Harry Prosen

Harry Prosen (born 1930) is a North American psychiatrist. He is Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioural Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, USA; Professor of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba, Canada; and past president of the Canadian Psychiatric Association. He has held leadership roles with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the American Psychiatric Association.[2]

Professor Harry Prosen. In February 2012 he gave a radio interview[1] discussing his psychiatric consulting work with bonobos.

Early life

Canadian by birth, Prosen obtained his initial qualifications from the University of Manitoba in the 1950s, before spending part of his residency at the University of Chicago studying under a number of luminaries including Heinz Kohut.[3]

Career

For more than 50 years, Prosen has been actively involved in both clinical and teaching psychiatry. He was Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Manitoba from 1975 to 1987;[4] and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin from 1987 to 2003.[2] He has been on numerous clinical, academic, institutional, government and editorial boards in both Canada and the United States; and been consultant to many hospitals, universities and associations. From 1978 to 1979, he was the President of the Canadian Psychiatric Association.[2]

Empathy and bonobos

His earlier work focused on inter-generational issues in families, focusing particularly on empathy and empathic deficits. Much of this work originated in studying variations of the life-stages of humans, then developing an inter-generational approach to psychiatric treatment.[5] His 1972 paper The Remembered Mother and the Fantasized Mother[6] has been regarded as an influential work. Some of Prosen’s early publications focused on non-verbal communication and also variations in facial features under different emotional circumstances. He developed a particular interested in adolescents and psychotherapy.

Prosen’s interest in empathy prepared him well for his later work with primates, in particular bonobos, considered to be the most empathetic of all primates.[7] Since 1998, he has been psychiatric consultant to the Bonobo Species Preservation Society, assisting primatologists working with one of the largest collections of captive bonobo primates in the world at the Milwaukee County Zoo, studying bonobo culture and development.[8] This work has led to Prosen receiving numerous consultations from the United States and other parts of the world concerning psychological and other problems in primates.[9] Recently, the rehabilitation of an emotionally disturbed young bonobo named "Brian" generated substantial publicity, including a story in The Atlantic[1][10] as well as appearing in Laurel Braitman's 2014 book Animal Madness.[11]

Prosen’s interests extend to psychology, neurology and biology. Since 2005, he has been a noted advocate of Australian biologist Jeremy Griffith’s theses on the human condition.[12]

Selected awards and positions
  • MD (University of Manitoba)
  • MSc (University of Manitoba)
  • Diploma in Psychiatry (University of Manitoba)
  • Fellow, The American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • Fellow and Committee Member, The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
  • Fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists
  • Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, England
  • Past President, Canadian Psychiatric Association
  • Distinguished Life Fellow and Committee Member, The American Psychiatric Association
  • America’s Registry of Outstanding Professionals (2005–2006)
  • American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Selected bibliography
  • Martin, R.; Prosen, H. (November 1972). "Mid-Life Crisis: Growth or Stagnation". Canadian Family Physician. 18 (11): 68–70. PMID 20468848.
  • Prosen, H. (April 1973). "Maternal Deprivation and later Sexual Adjustment". Human Sexuality. 7 (4, 58 and 214).
  • Prosen, H.; Toews, J.; Martin, R. (1981). Adolescent Psychiatry: The Life Cycle of the Family: Parental Midlife Crisis and Adolescent Rebellion. IX. Annals of the American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry. pp. 170–179.
  • Prosen, H.; Chan, C. (1991). Medical Examination Review, Psychiatry (9 ed.). New York: Elsevier Science Publishing Company, Inc.
  • Chan, C.; Prosen, H. (1995). Psychiatry: 700 Questions & Answers. Norwalk, Connecticut: Appleton & Lange.

References
  1. "Primate Week: Dr Harry Prosen, Bonobo Psychiatrist". WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  2. "Former CPA President honoured by U.S. medical college". Canadian Psychiatric Association. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  3. "MD Profile Page". Arizona Medical Board. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  4. Sisler, George. "History of the Department of Psychiatry". Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba. Archived from the original on 26 November 2005. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  5. For example:
    • Martin, R.; Prosen, H. (November 1972). "Mid-Life Crisis: Growth or Stagnation". Canadian Family Physician. 18 (11): 68–70. PMID 20468848.
    • Prosen, H. (April 1973). "Maternal Deprivation and later Sexual Adjustment". Human Sexuality. 7 (4, 58 and 214).
    • Prosen, H.; Toews, J.; Martin, R. (1981). Adolescent Psychiatry: The Life Cycle of the Family: Parental Midlife Crisis and Adolescent Rebellion. IX. Annals of the American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry. pp. 170–179.
  6. Prosen, H.; Martin, R.; Prosen, M. (December 1972). "The Remembered Mother and the Fantasized Mother". Archives of General Psychiatry. 27 (6): 791–798. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1972.01750300057009.
  7. Sandin, Jo (2007). Bonobos: Encounters in Empathy. Milwaukee: Zoological Society of Milwaukee & The Foundation for Wildlife Conservation, Inc. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-9794151-0-4.
  8. Sandin, Jo (12 October 1999). "House calls: Psychiatrist helps zoo animals". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee. p. 1.
  9. Farrar, Steve (28 July 2000). "A party animal with a social phobia". The Times Higher Education. London.
  10. Madrigal, Alexis C. (June 11, 2014). "Brian the Mentally Ill Bonobo, and How He Healed". The Atlantic. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  11. Braitman, Laurel (2014). Animal Madness. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 254–263. ISBN 9781451627008.
  12. Prosen, Harry, World Transformation Movement, retrieved 29 February 2012
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