Dr Archibald Campbell Clark FFPSG (1852–1901) was a nineteenth-century Scottish physician who made major advances in mental health care philosophies.

Life

He was born at

Tarbert Tarbert ( gd, An Tairbeart) is a place name in Scotland and Ireland. Places named Tarbert are characterised by a narrow strip of land, or isthmus. This can be where two lochs nearly meet, or a causeway out to an island. Etymology All placenames ...

, Loch Fyne, the son of Donald Clark, a merchant, and his wife Margaret Campbell. His father died when he was young and they then moved to

Lochgilphead Lochgilphead (; gd, Ceann Loch Gilb ) is a town and former burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, United Kingdom, with a population of around 2,300 people. It is the administrative centre of Argyll and Bute. The village lies at the end of Loch Gi ...

. He was educated there at the Free Church School. From around 1867 he assisted at the local asylum, where he learnt an empathy for the patients. He worked for some years as a warehouseman in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

then studied medicine at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1582 ...

graduating MB ChB in 1878 and gaining his doctorate (MD) in 1886.Obituary,

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origi ...

, 14 December 1901 He was assistant medical officer at the Melrose Asylum in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...

before joining the Edinburgh Asylum under Dr

Thomas Clouston Sir Thomas Smith Clouston (22 April 1840 – 19 April 1915) was a Scottish psychiatrist. Life Clouston was the youngest of four sons of Robert Clouston (1786–1857) 3rd of Nisthouse, in the Birsay parish of Orkney, and his wife Janet (né ...

. Around 1890 he became Medical Superintendent of the Glasgow District Asylum at Bothwell. In 1895 he was appointed Chief Medical Superintendent of the newly completed asylum - Hartwood Hospital, serving Lanark. With over 2500 patients it was later the largest asylum in Europe. Controversially by today's standards (but acceptable at the time) he employed

electroconvulsive therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatry, psychiatric treatment where a generalized seizure (without muscular convulsions) is electrically induced to manage refractory mental disorders.Rudorfer, MV, Henry, ME, Sackeim, HA (2003)"Electroco ...

and was the first person in Scotland to perform a

lobotomy A lobotomy, or leucotomy, is a form of neurosurgical treatment for psychiatric disorder or neurological disorder (e.g. epilepsy) that involves severing connections in the brain's prefrontal cortex. The surgery causes most of the connections to ...

in attempts to control behaviour. He was the first to advocate professional training of all staff, and had a strong reputation for improving the actual conditions of the inmates. He lectured at

St Mungo's College The Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) is a large teaching hospital. With a capacity of around 1,000 beds, the hospital campus covers an area of around , and straddles the Townhead and Dennistoun districts on the north-eastern fringe of the city cen ...

in Glasgow and was president of the Caledonian Medical Society. He died of

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

on 28 November 1901 at his house in Hartwood Village near the hospital. He was buried in the hospital cemetery in Hartwood. Hartwood closed in 1995 following the rolling out of

care in the community Care in the Community (also called "Community Care" or "Domiciliary Care") is a British policy of deinstitutionalisation, treating and caring for physically and mentally disabled people in their homes rather than in an institution. Institutional ca ...

Recognition

He is remembered on the Pinel Memorial (1926) at the

Royal Edinburgh Hospital The Royal Edinburgh Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Morningside Place, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Lothian. History The "foundational myth" has it that the hospital was founded by Dr Andrew Duncan, the elder, Andrew Duncan ...

Family

He was twice married and had two sons and one daughter.

Publications

*''The Special Training of Asylum Attendants'' (1884) *''Essays on Hallucinations by Asylum attendants'' (1884) *''Handbook for Instruction of Asylum Attendants'' (1885) *''Experimental Dietetics in Lunacy Practice'' (1887) *''The Sexual and Reproductive Functions, Normal and Perverted, in Relation to Insanity'' (1888) *''

Etiology Etiology (pronounced ; alternatively: aetiology or ætiology) is the study of causation or origination. The word is derived from the Greek (''aitiología'') "giving a reason for" (, ''aitía'', "cause"); and ('' -logía''). More completely, e ...

, Pathology and Treatment of Puerperal Insanity'' (1888) *''The Future of Asylum Service'' (1894) *''A Clinical Manual of Mental Diseases'' (1897) *''The Therapeutic Value (on Mental Health) of

Spleen The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes .

Removal'' (1898) *''On Epileptic Speech'' (1899)

References

1852 births 1901 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Heads of psychiatric hospitals 19th-century Scottish medical doctors {{Scotland-bio-stub