Humphry Fortescue Osmond (1917-2004), a radical and conventional psychiatrist: The transcendent years.
Robert M. Kaplan
Journal of medical biography February 1, 2016 DOI: 10.1177/0967772013479520 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mescaline |
| Keywords | Canadian psychiatry Alcoholism Schizophrenia Psychedelic psychiatry hallucinogens Radical approaches Innovative methods Mental health Psychotic patients Unique contributions Conditions Humphry osmond psychiatrist Pioneer |
| Citations | 9 |
| Key points | Describes Humphry Osmond's career as a psychiatrist who pursued radical innovations, including introducing Aldous Huxley to mescaline and coining the term 'psychedelic,' while remaining within the establishment. |
Abstract
This article describes the life and work of the psychiatrist Humphry Osmond who pursued a radical path as a psychiatrist while he remained within the establishment. To the public mind however, he is best known as the man who introduced Aldous Huxley to mescaline and coined the iconic word psychedelic. From an early stage of his career, Henry Osmond embraced new ideas to break the nexus in psychiatry at a time when neither biological nor psychoanalytic treatments were shown to have much benefit. To do this, he joined the radical social experiment in health in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan where he initiated a range of innovations that attracted international attention, as well as controversy over his espousal of the use of hallucinogens better to understand the experiences of psychotic patients.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mescaline, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schizophrenia: A New Approach. II. Result of a Year's Research | 1954 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Thought insertion as a self-disturbance: An integration of predictive coding and phenomenological approaches | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Entactogens: How the Name for a Novel Class of Psychoactive Agents Originated | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Steric and Electronic Relationships among Some Hallucinogenic Compounds | 1970 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| EFFECT OF DRUGS One individual | 1952 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | n = 1 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- The mechanistic divide in psychedelic neuroscience: An unbridgeable gap? Neurotherapeutics January 25, 2024
- The Role of Music in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy: A Comparative Analysis of Neuroscientific Research, Indigenous Entheogenic Ritual, and Contemporary Care Models. Psychedelic Medicine December 2, 2024
- The Ghosts of Ayahuasca: Conceptual Limits and Spectral Residues Anthropology of Consciousness September 25, 2025
- The Shrink who Shrunk Himself: The Rise and Fall of Ronnie Laing Journal of Science Humanities and Arts - JOSHA 2021
- Exploring the therapeutic potential of psychedelics in treating substance use disorders. Molecular Psychiatry December 1, 2025
Cites 7
- Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance Psychopharmacology July 7, 2006
- Schizophrenia: A New Approach. II. Result of a Year's Research Journal of Mental Science 1954
- Can psychedelics have a role in psychiatry once again? The British Journal of Psychiatry June 1, 2005
- Flashback: psychiatric experimentation with LSD in historical perspective. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry June 1, 2005
- ‘Hitting Highs at Rock Bottom’: LSD Treatment for Alcoholism, 1950–1970 Social History of Medicine July 17, 2006
and 2 more in the library