title: Anton Boisen: a portrait.
abstract: This psychobiographical essay aims to shift Boisen scholarship from a focus on his disputed psychiatric diagnosis to a more inclusive investigation of the disparate aspects of his personality. I conclude that Boisen's central personality trait was a brand of loquacity that lacked substance--specifically the substance of his deepest secrets. This caused a kind of chronic frustration in his relations with others and, I argue, led to his chronic, psychotic state of being. Additionally, I argue that Boisen's psychosis and religious practice worked together to sustain his psychological regression.
authors.affiliation: Drew University, Madison, NJ 07940, USA. jkramp@drew.edu
authors.forename: Joseph M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kramp
mesh_terms: D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D010327:Pastoral Care / Q000266:history*; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000266:history*; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000266:history*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D014481:United States