph Award was given to Uwe Gieler for his outstanding contributions to research, organization and education in psychodermatology.

Caroline Koblenzer 

The second Herman Musaph Award was presented to Caroline Koblenzer in Barcelona in 2001. Koblenzer was born in England, and graduated in medicine from the University of London in 1953. She became a resident in dermatology in 1964. Around that time she was given a book to review which, combined with her profound interest in psychoanalysis, initiated her long career in psychodermatology. The book was Herman Musaph’s famous study on “Itching and Scratching”. Ever since, Koblenzer has dedicated herself to the integration of dermatology and psychoanalysis.

The impressive list of publications of Koblenzer includes studies on the dysmorphic syndrome, delusions of parasitosis, psychogenic purpura, dermatitis artefacta, atopic eczema, itching, tanning, and aging skin. The list also contains a famous, even classic, textbook on Psychocutaneous Disease.
Together with her loyal, supportive husband, Caroline Koblenzer has made innumerable contributions to the International Congresses on Dermatology and Psychiatry. She was President of the 4th Congress in Philadelphia, and she is also the Founder and Former President of the Association for Psychocutaneous Medicine of North America. In many ways she has played, and is still playing, an important role in uniting colleagues from the Old World and the New World. The Herman Musaph Award was given to her for her lifelong devotion and achievements in psychodermatology.

Emiliano Panconesi

The third Herman Musaph Award was presented to Emiliano Panconesi in Brussels in 2003. Panconesi has a long medical career that covers more than half a century. This medical career was dedicated to medicine with, from early on, a specialization in dermatology. His fields of special interest include allergology, immunopathology, photodermatology, psychosomatics and medical psychology. His interests cover even a much larger field. He is also actively involved in literature, history, medical history, and art. He has combined these interests in many publications and lectures. All who attended earlier psychodermatology meetings have been a witness of these broad intellectual activities.

Although the recipient has presented numerous reports and communications, organized and actively participated in numerous workshops, round tables and symposia, and published more than 300 papers on various clinical, biological and experimental aspects of dermatology, of course most important is what the recipient achieved in the field of dermatology and psychiatry. That is best summarized by the title of the book published by the honorary chairman of the European Society for Dermatology and Psychiatry, 'Manuale di Dermatologia, Immunopatologia Cutane, lo Stress, le Emozioni e la Pelle', translated in English this means 'Stress and Skin Disease: Psychosomatic Dermatology'.
 

John Cotterill

The fourth Herman Musaph Award was presented to John Cotterill in Giessen in 2005. Cotterill is one of the founding fathers of the European Society for Dermatology and Psychiatry. Together with professor Berner, the Award Winner

organized the first international congress on dermatology and psychiatry ever, in Vienna, in 1987. Moreover,he was the host and president of the second, well-attended and very successful international congress in Leeds, in 1989.
 
Cotterill was born at the beginning of World War II. He studied at the University of Durham and at the University of Newcastle, graduated in medicine, and was consultant dermatologist at the General Infirmary at Leeds for many, many years. An impressive list of about 200 publications includes studies on delusions of parasitosis, body dysmorphic disorder, suicide in dermatological patients, game-analysis in the doctor-patient relationship, and on the management of tattoos with laser. His 1981 publication on dermatological non-disease is unique. On a more personal level, Cotterill is a lively and inspiring colleague, and a very good speaker.

The Herman Musaph Award was given to John Cotterill for his outstanding contributions to the advancement of psychodermatology.

Andrew Finlay

The fifth Herman Musaph Award was presented to Prof. Dr. Andrew Finlay Cardiff in Wrozlaw 2007.