User:Nnaja003/Irene Jakab

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Irene Jakab (1919-2011) was an American-Hungarian-Romanian psychiatrist that dedicated her life to researching neruodivergent disorders in children. She was an adept of art therapy, and often used it in her treatments for her cases.

Biography
Irene Jakab was born in Oradea on the 15th of July 1919. She graduated from Notre Dame Arad high school in 1937, then went on to Ferencz József Medical University in Cluj-Napoca. After graduating in 1944, she attended the Hungarian University in Cluj and graduated with a degree in psychology, pedagogy and philosophy with a cum laude qualification. To further her studies, she attended Pazmany Peter University in Budapest and got her PhD in psychology, education and general literature summa cum laude in 1948.

Career
Dr. Jakab was an intern at Ferencz József Medical University in Cluj-Napoca between 1943 and 1944, then became a psychiatric resident at the University Hospital of Neurology and Psychiatry. Between 1947 and 1950, she worked for the University Hospital of Neurology and Psychiatry. From 1963-66, she was a resident psychiatrist at Topeka State Hospita l in the United States.

After carrying out research in Hungary and Switzerland, she was invited to become part of the staff at Harvard Medical School in 1966, where she would teach psychiatry and other courses until her death in 2011. She also taught the at University of Pittsburg, lecturing the medical class on child psychiatry. It was there where she coordinated the subgroup of children’s services in the programs for children with developmental disorders committee. Between 1977 and 1981, Dr. Jakab was part of the School of Health Related Professions' expressive therapies planning group.

As for her medical career, she would spend forty years as a psychiatrist at McLean Hospital in Belmont, eventually earning the title of honorary staff psychiatrist in 2006. An annual award was established in her name at McLean Hospital in Belmont.

Death and Legacy
Dr. Jakab was known for her intense research towards mental disabilities. She created the John Merck program for neurodivergent and emotionally disturbed children at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic between 1974 and 1982. The hospital expanded from a 10-bed efficiency to 33 beds, providing a better capacity for treatment. Due to her continuous efforts to better the community, the Pittsburg Magazine named her one of five “Real Pittsburghers” in 1989.

Jakab published 14 books where she explored psychiatry through art of her patients, often advocating for art therapy in children with neurodivergent disorders. She wrote numerous papers in the fields of psychiatry, child psychiatry, neurology and neuropsychology, including "Pictorial Expression in Psychiatry".

She was President of the American Society of Psycho Pathology of Expression, a member of the Société Medico-Psychologique in Paris since 1957 and a member of the International Rorschach Society since 1959.

Irene Jakab passed away on the 18th of June 2011, at the age of 91.