The first Department of Psychiatry in the Republic was established in 1936 at the Almaty State Medical Institute. It was founded on the basis of a psychiatric hospital that celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1996. The first Head of the Department of Psychiatry was Professor B.N. Serafimov, who had previously worked at the Bekhterev Psychoneurological Institute.
During the war years, the scientific interests of the department, like those of all Soviet psychiatrists, were focused on pathology of traumatic origin. From 1947 to 1955, the department was headed by Professor A.P. Shtess, who paid great attention to improving the educational process. To unify practical classes, he compiled a methodological guide on general psychopathology, which greatly assisted young teachers. Clinical residents and even sub-interns actively participated in scientific research. Professor Shtess also devoted significant efforts to organizational work as a freelance Chief Psychiatrist of the Ministry of Health of the Kazakh SSR. Under his leadership, the first Republican Conference of Psychiatrists was held in Kyzylorda in 1953.
In 1957, G.I. Zaltsman, Candidate of Medical Sciences, became the Head of the Department. Over the following five years, the increased creative activity of the department staff was made possible through close cooperation with clinicians and the chief physician of the clinical base, V.E. Vetsner. For the first time in the Soviet Union, a method of treating patients with schizophrenia using so-called “neuroleptic spikes” was applied. This method, developed by G.I. Zaltsman, proved to be more effective than other treatments used at that time.
From the 1960s to the 1980s, under the leadership of Professor G.I. Zaltsman, the department studied psychopathological syndromes and alcohol-related pathology, while under the supervision of Professor R.G. Ilesheva, topical issues of age-related psychiatry were explored.
Fundamental clinical and psychopathological studies of acute delirium conducted by G.I. Zaltsman formed the basis of his doctoral dissertation, defended in 1969 in Tashkent. Research works by E.K. Medetov, E.B. Baituraev, L.P. Popova, Yu.T. Dzhangildin, M.Sh. Dzhamantaeva, N.T. Izmailova, and L.E. Bazarbaeva were carried out under his supervision and defended in Moscow at the Serbsky Research Institute of Forensic Psychiatry and the Research Institute of Psychiatry of the RSFSR Ministry of Health.
These works were distinguished by a high clinical standard, which created a strong positive image of the Almaty Department of Psychiatry. In 1996, under the supervision of G.I. Zaltsman, postgraduate student B.B. Jarbusynova defended her candidate dissertation on mental pathology in renal failure. Her research was published in scientific collections of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and in the proceedings of the X–XI Congresses of the World Psychiatric Association. Two of her works received international awards with certificates.
DEVELOPMENT IN THE 1980s–1990s
In the 1980s–1990s, issues of alcoholism, drug addiction, and substance abuse became increasingly relevant. One important aspect was the “feminization” and rejuvenation of these conditions, as well as the spread of substance abuse among children and adolescents.
The issue of female alcoholism was the subject of a candidate dissertation by A.S. Sukhanberdina (supervisor: Professor R.G. Ilesheva).
A number of publications were released to facilitate the transition of psychiatrists in Kazakhstan to the 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), which was implemented in January 1998.
In addition to scientific research, the department staff consistently provided organizational assistance to the Ministry of Health of the Republic in improving psychiatric care for the population.
ORGANIZATIONAL AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
From 1991 to 2000, Professor G.M. Kudyarova served as the Chief Freelance Psychiatrist of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Previously, she had been the Chief Adolescent Psychiatrist of the Republic. During this period, adolescent psychiatric services were significantly revitalized, and interdepartmental cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Education, military commissariats, Ministry of Justice, and social welfare institutions was strengthened.
From 1990 to 2000, Professor G.M. Kudyarova also headed the Department of Psychiatry. Under her leadership, extensive work was carried out to update methodological materials, including manuals and teaching aids for both students and faculty members. As Chief Psychiatrist, she regularly visited regions of the Republic to provide organizational, consultative, and methodological support.
Between 1994 and 2000, five collections on topical issues in psychiatry, narcology, psychotherapy, and psychology were published under her supervision. Professor Kudyarova is also the author of psychiatry-related articles in the Kazakh National Encyclopedia (1998) and the compiler of a Kazakh–Russian Medical Dictionary (Psychiatry Section) published in 1999.
Her doctoral dissertation, defended in 2000 in Moscow at the V.P. Serbsky State Research Center for Social and Forensic Psychiatry, entitled “Basic Patterns of the Prevalence of Mental Disorders in the Republic of Kazakhstan”, represents a comprehensive clinical and epidemiological study.
At the department, considerable attention was paid to the development of a number of complex issues in teaching psychiatry, such as student involvement in research activities (Student Research Work) and forms of monitoring students’ independent study. The department developed a new “Psychiatry Curriculum for Students of All Faculties of Medical Universities”, as well as a “Medical Psychology Curriculum for Students of All Faculties of Medical Universities” and a “Training Program for Clinical Residents in Psychiatry.”
