The Henry Phipps Psychiatric Clinic

The Henry Phipps Psychiatric Clinic was a defunct psychiatric school and clinic located in Baltimore, Maryland. It was proposed in 1908 as the first of its kind in the United States and opened on April 16, 1913 as a new section of Johns Hopkins Hospital. The clinic was funded by a $1.5 million donation from Henry Phipps Jr., who had previously invested in the Phipps Tuberculosis Dispensary at the hospital. Adolf Meyer, a renowned psychiatrist, was appointed as the director of the clinic by William Welch, the dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Before the establishment of the Phipps Psychiatric Clinic, patients with severe mental disorders often had to go to Bellevue Hospital in New York City or Blockley Hospital in Philadelphia, as there were limited options for psychiatric treatment in the United States. Dr. William Welch aimed to change this by educating the public through a national campaign against mental ill health. Germany was leading in psychological studies and treatments at the time, but Welch wanted to bring psychiatry to the forefront in the United States.

The founding of the clinic was inspired by a book called "A Mind That Found Itself" by Clifford Whittingham Beers. During a routine visit to check on his investments in the Tuberculosis Clinic, Henry Phipps asked Dr. William Welch if there were any other departments that needed assistance. Welch suggested investing in psychiatry to make Johns Hopkins a leader in the field. Phipps agreed to donate $1.5 million, and Adolf Meyer, a prominent professor of psychiatry at Cornell University, was recruited to head the new department. Meyer oversaw the development of both the department and the building that housed the clinic.

During its operation from 1914 to 1917, the clinic admitted 1,897 patients from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds. The clinic aimed to serve the community and provide comprehensive psychiatric care. However, the exact details of its operations and services during this period are not specified in the available information.

The Henry Phipps Psychiatric Clinic played a significant role in advancing psychiatric education and treatment in the United States. Its establishment marked a turning point in the recognition and understanding of mental health issues. Although the clinic is now closed, its legacy lives on in the field of psychiatry.

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