The life and work of Felix Post (1913–2001): pioneer in the psychiatry of old age

Abstract

Felix Post was a refugee from Nazi Europe. Appointed psychiatrist at the Maudsley Hospital, London in 1947, he pioneered treatment of mental illness in older people clinically and through meticulous research. He had a reputation as a brilliant clinical teacher. His work helped set the scientific foundations for the development of the specialty of old age psychiatry in Britain and he inspired junior doctors who worked with him to specialize in the newly emerging discipline.