1. Eduardo Gómez Escallón
Médico Psicoanalista
Tel : 627 32 51
Consultorio Avenida 15 # 127-68 Bogotá – Colombia
edugomezesc@hotmail.com
General Psychiatry Specialization at Pontificia Xaveriana University
based in The Sto. Tomas Psychiatry Clinic.
Alvaro I Garcia’s general psychiatric specialization began at Pontificia Universidad Xaveriana, after
completing his general medical internship. In the year 1966, the Xaveriana University had its
psychiatric specialization based in the Santo Tomas Psychiatric Clinic [Clinica Psiquiatrica Santo
Tomas] in Bogota, Colombia.
The last trimester of the general medical internship was done in the Psychiatric Santo Tomas Clinic
for starting Dr Alvaro I Garcia’s general psychiatry specialization, which lasted from November
1964 to May 30th
1968.
[See letter in Documents section, signed by Dr. Henan Vergara, Clinical Director].
Practicing and working under the supervision of Dr. Hernan Vergara Delgado and Dr Ariel Duran
Solano, and deepening in the theories of mental illnesses, the specialization included the daily-
supervised practice of face-to-face contact with many hospitalized patients. Also working
alongside the clinical psychologist, Dr Guido Wilde, and other medical professionals. The clinic had
a general medical staff meeting, held once a week, for discussion and peer review of many
different patients.
The Clinical experiences and theory studies included: Neuro-physiological causes of mental illness,
psychiatric diagnosis/ assessment, mood/ affective disorders, anxiety disorders, generalized
anxiety disorder, specific phobias, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder
and panic attacks, depersonalization, derealisation disorders.
Schizophrenias, paranoid, catatonic, indifferentiated, the so-called hebephrenic, the simple
schizophrenia and residual types, schizophreniform disorder, many of those terms used in the
past, that are renamed in the actual DSM-5 nomenclature.
Also, bipolar disorders with its types 1 & 2, psychotic depression, major depressive disorder,
schizoaffective disorders. The various personality disorders. Sleep disorders and sexual
dysfunctions.
There is no need to include here the whole psychopathology wide spectrum and many mental
disorders will not be mentioned here.
Supervisions were held with either Dr. Hernan Vergara or Dr. Ariel Duran on a case-per-case basis,
and as a continuum on the day-by-day work. As residents of psychiatry, we had pre-established
weekend shifts about twice a month. It is difficult to quantify here the face-to-face client contact
hours, because these happened many times every day, about 8 to 10 hours each day. This went
on during four years therefore it is impossible to determine the exact number of hours of
supervision and face-to-face client contact with patients. In other words, the supervision hours
lasted 4 years, about 5 hours a day per 5 days a week.
After finishing his residency on May 30, 1968 Alvaro I Garcia MD, started his own private practice
(always as self-employed practitioner) which lasted 36 (thirty-six) years until 2007.
At this time, he moved to Canada.
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EDUARDO GOMEZ ESCALLON M.D.
c.c.# 17.010.423 R.M. 515