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McLean Hospital () (formerly known as Somerville Asylum and Charlestown Asylum) is a psychiatric hospital in
Belmont, Massachusetts Belmont is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. It is a western suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, United States; and is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town's population stood at 27,295 ...
. It is noted for its clinical staff expertise and neuroscience research and is also known for the large number of famous people who have been treated there. McLean maintains the world's largest neuroscientific and psychiatric research program in a private hospital. It is the largest psychiatric facility of Harvard Medical School, an affiliate of Massachusetts General Hospital, and part of
Mass General Brigham Mass General Brigham (MGB) is a Boston-based non-profit hospital and physician network that includes Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), two of the nation's most prestigious teaching institutions. It was f ...
, which also includes
Brigham and Women's Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two fo ...
.


History

Map of the McLean Insane Asylum from an 1884 atlas of Somerville, Massachusetts McLean was founded in 1811 in a section of
Charlestown, Massachusetts Charlestown is the oldest neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Originally called Mishawum by the Massachusett tribe, it is located on a peninsula north of the Charles River, across from downtown Boston, and also adjoins t ...
that is now a part of Somerville, Massachusetts. Originally named Asylum for the Insane, it was the first institution organized by a group of prominent Bostonians who were concerned about homeless mentally ill persons "abounding on the streets and by-ways in and about Boston". The effort was organized by Rev. John Bartlett, chaplain of the Boston Almshouse. The hospital was built around a
Charles Bulfinch Charles Bulfinch (August 8, 1763 – April 15, 1844) was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first American-born professional architect to practice.Baltzell, Edward Digby. ''Puritan Boston & Quaker Philadelphia''. Tran ...
mansion, which became the hospital's administrative building; most of the other hospital buildings were completed by 1818. The institution was later given the name The McLean Asylum for the Insane in honor of one of its earliest benefactors, John McLean, who granted enough money to build several such hospitals. A portrait of McLean now hangs in the present Administration Building, along with other paintings that were once displayed in the original hospital. In 1892, the facility was renamed McLean Hospital in recognition of broader views on the treatment of mental illness. In 1895 the campus moved to Waverley Oaks Hill in
Belmont, Massachusetts Belmont is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. It is a western suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, United States; and is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town's population stood at 27,295 ...
. Joseph Curtis (
civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
) and
Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co-d ...
(the renowned landscape architect who also conceptualized the Emerald Necklace public spaces of Boston, New York's
Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
, and Hartford's
Institute of Living The Institute of Living is a comprehensive psychiatric facility in Hartford, Connecticut, that offers care across the spectrum of psychiatric services, including: * A 24/7 crisis evaluation telephone assessment and triage: Experienced psychiatr ...
) were consulted on the selection of the hospital site. The move was necessitated by changes in Charlestown, including new rail lines and other distracting development. Olmsted himself was eventually treated at McLean, but there is no evidence that he was responsible for the design of the grounds. Once hospital construction began, Curtis was hired by the hospital, and supervised the landscape work for many years. In the 1990s, facing falling revenue in a changing health care industry, the hospital drafted a plan to sell a portion of its grounds for development in the Town of Belmont. The proposed sale of the land caused a divisive and somewhat baroque political debate in the town during the late 1990s. Ultimately a plan to preserve some of Olmsted's original open space and to allow the town to develop mixed residential and commercial real estate prevailed over a plan to create only high-end residential development. The deal was finalized in 2005, and land development was well underway by the end of the year. Most of the Belmont campus (more than ) had been listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.


Current work

McLean is known widely for its treatment of
adolescents Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the ...
, most specifically its treatment of
borderline personality disorder Borderline personality disorder (BPD), also known as emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of unstable interpersonal relationships, distorted sense of self, and strong ...
using dialectical behavioral therapy developed by
Marsha M. Linehan Marsha M. Linehan (born May 5, 1943) is an American psychologist and author. She is the creator of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), a type of psychotherapy that combines cognitive restructuring with acceptance, mindfulness, and shaping. Lin ...
. , McLean is led by Scott L. Rauch, President and Psychiatrist in Chief, who is known for his innovative work using brain imaging methods to study psychiatric dysfunction. As one of the teaching hospitals of Harvard Medical School, McLean is differentiated from its New England peers (such as
The Institute of Living The Institute of Living is a comprehensive psychiatric facility in Hartford, Connecticut, that offers care across the spectrum of psychiatric services, including: * A 24/7 crisis evaluation telephone assessment and triage: Experienced psychiatri ...
and the
Brattleboro Retreat The Brattleboro Retreat is a private not-for-profit mental health and addictions hospital that provides comprehensive inpatient, partial hospitalization, and outpatient treatment services for children, adolescents, and adults. Located just north ...
) by its combination of teaching, treatment, and research; most other facilities focus on only one of these priorities. It is home to the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center, the largest " brain bank" collection of research specimens in the world. The hospital developed and implemented national health screening methods for alcohol, depression, and memory disorders. The Cole Resource Center, a
mental health consumer A mental health consumer (or mental health patient) is a person who is obtaining treatment or support for a mental disorder, also known as psychiatric or mental illness. The term was coined by people who use mental health services in an attempt t ...
resource and advocacy center, is located at the hospital.


