James Leatham Tennant "Jim" Birley (1928-2013) of the

Maudsley Hospital The Maudsley Hospital is a British psychiatric hospital in south London. The Maudsley is the largest mental health training institution in the UK. It is part of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and works in partnership with the In ...

, London, was a psychiatrist and president of the

Royal College of Psychiatrists The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom, and is responsible for representing psychiatrists, for psychiatric research and for providing public information about mental health ...

from 1987 to 1990. After education at Winchester College, Birley studied medicine at

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

and

St Thomas's Hospital Medical School St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in London was one of the oldest and most prestigious medical schools in the UK. The school was absorbed to form part of King's College London. History It was part of one of the oldest hospitals in London, ...

, London. He qualified in 1952

BM BCh Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United Kin ...

and then from 1952 to 1954 held junior appointments. From 1954 to 1956 he was a junior specialist in the

RAMC The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

. In 1957 he was a demonstrator in pathology at

St Thomas's Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foun ...

, where he worked under

William Sargant William Walters Sargant (24 April 1907 – 27 August 1988) was a British psychiatrist who is remembered for the evangelical zeal with which he promoted treatments such as psychosurgery, deep sleep treatment, electroconvulsive therapy and insu ...

. Birley was from 1958 to 1959 a medical registrar at

North Middlesex Hospital North Middlesex University Hospital, known locally as North Mid, is a district general hospital in Edmonton in the London Borough of Enfield. The hospital is managed by North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust. History The hospital was e ...

and from 1959 to 1960 a psychiatry/neurology registrar at St Thomas's Hospital. At the

he joined the staff in 1960, became a consultant in 1968, and retired in 1990. He qualified MRCP in 1958, graduated Doctor of Psychiatric Medicine in 1962, and qualified MRCPsych in 1971. In 1976 he was elected FRCP and FRCPsych. In 1968 Birley and his colleague George Brown published a paper ''Crises and life changes and the onset of schizophrenia'' suggesting that "patients who were suffering from psychotic episodes were likely to have experienced some sort of recent life crisis." The paper was rejected by the ''

British Journal of Psychiatry The ''British Journal of Psychiatry'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal covering all branches of psychiatry with a particular emphasis on the clinical aspects of each topic. The journal is owned by the Royal College of Psychiatrists and publis ...

'', but was published by the

American Sociological Association The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fif ...

's ''

Journal of Health and Social Behavior The ''Journal of Health and Social Behavior'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by SAGE Publications on behalf of the American Sociological Association. It covers the application of sociological concepts and methods to the ...

'' and became a classic. He was appointed CBE in the

1990 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 1990 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 15 June 1990, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 1990. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged firstly by the ...

. He was president of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...

from 1993 to 1994. Upon his death in 2013 Birley was survived by his widow, four children, and ten grandchildren. His father was the neurologist James Leatham Birley (1884–1934).

References

British psychiatrists People educated at Winchester College Alumni of University College, Oxford Alumni of St Thomas's Hospital Medical School Physicians of the Maudsley Hospital Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal College of Psychiatrists 1928 births 2013 deaths {{UK-psychiatrist-stub