WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Google commemorated the renowned psychiatrist, Dr. Herbert Kleber, with a doodle, on the 23rd anniversary of his election to the National Academy of Medicine.
Born on June 19, 1934, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Dr. Kleber was a prominent psychiatrist, who has done in-depth research in the field of substance abuse. He started his career at Public Health Service Prison Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, where he came across many drug abusers.
He was the pioneer in leading the thought among today's psychiatrists who view drug abuse as a disease. In those days, substance abuse was linked to moral values and the addicts were constantly punished and shamed. The relapse rate was very high among survivors. This made him contemplate the fact that a more scientific approach is needed to tackle the issue. He mingled with the offenders with compassion rather than disgust.
Later, Dr. Kleber came up with the idea of Evidence-Based Treatment (EBT), a treatment that is backed by scientific research. His new approach changed the lives of many people, and the then United States President George HW Bush appointed Kleber as the Deputy Director for Demand Reduction at the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
He founded numerous centers aimed at treating addiction and wrote many papers on the subject. He was the co-founder of the National Centre on Addiction and Substance Abuse.
At the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Dr. Kleber and his then-wife Dr. Marian W Fischman established the Division on Substance Abuse, which later on became one of the most successful research programs on the subject.
On October 1, 1996, Dr. Kleber was elected as a member of the prestigious Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science.
He passed away on October 5, 2018, at the age of 84.
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