Rankings

* McLean Hospital is ranked 1st among all psychiatric hospitals in the country according to '' U.S. News & World Report''. * In 2017, McLean ranked among the top 20 independent hospitals worldwide receiving National Institutes of Health grant support.


Former patients

Mathematician John Nash; musicians James Taylor, and
Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
; poets Sylvia Plath, Robert Lowell and
Anne Sexton Anne Sexton (born Anne Gray Harvey; November 9, 1928 – October 4, 1974) was an American poet known for her highly personal, confessional verse. She won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1967 for her book '' Live or Die''. Her poetry details h ...
; Massachusetts politician and Civil War general Nathaniel P. Banks; authors
Susanna Kaysen Susanna Kaysen (born November 11, 1948) is an American author, best known for her 1993 memoir ''Girl, Interrupted''. Background Kaysen was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is the daughter of Annette (Neutra) and economist Carl Ka ...
and David Foster Wallace; and criminal Michelle Carter have been treated at McLean Hospital.


In books and media

One popular and anecdotal history of McLean is
Alex Beam Alex Beam (born Jacob Alexander Beam in 1954)Staff report (July 2000) ''Stanford Magazine'' is an American writer and journalist. He retired as a columnist for ''The Boston Globe'' in 2012, but still contributes to the paper's op-ed page. He ha ...
's '' Gracefully Insane: Life and Death Inside America's Premier Mental Hospital''. More-factual and scholarly accounts of the history are recorded in the Little and Sutton books listed in "Further reading". Memoirs of time spent within McLean's walls include Sylvia Plath's novel '' The Bell Jar'', and
Susanna Kaysen Susanna Kaysen (born November 11, 1948) is an American author, best known for her 1993 memoir ''Girl, Interrupted''. Background Kaysen was born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is the daughter of Annette (Neutra) and economist Carl Ka ...
's ''
Girl, Interrupted ''Girl, Interrupted'' is a best-selling 1993 memoir by American author Susanna Kaysen, relating her experiences as a young woman in an American psychiatric hospital in the 1960s after being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Th ...
'', which was made into a film of the same name starring Winona Ryder and
Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...
. Samuel Shem's
roman à clef ''Roman à clef'' (, anglicised as ), French for ''novel with a key'', is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people, and the "key" is the relationship b ...
''Mount Misery'' tells a story inspired at least in part by the author's experiences at McLean. The 1994 ''Under Observation: Life Inside A Mental Hospital'' by Lisa Berger and Alexander Vuckovic uses some fictional techniques (
composite character In a work of media adapted from a real or fictional narrative, a composite character is a character based on more than one individual from the story. Use in film *Several characters in the movie '' 21''. *The character Henry Hurt in the docudra ...
s, etc.) to describe some of the typical events at McLean. James Taylor's song "Knockin' 'Round the Zoo" recalls his stay at McLean as a teenager. ''Poems of Boston and Just Beyond: From the Back Bay to the Back Ward'' by Doug Holder are based on his more than three decades working there, and are archived at the poetry room at the Lamont Library at Harvard University.


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Middlesex County, Massachusetts This is a listing of places in Middlesex County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. With more than 1,300 listings, the county has more listings than any other county in the United Sta ...


References


Further reading

* * * (on his time spent at McLean Hospital) * * * (on his time spent at McLean Hospital)


External links


McLean Hospital website

Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center
* Boston Book Festival/ Oct,2014. Poets in the Asylum Panel: Poets of McLean Hospital. Audio File. Panelists: Alex Beam, Lois Ames, Kathleen Spivack, Wendy Ranan. Hosted by Doug Holder
Poets of McLean Hospital Panel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maclean Hospital Psychiatric hospitals in Massachusetts Hospitals in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Belmont, Massachusetts Harvard Medical School Hospitals established in 1811 1811 establishments in Massachusetts Hospital buildings completed in 1895 National Register of Historic Places in Cambridge, Massachusetts Historic districts in Middlesex County, Massachusetts