Archivist Terry Bragg on the Founding and History of McLean

Terry A. Bragg, Archivist of the McLean Hospital in Belmont since 1981, will present an illustrated lecture tracing the remarkable history of New England’s first psychiatric hospital. From the time it opened in 1818, McLean Hospital followed the principles of “moral treatment” for the mentally ill, in distinct contrast to the prevailing practices at the time. Patients with mental illness were most often hidden and housed in jails, almshouses, and private homes. If they existed at all, dedicated facilities for the mentally ill provided little care and few activities. With this new approach to mental healthcare, the construction and maintenance of psychiatric care institutions began to play an increasingly important role in the treatment of the mentally ill, and McLean Hospital was among the leaders in the transformation. Terry Bragg will speak to the history of McLean in Somerville and their development of the existing site in Belmont.