Abstract
Stuart Whiteley died on 28th December 2012. His passing was peaceful and followed a lengthy illness.
Stuart was born in 1926 and grew up in Yorkshire. He attended the University of Leeds, from where he graduated MBChB in 1950. (He attained the DPM in 1954). Memberships of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (1961) and the Royal College of Psychiatrists (1971) were followed by the awarding of fellowships of these colleges in 1970 and 1982, respectively.
As a junior doctor, he commenced a series of attachments in the South East, where he would spend the rest of his career. He had some time at Warlingham Park Hospital and the Maudsley, amongst other places, before a lengthy spell as senior registrar at The Westminster Hospital. His first consultant post was at Warlingham Park (1965), which was at that time a forward looking mental hospital where there was interest in the new-ish group methods, arising from the World War Two military hospitals.
But it was his move the following year (1966) to take up a position at the Henderson Hospital which would so influence his future direction and indeed would come to define him professionally. He was to remain at the Henderson until 1988 when he retired and during that time, he established himself as the single leading authority, internationally, in his field—the therapeutic community and milieu therapy.
None of this could necessarily have been foreseen, however, in his early days there. He had taken on a singularly tough challenge. The Henderson Hospital was so named in 1960 (after Sir David Henderson, Professor of Psychiatry in Edinburgh and Maxwell Jones’ mentor) prior to which it was known as the Social Rehabilitation Unit (part of the then Belmont Hospital). Through the 1950s, the SRU carried all before it—building on the foundations of Jones’ pioneering work with soldiers with Effort Syndrome, and (later) returning prisoners of war—developing a new style of work, under Jones’ charismatic leadership, attracting national and international attention and generally invested with a great deal of hope for the future of psychiatry. By the early to mid sixties, the shine had rather gone off the project: the charismatic leader was long gone, his successor was relatively short-lived, a major research project had reported (not uncritically), and the attentions of the psychiatric world were moving elsewhere. All in all, the Henderson, as it now was, had rather lost its way, its sense of purpose.
Things began to settle with the arrival of the new medical director and not least through the help and collaboration of a young Dr Estela Welldon, constantly refining a treatment programme for individuals with what is now termed Severe Personality Disorder. As the clinical work was developed by the staff team, there were soon initiatives on a number of other fronts.
Early on, Stuart saw the importance of research and, before the term was in common currency, was keen to establish an evidence base. He himself had published his first article on research with homeless men in 1955. He went on to study therapeutic effects and outcomes. He also knew the importance of publication and in this period he co-authored two books, both of which were well received as well as dozens of journal articles, book chapters and conference papers.
In 1972, (with Dr David Clark and others), he initiated what would become The Association of Therapeutic Communities and he tirelessly supported the ATC until his retirement and beyond. He provided a thread of continuity in the twin aims of inter-community support and developing a political voice.
In 1978, he followed this with a joint meeting between ATC and its Dutch counterpart and thus was the Windsor Conference established. Very quickly, with other nationals asking if they might attend, it became a truly international event, continuing to the present day.
All the while, he was mindful of the relationships between Henderson and its immediate circle. Regular points of contact were established for professionals, administrators and other interested parties to learn something of the work of the therapeutic community, e.g. visitors’ days, lectures and seminars (involving residents) to professional training courses and a very successful annual group work course .
All of this demonstrates the complexity of leading the Henderson. It was the human equivalent of managing a volatile substance—constantly vulnerable to internal conflict and to external threat. Stuart brought an unusually rich combination of technical skills and personal attributes to manage this. He was an outstanding clinician, a very able administrator and a deft politician. Leadership of the therapeutic community is never straightforward—but on a good day he made it look extraordinarily easy. (On a bad day, he simply rolled his sleeves up—like everybody else—and got on with it.)
As regards his own professional development, by the early 1970s, Stuart was already senior in his field and he held back from undertaking the newly established group analytic training. He regretted that somewhat later on. Nonetheless, he kept close links with the world of group analysis. He had some direct contact with S.H. Foulkes and through a variety of personal/professional relationships he kept abreast of developments in GAS and IGA.
He did have a personal analysis and he was very well read within his areas of interest. Nonetheless one may say that he was effectively self-taught. But he was a natural group analyst and the idea of creating the group as the medium of therapy could not have been closer to his heart.
At first sight he was a quiet, softly spoken unassuming man. This was not to be mistaken however for weakness or indecision. He was ordinary in the best sense of that term—no jargon, no hiding behind job titles or such, and plain speaking towards the common good. He wore his talents lightly and he carried himself with humility: none of which detracted from the appropriate exercising of authority. Modern organizational theory emphasizes the role of ‘followership’ as a contributor to the success of leaders. I have had the privilege of looking inside many therapeutic institutions/organizations and I have never seen anyone attract loyalty and commitment like Stuart Whiteley.
Throughout all this he maintained a puckish sense of humour. On one occasion the staff group came out from a community meeting in which a colleague had made a detailed and lengthy interpretation. Walking along, chuckling, Stuart was heard to say ‘there goes another one for the Guinness Book of Interpretations!’)
As retirement neared, he was apprehensive about what role awaited him. This was an understandable concern though, of course, it was never likely to be based in any kind of reality. Indeed for a decade or more beyond retirement he was much in demand—as consultant / lecturer / trouble-shooter / psychotherapist. Of particular note was his work as President of The Group Analytic Society (1997–1999) at a difficult point in that organization’s history. He was also Secretary of the International Association for Group Psychotherapy (1989–1985); and he was Local Organizing Committee Chair for the 1999 IAGP Congress in London.
He gave a number of prestigious public lectures, most notably the 18th Annual Foulkes Lecture (1994), the Founders Lecture of the International Association for Forensic Psychotherapy (1996) and The Peter van der Linden Lecture (1998) at the Windsor Conference. Throughout the 1990s he was Executive Editor of Group Analysis—the journal for group analytic psychotherapy .
In 1991, Honorary Membership of the IGA was conferred on him, recognizing his standing in the field and his long time endeavours on behalf of group analysis. He was very pleased and proud to be honoured in this way.
He had created a learning community at the Henderson where residents and staff alike could benefit. I sometimes think of the notion of the Henderson as finishing school! I can think of at least two professors, many who have taken up senior positions in mental health services and more group analysts/ psychotherapists/ counsellors than you can shake a stick at who have emerged from there. We all benefited from this man’s quiet encouragement and extraordinary kindness.
He was predeceased by Christine, his wife, and he is survived by his two daughters, Sara and Bella, and his grandsons, Louie and Sonny.