The psychiatrist as administrator: the career of W.F. Theunissen in the Dutch East Indies.

W. F. Theunissen (1882-1961) was a leading psychiatrist in the Dutch East Indies. He was the medical director of several large mental hospitals after which he became director of the Dutch East Indies Public Health Service. Theunissen was not known for his research into the causes of mental illness. Instead, he made his mark as an administrator greatly reducing the expenses of the Lawang mental hospital by expanding occupational therapy in new and innovative ways. His accomplishments earned him the position of director of the Indies Public Health Department, where he oversaw the decentralisation of health services and the development of public health initiatives.