Georg Groddeck, psychosomatic, writer (* 13. Oktober 1866, Bad Kösen † 10. Juni 1934, Knonau close to Zurich)

“Who draws the conclusion, that I mentally medicate a human who has broken his leg, is very true – but I adjust the fracture and dress the wound. And then – I give him a massage, make exercises with him, give a daily bath to the leg, with water of 45 centigrade [Celsius] for half a hour and I take care, that he does neither gorge nor booze, and every now and then I ask him: Why did you brake your leg, you yourself?”

With such and other methods the German physician Georg Groddeck, who practiced in Baden-Baden and was the pathfinder of the psychosomatic medicine, astonished his numerous listeners and readers. His therapy connects naturopathic treatment with psychoanalytic, suggestive and hypnotic elements. His foot and arm bath, massages and dietary cuisine are still practised today, although the bold doctrine of salvation, where he mauled his patients necessarily quite authoritarian, is judged today more reserved. “To provide obedience” is the “foundation of medical art”, he mentioned. With his “Book of the Id” he supplied Siegmund Freud the basic idea and achieved a honourable position in the history of psychoanalysis. Different from Freud, Groddeck mainly was engaged with the treatment of chronically patients. Groddeck is considered to many as a founder of psychosomatic – his reservations against strict science and orthodox medicine made him an outsider among psychoanalyst till today.

Toward the end of his life, many colleagues and admirers asked Groddeck to form a society that would promote his ideas. To this request, he would laugh and reply: "Disciples like their master to stay put, whereas I should think anyone a fool who wanted me to say the same thing tomorrow as I said yesterday. If you really want to be my follower, look at life for yourself and tell the world honestly what you see."