Karl Wilhelm Ideler

In 1820, he earned his doctorate from the Friedrich Wilhelm Institute in Berlin, and spent the next several years as a general practitioner in the cities of Bernau, Rathenow and Genthin.

Ideler introduced complex theories on the relationship between illnesses of the mind and the state of the physical body.

Later on, Wilhelm Griesinger (1817–1868) would advocate significant changes towards humane and dignified treatment of the mentally ill at the Charité.

Although Ideler is often portrayed as a product of an unenlightened era in psychiatric thought, he had several ideas that are consistent with modern psychoanalysis.

He stressed the importance of the emotional life, and believed that unfulfilled passions could be a source of mental disturbance.