Assistants were directly involved in patient management in clinical departments. Under the supervision of the department, new-generation psychopharmacological agents were introduced into clinical practice, especially in recent years. During visits to various regions of the republic, along with organizational and methodological support, extensive consultative and therapeutic work was carried out.
From December 2000 to 2001, the department was headed by N.T. Izmailova, who had previously been an intern, trainee, and resident at this department, and subsequently worked as a practicing psychiatrist, assistant, and professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Narcology of the Almaty Institute for Advanced Medical Education, as well as a professor at the Department of Psychiatry of KazNMU. In 1998, she defended her doctoral dissertation in Tashkent entitled “Schizophrenia Complicated by Hashish Intoxication (a Clinical and Psychopathological Study).” Under her supervision, several PhD dissertations on clinical issues in psychiatry were completed.
Under the leadership of the Chief Psychiatrist G.M. Kudyarova, extensive work was carried out on the preparation of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Psychiatric Care and Guarantees of Citizens’ Rights in Its Provision,” which was signed by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N.A. Nazarbayev on April 16, 1997. Faculty members of the department took an active part not only in drafting this law but also in its live discussion at a session of the Mazhilis of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The department’s staff also participated in the development of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances, Precursors, and Measures to Counteract Their Illicit Trafficking and Abuse.”
With the participation of the department, a project for the Scientific and Practical Center for Medical and Social Problems of Drug Addiction in Pavlodar, opened in December 2000, was developed.
In 1999–2000, the department actively participated in the development of a project for a Scientific and Practical Center for Psychiatry and Narcology (planned to open in Almaty in 2001 on the basis of the Republican Clinical Psychiatric Hospital), as well as other documents related to its establishment.
In accordance with the action plan for implementing the objectives set by the President of the country in the Address to the People of Kazakhstan “Towards a Free, Efficient, and Secure Society” dated October 24, 2000, and by order of the Agency for Health Affairs and upon instruction of the rectorate of KazNMU, in March 2001 the department began developing a special course program entitled “The Impact of Drugs on the Human Body and Criminal Liability for Drug Trafficking and Illegal Distribution, as well as Strategies for Combating Drug Addiction and the Drug Trade.” This course was intended for inclusion in the curricula of medical universities for the 2001–2002 academic year as a specialized course in narcology.
From 2002 to 2008, the department was headed by Professor S.A. Nurmagambetova. During this period, standard curricula were updated, psychiatry teaching was introduced for interns in the 6th year, and students in the 1st–2nd years began studying the subject “Communication Skills” at the Department of Psychiatry. From the 2007–2008 academic year, a separate subject “Narcology” was introduced.
Since October 2008, the department has been headed by Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor S.A. Altynbekov, the author of more than 100 scientific publications. Under his supervision, 4 PhD and 2 doctoral dissertations were completed. S.A. Altynbekov is the President of the Psychiatric Association and also serves as the Chief External Psychiatrist of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The department has carried out extensive educational and methodological work, including the development of standard programs for students and interns in psychiatry and narcology, as well as the improvement of teaching in both the state and Russian languages through the use of multimedia demonstration materials. Modern teaching methods utilizing audio and video materials and interactive techniques are widely employed.
In accordance with the decision of the Academic Council of S.D. Asfendiyarov KazNMU, a new Department of Internship and Residency in Psychiatry and Narcology was established in 2012. The Head of the Department was Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Botagoz Bineshevna Jarbusynova.
From September 5, 2016, in accordance with the decision of the Academic Council of S.D. Asfendiyarov KazNMU on “The Tasks of the University in Modernizing the Organizational Structures of Dean’s Offices, Faculties, and Departments in the 2016–2017 Academic Year,” and pursuant to Order No. 5461 (dated September 21, 2016), the Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Narcology and the Department of Internship and Residency in Psychiatry and Narcology were merged to form the Department of Psychiatry and Narcology with Undergraduate, Internship, and Residency Courses.
From September 4, 2017 to 2021, following division into undergraduate and postgraduate education, the department was reorganized into the Department of Psychiatry and Narcology No. 1. The Head of the Department was N.A. Negay, PhD, Director of the Republican Scientific and Practical Center for Mental Health.
From 2021 to 2023, the Head of the Department of Psychiatry and Narcology named after Professor G.I. Zaltsman was K.S. Altynbekov, MD, PhD, Director of the Republican Scientific and Practical Center for Mental Health.
On November 30, 2021, the Department of Psychiatry and Narcology was officially named after Professor Grigory Ilyich Zaltsman.
From 2023 to the present, the Head of the Department of Psychiatry and Narcology named after Professor G.I. Zaltsman is Doctor of Medical Sciences Botagoz Bineshovna Jarbusynova.
