Soldiers in Psychiatric Therapy
The Case of Northfield Military Hospital 1942–1946
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12209176 |
|---|---|
| Authors | NAFSIKA THALASSIS (University of Salford, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2007 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 351-368 |
| Publication date | 2007-07-10 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social History of Medicine (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0951-631X • E-ISSN: 1477-4666 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/shm/hkm040 |
| PMID | 18605333 |
| OpenAlex | W1973074640 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 10 |
This article discusses the psychiatric therapeutics of Northfield military psychiatric hospital and suggests that treatment in Northfield was characterised by ideals of citizenship typical of the period and inextricably linked to the military. The two Northfield experiments, for which Northfield has become famous, glorified the group as a social unit and promoted adaptation to the needs and values of society as the route to mental health. In the context of the Second World War, such adaptation meant accepting the duties of a soldier. In the published writings regarding the first Northfield experiment, the psychiatrist Wilfred Bion emphasised his military role in returning patients to their units, a job which he thought was best conducted by men like himself who had experience of leading men into battle. Writing about the second experiment, Tom Main emphasised the importance of including military staff in every aspect of the hospital life from therapy to administration. Some Northfield psychiatrists were less content with this strongly military approach and this led to the conflict which ended the first experiment and continued to spark disagreements throughout the hospital's existence
Adaptation (eye · Ancient history · Battle · Citizenship · Context (archaeology · Mental health · Mental healthcare · Political science · Politics · Psychiatry · Academic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology · Historical Psychiatry and Medical Practices · Medicine · Neurology and Historical Studies · Psychology · History · Law
| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.44 |
| Citation span | 2010 - 2025 (16) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |