In Memory of Johan Cullberg (1934 - 2022)

It is with sadness and deeply felt loss that we have received the news that Johan Cullberg has passed away. Johan turned 88 years old. He has been a member of the Swedish Psychoanalytical Association for many years since 1968 when he, as a newly graduated psychiatrist, was active at a psychiatric clinic in Stockholm. Like many of us, he was inspired to start the psychoanalytic training by an older member who was active there and held much appreciated seminars for the employees.

As a psychiatrist, Johan developed a strong humanistic view including his psychoanalytic orientation as an essential part. He wrote early on the highly regarded and widespread book ‘Crisis and Development’ (first Swedish edition was published in 1975 and translated to several languages, however not English). In this book, he emphasized the understanding of the psychological significance and vicissitudes of psychological trauma. Here, he laid the foundation for his continued activity in clinical practice, and in his accompanying writing he tirelessly emphasized the importance of the psychological perspective on mental suffering.

In light of his older brother Erland’s mental illness, Johan’s commitment and efforts gradually came to be increasingly focused on patients with severe mental disorders, such as psychotic and schizophrenic. With experience of the care and treatment that Erland and other patients in his situation received, Johan elucidated the restricted medical view of man and the limited resources of psychiatric care, which were largely about custody with electroconvulsive therapy and high dosage of psychotropic drugs. He fought in speech and writing against how the psychiatric care was conducted, which met with resentment among those responsible. Among the Swedish psychoanalysts, unfortunately, there was only a limited interest in the treatment of patients with severe mental disorders, which restricted Johan’s contribution to the Swedish Psychoanalytical Associa