HISTORY OF THE CHILD & ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRIC SOCIETY OF GREATER WASHINGTON

The Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Society of Greater Washington started from a very fragile beginning. Following World War II, in 1946, there were only two practicing child psychiatrists in Washington, D.C. They were Dr. Agnes Grieg and Dr. Sidney Berman. In 1948, a third child psychiatrist came to Washington. He was Dr. Reginald Lourie, appointed as the first chairman of the newly created Department of Psychiatry at Children's Hospital, and his leadership played a critical role in all that followed in our history.  

With the gradual development of new clinics and the influx of child psychiatrists into private practices, Dr. Zigmond Lebensohn, President of the Washington Psychiatric Society in 1952, appointed Dr. Sidney Berman and Dr. Reginald Lourie as co-chairmen of the Committee on Child Psychiatry. Regular meetings were held focusing on the development of Child Psychiatry in the Greater Washington area. Child Psychiatry flourished with the establishment of a dynamic child psychiatric program at Children's Hospital, the activation of other clinical services for children, and the growth of private practice. 

In 1958, Dr. Berman recommended that the Washington Psychiatric Society change the Committee on Child Psychiatry to a Section on Child Psychiatry to professionally support these phenomenal changes. This request was denied. Of deep concern was the fact that the younger child psychiatrist had no professional organization of their own in which to share their mutual clinical and professional interests. At the same time, membership in the American Academy of Child Psychiatry was by invitation only. Therefore, Dr. Berman and Dr. Lourie recommended to our colleagues that we continue our scientific and business meetings regularly and informally as the Washington Council on Child Psychiatry, with membership open to all child psychiatrists in the Washington area.  

Then in 1961, the American Academy of Child Psychiatry wished to encourage the formation of regional chapters of child psychiatrists with the leadership of local Academy members. However, membership in the Academy would continue to be by invitation.  

Dr. Berman recommended that this regional chapter should extend an invitation to our few colleagues in Baltimore to join with us in developing child psychiatry in this larger area. On February 5, 1962, Drs. Berman, Lourie, and Stark, as Trustees, incorporated the Washington-Baltimore Regional Chapter of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry. The other Charter Members from Washington were Drs. Edward Kessler, Joseph Noshpitz, and Robert Sullivan. The Charter Members from Baltimore were Drs. Frank Rafferty, Leon Eisenberg, and Leo Kanner. The first business meeting was on May 18, 1962. Dr. William Stark was elected chairman, Dr. Robert Sullivan was the Secretary-Treasurer, and Drs. Noshpitz and Rafferty were the Councilors.

 We were honored by Dr. Leo Kanner as the speaker at our first meeting as a new organization. This meeting was held at the Medical Society of the District of Columbia at 1704 M Street, N.W. Dr. Kanner addressed the meeting on the "Professional Direction of Child Psychiatry in this Nation."

  It should be mentioned that the Washington-Baltimore Regional Chapter had two classes of membership: members, who were members of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, and Associate Members, who were child psychiatrists and other physicians who made outstanding contributions to child psychiatry. Associate Members did not have the power to vote or to hold office. Nevertheless, membership was by application and every effort was made to move our members to become members of the Academy.

Regrettably, the joint meetings with our Baltimore colleagues were discontinued in 1966 because of the geographic distance between the two cities. We continued as the Washington Regional Chapter of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry.

  Child Psychiatry flourished in the city. There were now three training programs, Children's Hospital, Georgetown, and Walter Reed, and there were two psychoanalytic training programs. However, there was no national organization to represent all child psychiatrists. Then in 1970, the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, under the Presidency of Dr. Berman, became a national organization by application and established an Assembly of Regional Councils. With this, the Washington Council of Child Psychiatry came into being as a charter member of the Assembly of Regional Councils, with 40 members, and with Dr. Stephen Mourat as president. Membership is by application and simultaneously includes membership in the Academy.  

Since then, we have grown to 200 members. They have contributed to our community, to medical school education, to research, to training in child and adolescent psychiatry, to child psychoanalysis and to the American Academy of Child Psychiatry.  

In 1986, the Academy changed its name to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, with this, we changed our name to the Washington Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

                                                      Sidney Berman, M.D.  1996

PAST PRESIDENTS OF THE WASHINGTON COUNCIL OF CHILD & ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY

1962                             William Stark, M.D.

1971 - 1973                 Stephen Mourat, M.D.

1973 - 1975                 Leon Cyntryn, M.D.

1975 - 1977                 William Clotworthy, M.D.

1977 - 1979                Edward Weiss, M.D.

1979 - 1981                 Dexter Bullard, Jr., M.D.

1981 - 1983                James Hatleberg, M.D.

1983 - 1985                  Richard Gross, M.D.

1985 - 1987                  William  Novak, M.D.

1987 - 1988                  Henry Work, M.D.

1988 - 1990                  Kent Ravenscroft, M.D.

1990 - 1992                  Tom Walsh, M.D.

1992 - 1994                 Kenneth L. Kaplan, M.D.

1994 - 1996                 Joan Kinlan, M.D.

1996 - 1998                  F. Rodney Drake, M.D.

1998 - 2000                  Rachel Z. Ritvo, M.D.  

2000-2002                    Michael Houston, M.D.