Nise da Silveira | |
|---|---|
 Nise da Silveira, in 1970 | |
| Born | (1905-02-15)February 15, 1905 Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil |
| Died | October 30, 1999(1999-10-30) (aged 94) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Alma mater | Universidade Federal da Bahia |
| Spouse | Mário Magalhães da Silveira |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Psychiatry |
Nise da Silveira (February 15, 1905 – October 30, 1999) was a Brazilianpsychiatrist and a student ofCarl Jung. She devoted her life topsychiatry and challenged the conventional orthodoxies of her era, which insisted on using institutionalization and aggressive forms of medical intervention, includingelectroconvulsive therapy,insulin shock therapy andlobotomy to treat mental illnesses.[citation needed]
Nise da Silveira was born inMaceió, in the northeastern state ofAlagoas,[1]Brazil, in 1905. She graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Salvador,Bahia in 1926, the only woman among 157 men.[1]
In 1952, she founded theMuseum of Images of the Unconscious inRio de Janeiro, a research center and archive aimed at studying and documenting the thousands of artworks her clients produced at the occupational therapy unit of the Pedro II (National) Center for Psychiatry. Through her work, Nise da Silveira introducedJungian psychology to Brazil.[2]
In 1956, Nise da Silveira developed another revolutionary project that was ahead of her time: "Casa das Palmeiras", an outpatient clinic for formerly institutionalized clients, where they could freely express their art as they transitioned back into society. She also formed the C.G.Jung Study Group, which she chaired until 1968.[2]
Her research onoccupational therapy and the use of artistic expression as a means for exploring and revealing the inner life of mentally ill patients led to various exhibitions, films, documentaries, audiovisual productions, courses, symposia, publications and conferences over the course of her life.[3] She was also a pioneer in researching affective bonds between patients and animals, whom she referred to as co-therapists.[citation needed]
In recognition of her work, Nise da Silveira was awardeddecorations,titles and prizes in different areas of knowledge. She was a founding member ofthe International Society for Psychopathological Expression headquartered in Paris, France. Her work and ideas inspired the creation of museums, cultural centers, and therapeutic institutions in Brazil and overseas.[citation needed]
On July 8, 2022, the passage of Federal Law 14.401/2022 confirmed her entry into Brazil's "Livro dos Heróis e Heroínas da Pátria" (Book of National Heroes).[4]
Nise died on October 30, 1999, inRio de Janeiro.
Her life and work were portrayed byGlória Pires in the 2015 biographical Brazilian filmNise: The Heart of Madness, directed by Roberto Berliner.[5] Glória Pires also portrayed Nise da Silveira in the 2022 Brazilian telenovelaAlém da Ilusão.[6]
On February 15, 2020,Google celebrated her 115th birthday with aGoogle Doodle.[7]
