Dr. John B. Imboden, a retired psychoanalyst who had been Sinai Hospital's chief of psychiatry, died of acute leukemia Sunday at his North Baltimore home. He was 82.
Born and raised in Morrilton, Ark., he attended Notre Dame University; while an undergraduate student, he enlisted in the Navy and was accepted into the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He graduated in 1950 and served in an Army hospital in El Paso, Texas, where he worked with soldiers with combat-related mental conditions.
He returned to Johns Hopkins to complete a residency in psychiatry, joined the faculty in 1956 and directed the psychiatric inpatient consultative service of Johns Hopkins Hospital for a number of years.
Interested in psychosomatic medicine, Dr. Imboden worked in the interaction between mood and medical illness. His 1957 research at Fort Detrick led to papers demonstrating that psychological factors were important determinants of the convalescent time after influenza and other infections.
"He went to an Army base and administered a test to hundreds of soldiers, right before a flu season hit," said his son, Dr. John Imboden Jr. of San Francisco. "He found that soldiers who tended to be depressed before the illness took much longer to recover than those who were more upbeat in personality."
In 1969, Dr. Imboden became chief of psychiatry at Sinai Hospital and for the next 21 years oversaw the growth of his department. He also enlarged alcohol and drug abuse treatment programs and was the subject of newspaper articles about the link between depression and self-esteem.
After retiring from Sinai, he maintained a private practice in psychiatry in Roland Park until 2003, when he retired a second time. He belonged to many professional organizations and was a past president of the Maryland Psychiatric Society.
Colleagues said he was highly regarded for his handling of patients. He was the author of many medical articles and book chapters and co-authored a psychiatric textbook.
He was fluent in French, self-taught in calculus and a student of physics and history. He also enjoyed golf.
A memorial service will be held at noon Feb. 16 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, 5200 N. Charles St.
In addition to his son, survivors include his wife of 39 years, the former Anne Grimes; a daughter, Connie Imboden of Baltimore; and two grandchildren. His marriage to Mary Ellen Sawyers ended in a 1968 divorce.
jacques.kelly@baltsun.com