David Clark obituary

Guardian obituary of David Clark. His book Social therapy in psychiatry influenced me. I also trained at Fulbourn Hospital, although Clark had just retired before I started as a junior psychiatrist there. His history of Fulbourn Hospital (The story of a mental hospital) is of interest. It's important the history of the therapeutic movement in psychiatry is not forgotten. A major advance in psychiatric care was the opening of the doors of the traditional asylum. Unfortunately, to some extent, there has been a reinstitutionalisation of psychiatric care and sometimes the worst excesses of the asylum are now repeated in the community. Risk averse policies and interventions can actually cause problems for patients in terms of their rehabilitation and recovery.