Amit Bhattacharrya

Amit Bhattacharrya was born in 1936 in Chandernagar, India, and graduated in 1959 MB BS in Calcutta. He had intended to train in orthopaedics in England, but sadly, he developed glaucoma, which put paid to that plan.

He switched to psychiatry and began his training at St Crispin's Hospital, Northampton in the late 1960s. In 1970, he specialised in child and family psychiatry then located at St Crispin's, where he was appointed Consultant in General Psychiatry at Kettering and at the Redcliffe Day Hospital, Wellingborough, for some years. His final appointment was as part-time Consultant in Psychotherapy at Northampton, where he remained until his retirement in May 2001.

Amit was, first and foremost, a scholar. His published work ranged widely, but his major interest was in the use of myths, particularly those originating from India, which he weaved into his own brand of psychotherapy. He wrote two chapters, edited by Kedar Dwivedi, on The Therapeutic Use of Stories (1997, Routledge).

A further special interest of his was in the emotional effects of trauma, and this was much influenced by the work of Francine Shapiro and her treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder; he went so far as to attend her first workshop in Europe. He subsequently incorporated her techniques into his own work, resulting in his own adaptation, named Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR). His enthusiasm was such that he established an annual summer workshop/conference held at St Andrew's Hospital, which he chaired.

Amit was an inspired teacher and a fine friend. He was very happily married for over 28 years to Christine, with whom he shared a variety of interests, not excluding West Coast malt whisky!

He died on 23 January 2003.