Doris Maude Odlum (26 June 1890 – 14 October 1985) was an English

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

. She helped to establish psychiatric departments at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Bournemouth and the

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital and its predecessor organisations provided health care to women in central London from the mid-Victorian era. It was named after Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, one of Britain's first female phys ...

. She served on the psychological medicine group of the British Medical Association for 45 years.

Early life and education

Doris Odlum was born on 26 June 1890 in Folkestone,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, to Walter Edward Odlum and Maude Gough, both hoteliers. She attended Talbot Heath School in Bournemouth and read classics at St Hilda's College, Oxford. After graduating in 1912, she lectured for the

Workers' Educational Association The Workers' Educational Association (WEA), founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult education and one of Britain's biggest charities. The WEA is a democratic and voluntary adult education movement. It delivers lea ...

and campaigned for

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

and

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

. She moved to London in 1914 and received a BA from

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

in 1914 and a diploma in education in 1915. She enrolled at the

London School of Medicine for Women The London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW) established in 1874 was the first medical school in Britain to train women as doctors. The patrons, vice-presidents, and members of the committee that supported and helped found the London School of Me ...

in 1915, but her studies were interrupted by the First World War; she joined the Women's Volunteer Reserve Corps and commanded a forage guard in the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, fea ...

from 1917 to 1919. She continued her education in 1920 at St Mary's Hospital Medical School, which had begun to admit women.

Medical career

Odlum graduated as LRCP and MRCS in 1924, and soon after moved to Brighton to work alongside

Helen Boyle Alice Helen Anne Boyle (1869 – November 1957) was an Irish-British physician and psychologist. She was Brighton's first female general practitioner, and the first female president of the Royal Medico-Psychological Association (now the Royal ...

at Lady Chichester Hospital, a psychiatric hospital for women. She was appointed an honorary consultant in 1926; she also worked at Camberwell House and Maudsley Hospital, both psychiatric institutes in London. After receiving a diploma in psychological medicine in 1927, she helped to establish a psychiatric department and a child guidance clinic at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Bournemouth in 1928. When she applied for a consultant position at the Royal Victoria Hospital, she was denied on the basis that a woman had never been hired as a consultant before. She moved to the West End Hospital for Nervous Diseases in London in 1937 as an honorary consultant, and she co-founded a psychiatric department for women at the

. Her main interest was in children's and adolescent psychiatry. She helped to produce a report on child neglect and cruelty with the

Magistrates' Association The Magistrates' Association is the membership organisation for magistrates in England and Wales. By virtue of its education and training functions it is a charitable organisation and is funded by its members to promote the magistracy. History ...

in 1956, and her many publications included ''Journey through Adolescence'' (1957), ''The Mind of your Child'' (1960), and ''Adolescence'' (1978). After joining the psychological medicine group of the British Medical Association as a founding member in 1937, Odlum served in the group for 45 years and chaired it between 1943 and 1946. She was elected vice president of the

Medical Women's International Association The Medical Women's International Association is a non-governmental organization founded in 1919 with the purpose of representing female physicians worldwide. Esther Lovejoy was its first president. The Association grew from an international me ...

in 1929 and 1950–54; vice president of the National Medical Women's Association in 1946–50; president of the

Medical Women's Federation The Medical Women's Federation is the largest UK body of women doctors. The organisation is dedicated to the advancement of the personal and professional development of women in medicine and to improving the health of women and their families i ...

in 1950–52; and president of the European League for Mental Hygiene in 1953–56. She was a member of the

Eugenics Education Society Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...

from 1931 to 1957. Odlum was made a fellow of the BMA in 1958, a foundation fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 1971, and an honorary fellow of St Hilda's College in 1980. Odlum was
Soroptimist
and a member o
SI Bournemouth

Later life

Odlum retired 1955. She spent the last 37 years of her life with her partner, Zoe Jarret, an artist. She died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in Bournemouth on 14 October 1985.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odlum, Doris 1890 births 1985 deaths English psychiatrists English suffragists First women admitted to degrees at Oxford Alumni of St Hilda's College, Oxford People educated at Talbot Heath School Presidents of the Medical Women's Federation Medical doctors from Bournemouth LGBT physicians English LGBT people British women psychiatrists 20th-century LGBT people