THE FOUNDER
Dr Benjamin Behman
(1940-1972) Completed his medical and surgical training in 1918 at University College London.
He returned to practice in Egypt, where he joined the Abbasseya Mental Hospital in 1922. In 1940, he established a private nursing home on the hills of Helwan, which would later expand and become the Behman Hospital. His vision was of a hospital that could provide a comfortable, welcoming atmosphere while maintaining international standards of psychiatric car.
Over the years, Dr. Behman continued to expand the hospital and introduced novel methods of treatment at the time to psychiatric practice in Egypt, including as insulin coma therapy (ICT), electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and the “open-door” method of psychiatric care. He was dedicated to providing further training in psychiatry in Egypt, with his affiliation with the university of Durham in 1951. He continued his leadership role with his son-in-law Dr. Fathy Loza who took over management of the hospital in 1968, thus continuing the continuing the family tradition of caring for individuals suffering from mental illness.
THE PIONEERS
Dr Fathy Loza
(1968-2006) Completed his studies in 1953 at Ain Shams University in Cairo. He later trained at Holloway Sanatorium in Surrey, England, and returned to join The Behman as a junior resident. In 1968, he became director of the hospital after being awarded the FRCPsych. In spite of the social, political, and cultural changes taking place in Egypt at the time, Dr. Loza was able to build on Dr. Behman’s legacy and expand the hospital into a 200-bed facility. In 1973, he was appointed director of the WHO Collaborative Centre for Information on Psychotropic Drugs.
Throughout his career, Dr. Loza emphasized the importance of remaining up to date on trends and applying the most recent therapeutic methods at the hospital. He was the first to introduce a rehabilitation unit for children with special needs in Egypt. Dr. Loza died in 2006, and the family legacy passed on to his son, Dr. Nasser Loza.
Dr Nasser Loza
(1997 – Present) trained in psychiatry at The Institute of Psychiatry, London and the Maudsley Hospital. He returned to the Behman on 1987 to establish the hospital’s addiction program, an old age department and promote an ‘open-door’ policy of psychiatric practice at The Behman. Dr. Loza was Secretary General for Mental Health of Egypt, Chairman of the Arab Board of Psychiatry. He worked closely with the Royal College of Psychiatrists and was elected Honorary fellow of the College in 2014. He is a member of Editorial Boards of the Arab Journal of Psychiatry, The British Journal of Psychiatry International. He is currently President of the World Federation for Mental Health.
THE EXPERTS
The Behman owes much of its success to the early experts—many of them internationally recognized in their fields—who believed in the necessity of providing exceptional mental health care in Egypt and always gave generously of their time and knowledge. We will always remember them with gratitude and strive to live up to the example they set for us:
Dr Darwish Mostafa Safwat, LRCP & SEdin.
Dr Aziz Maqar, MD Lausanne, Psychiatre de la clinique de Bel-Air (Geneve)
Dr Marcus Gregory, BLitt., DPhil Oxford
Dr Ibrahim S. Fayek, DPM&N
Dr Ragai Daniel, DPM&N, MRCPsych.
Dr Wagdy Ragheb, DPM&N.
A GLIMPSE OF THE PAST
Our old brochure provides fascinating insight on The Behman’s history.