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US/USSR Psychiatry Delegation Records

 Collection
Identifier: MS C 626

Abstract

Correspondence, reports, drafts, psychological testing instruments, subject files, and audio and video recordings which document a 1989 joint NIMH/U.S. State Department delegation visit to the Soviet Union to assess the state of Soviet psychiatry. The delegation focused on the diagnosis status, treatment, and human rights protections given to political and religious dissidents who had been involuntarily committed to psychiatric hospitals.

Dates

  • Creation: 1976-2005 (bulk 1987-1991)

Extent

3.75 Linear Feet (5 boxes)

Creator

Physical Location

History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine

Language of Materials

Collection materials primarily in Englishand Russian

Access Restrictions

Collection is restricted. Portions of the collection are restricted according to HMD's Access to Health Information of Individuals policy. Contact the Reference Staff for information regarding access. For access to the policy and application form, please visit https:\\www.nlm.nih.gov\hmd\manuscripts\phi.pdf.

Copyright and Re-use Information

NLM does not possess copyright to the collection. Archival collections often contain mixed copyrights; while NLM is the owner of the physical items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. It is the user's responsibility to research and understand any applicable copyright and re-publication rights not allowed by fair use. NLM does not grant permissions to publish.

Privacy Information

Archives and manuscript collections may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in any collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications for which the National Library of Medicine assumes no responsibility.

Historical Note

Between February 26 and March 12, 1989, a delegation representing the United States government visited the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) with the goal of assessing the state of Soviet psychiatry. The delegation was particularly concerned with allegations that Soviet psychiatrists used medically-baseless diagnoses of schizophrenia and other mental illness to intern political and religious dissidents indefinitely in psychiatric hospitals. The visit, which was made at the USSR's invitation, represented a thawing in the Soviet Union's relationship with Western psychological organizations, many of which had long-condemned the USSR's alleged use of psychiatry in human rights violations.

The delegation was comprised of fourteen psychiatrists, one psychologist, two lawyers, two specialists in human rights, and six interpreters. The visit was coordinated by the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, with Robert W. Farrand leading the effort. Secretary of State George Shultz requested that the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) assist the State Department with the visit, and Drs. Darrel Regier and Samuel Keith of NIMH designed the standardized and scientific research methods which the delegation would use. Dr. Loren Roth of the University of Pittsburgh served as the delegation's overall psychiatric team leader while Dr. Harold Visotsky led the hospital visit teams.

During their visit, the delegation's psychiatric team systematically interviewed fifteen hospitalized and twelve released psychiatric patients to determine if they showed signs of mental illness which would justify internment in a psychiatric hospital. The delegation had full access to the patients' medical records and, in some cases, also interviewed the patients' relatives, friends, and treating psychiatrists. In addition, the delegation also visited four ordinary and special psychiatric hospitals in the USSR to assess the quality of treatment there.

Upon their return, the delegation authored a report which was published in the journal Schizophrenia Bulletin. The delegation found that, while there were some positive indications that Soviet psychiatry had begun adopting more Western standards, there was still evidence of psychiatric abuse. The delegation's visit contributed to a positive exchange of best practices between the United States and the Soviet Union -- in 1990, Soviet psychiatrists conducted a return visit the United States.

Collection Summary

Correspondence, reports, drafts, psychological testing instruments, subject files, and audio and video recordings which document a 1989 joint NIMH/U.S. State Department delegation visit to the Soviet Union to assess the state of Soviet psychiatry. The delegation focused on the diagnosis status, treatment, and human rights protections given to political and religious dissidents who had been involuntarily committed to psychiatric hospitals.

Series 1: Correspondence contains letters to and from members of the delegation and largely consists of topics such as trip planning, training, coordination with Soviet contacts and the U.S. State Department, policy discussions, and responses to the visit. Correspondence relating to the final report and the Soviets' return visit is found in Series 2 (Final Reports) and Series 7 (Soviet Return Visit) respectively.

Various iterations of the delegation's final report are found in Series 2. In addition to the published version of the report that appeared in Schizophrenia Bulletin, the series contains numerous drafts of different sections of the report. Notably, Series 2 contains the published Soviet response to the U.S. delegation's final report.

Accounts by individual members of the delegation visit are found in Series 3. This series also contains written accounts, summaries, and video and audio recordings of the delegation's overall visit as well as their visits to ordinary psychiatric and special psychiatric hospitals. Many of the records in Series 3 contain patient health information and the series is restricted according to the History of Medicine Division's Access to Personally Identifiable Health Information policy.

Records pertaining to the return visit by Soviet psychiatrists to the United States comprises Series 7. This series notably contains correspondence and policy decisions related to the deferment of the return visit due to controversy over human rights abuse allegations lodged against one member of the Soviet delegation (see visit deferment).

Video recordings of a 2005 retrospective symposium about the U.S. delegation's visit, held in memory of delegation member Dr. David Lozovsky, can be found in Series 8.

Abstract

Correspondence, reports, drafts, psychological testing instruments, subject files, and audio and video recordings which document a 1989 joint NIMH/U.S. State Department delegation visit to the Soviet Union to assess the state of Soviet psychiatry. The delegation focused on the diagnosis status, treatment, and human rights protections given to political and religious dissidents who had been involuntarily committed to psychiatric hospitals.

Physical Location

History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine

Provenance

Transfer, Darrell Regier (NIMH), 2000 Jan 05, Accession #2000-001, 2005-034.

General

Processed by
Megan O'Hern
Processing Completed
March 2018
Encoded by
Megan O'Hern
Title
Finding Aid to the US/USSR Psychiatry Delegation Records, 1976-2005 (bulk 1987-1991)
Status
Unverified Partial Draft
Author
Megan O'Hern
Date
March 2018
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English
Edition statement
1.0

Collecting Area Details

Part of the Archives and Modern Manuscripts Collections Collecting Area

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