MENTAL HOME EXPERIMENT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23691, 24 December 1938, Page 5

MENTAL HOME EXPERIMENT

PSYCHO-ANALYSTS TO ATTEND (From Our Own Correspondent) (By Air Mail),' LONDON, Dec. 1. The experiment of. permitting a small number of psycho-analysts to be present to observe the reactions of mental patients when they are being examined is to.be tried at St. Bernard's Hospital, one of the L.CiC. mental homes, at Southall. Middlesex. , .;,// ~ * :/i!^»):w,ji'-p' This announcement was made at a meeting of the L.C.C. by Mr J. R. Oldfield, chairman of the Mental Hospitals' Committe,e, He. said thaj;. the request had been made by the Director of Research at the Institute of Psycho-Analysis. The superintendent and the medical staff at the hospital were willing to co-pperate in the arrangement, which wquld involve the attendance at the hospital from time to time of two or three persons who were not medically qualified but who were in training with a view to their practising psycho-analysis. It was unusual for them to get experience of major cases, and it had been represented that acquaintance with them would provide a useful background for other experience.

He added that the experiment would be permitted for a year, after which the matter would be reviewed. . ■ ''.

Dame Barrie Lambert, objecting to the proposal,' said that outside people would be able to attend " a ferre,ting put;of }htimate,.-de,tailß' oSi*.; : the patients/ 'private-ilivfeS : and 1 ' i)b- '■'' serve their reactions while being examined/' '■'..•; .-;..,■/-"