A History of Innovation

In 1950, Jacob Finesinger, MD was recruited from Harvard to be the first Chair of the newly established Department of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland. Since then, the Department has grown greatly, and in many ways its history mirrors that of American psychiatry.

During the Finesinger era, medical student education, which was his forte at Harvard, was emphasized. In addition, full-time faculty were recruited, and the Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behavior (IPHB) was opened in 1953. This institution not only provided patient care but was a training center for personnel to staff the state hospitals, as well as a research center to study the causes and prevention of mental illness. The IPHB building was constructed at the initiative of the State Legislature as a result of an expose in the Baltimore Sun called "Maryland Shame" that detailed the deplorable conditions in the state mental hospitals.

Dr. Finesinger died in 1959, and Dr. Eugene B. Brody was appointed as the second chair of the department. Under his leadership several key developments took place: First, in 1961, the Division of Child Psychiatry was established, and Dr. Frank Rafferty was recruited as its first director. Second, in 1970, the Department established what is still today a unique track program extending through four years of Medical School called the Combined Accelerated Program in Psychiatry (CAPP). Originally the brain-child of Dr. Walter Weintraub, CAPP is managed today by Dr. Eric Weintraub, his son. Third, in 1974, the Department established a practice plan, Psychiatry Associates, P.A., under University guidelines. But, most importantly, Dr. Brody recruited a diverse faculty, with comprehensive interests, in a variety of disciplines.

In 1976, Dr. Brody resigned as Chair and Dr. Russell R. Monroe was appointed as the third chair. Under his leadership, several more key developments took place. In 1977, the Maryland State Legislature shifted the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center from the auspices of the Mental Hygiene Administration to the Department of Psychiatry. Then, in l978, the Department signed a contract with the Mental Heath Administration to run the Walter P. Carter Center. The W.P.C.C. was originally established in 1966 under the Federal Community Mental Health Act, but the relationship between the two temporarily waned as Federal funds were phased out in 1972 and rejuvenated by this state contract. Also in 1978, a collaborative arrangement (the multi-award winning "Maryland Plan") was agreed to between the MHA and the Department for residency training in three state mental hospitals - Spring Grove, Springfield and Crownsville. Finally, in 1982, a psychiatric service was initiated at the Baltimore VA on Loch Raven Avenue.

In 1985, Dr. John A. Talbott was appointed as the fourth chair of the department. His goals were several, all of which depended on the recruitment and internal development of talented faculty members to complement the existing and very capable group.  These goals were:

• To establish strong divisions in all the field’s subspecialties capable of conducting research, establishing accredited fellowship training and conducting clinical services. He started this off by returning Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services to the department after 15 years of being under the direct aegis of the Dean's Office.
• To establish a strong downtown research presence to complement the strong MPRC program in neuroscience and schizophrenia. Towards that end, he initiated a new Center for Mental Health Services, which -- with the recruitment of Howard Goldman, Tony Lehman, Lisa Dixon and Jim Thompson -- took off with great success)
• To broaden the Department’s areas of expertise (into affective disorders with Peter Hauser, eating disorders with Harry Brandt, rehabilitation with Allen Bellack and short-term therapies with Hinda Dubin)
• To seize new opportunities as they arose to strengthen the Department, such as the privatization of the Walter P Carter Center’s ambulatory services under Fred Osher, moving into the new VA and merging our residency with that of Shepard Pratt (under George Balis and now Lisa Dixon).

In the years 1985-2000, the Department grew dramatically, sometimes increasing its grants and contracts 20% a year, but it maintained its commitment to care, training and research for those state citizens suffering the most from devastating mental illnesses. Dr. Talbott left the chair in the wake of our faculty’s successful garnering of 2 1/2 CRC-equivalents, one of 8 MIRECC’s in the nation and a $24 Million grant from Novartis, the largest such grant in the medical school’s history. As with the rest of American psychiatry, the department was poised to enter the millennium with expertise, energy and enterprise that should change the fate of patients’ lives dramatically for the better.

Anthony F. Lehman, MD, MSPH, was appointed the Department’s fifth Chair in 2000. A world-renowned mental health service researcher, Dr. Lehman has focused his work on assessing the outcomes of persons with severe mental illnesses and developing treatments and strategies for improving the well being of these persons. Prior to becoming Chair, Dr. Lehman directed the department's Center for Mental Health Services Research for over a decade. Building upon the strong foundation established under previous chairs, Dr. Lehman’s goals are to substantially expand the Department’s research mission while maintaining and strengthening its outstanding training and clinical programs.

Priorities for research development include research on mood and anxiety disorders, child and adolescent disorders and geriatric disorders. He also seeks to more fully integrate the Department’s major centers of research excellence on schizophrenia and other severe mental illness, including the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, VA Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center and the Center for Mental Health Services Research. By focusing on enhancement of clinical and basic research, the mission of the Department will be to contribute new knowledge that improves care for persons with mental disorders in the 21st Century. This effort will benefit future generations as well as the persons now being treated and the students being educated. At the same time the Department's commitment remains strong to pre-doctoral education, ensuring that all medical students at the University are trained to diagnose and treat mental disorders; to post-doctoral education for future psychiatrists; and to the care of our patients.

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