Ivor Browne
Encyclopedia
Ivor Browne is a retired Irish psychiatrist
, author, former Chief Psychiatrist of the Eastern Health Board, and Professor emeritus of psychiatry at University College Dublin
. He is known for his opposition to traditional psychiatry, and his scepticism about psychiatric drugs.
, Dublin. He said that he was a dreamy, often miserable child. He attended secondary school at Blackrock College
, where he discovered jazz music, and began playing the trumpet. After Blackrock College, he went to a secretarial school, and gained admission to the Royal College of Surgeons
. He said that his intention was to become a jazz musician and that he only took up medicine to please his parents. During his time in the college of surgeons, he had several bouts of tuberculosis
, which diverted him from being a musician.
unit, where he assisted a surgeon. He said of his work there:
Browne went on to work both in the UK and in the US; He was awarded a scholarship to study public and community mental health in Harvard. After returning to Ireland, he became the fifth Medical Superintendent of Grangegorman Mental Hospital (St. Brendan's)
and he was made Professor of psychiatry at University College Dublin and Chief Psychiatrist of the Eastern Health Board.
as a means to encourage regression experiences both in his personal life and professionally. He has campaigned against what he sees as an overuse of medications in modern psychiatry. He said:
He has used psychiatric medications with his patients, but he says that he uses a fraction of the drugs prescribed by modern psychiatrists.
, award-winning author and friend of Browne's late wife, June Levine
, attended a group therapy session with Browne in St. Brendan's Hospital, Grangegorman. Tóibín says that: "He's just a good doctor, a kind man who would get up in the middle of the night for people. There's an aura off him which is almost holy."
Phyllis Hamilton was a patient of Dr. Browne in St. Loman's hospital. Later, she conceived two children with Fr. Micheal Cleary while she was living as his housekeeper. When the story broke after Cleary's death in 1993, Dr. Browne came out in support of Phyllis Hamilton and her children after the Catholic church denied that they were Cleary's family. He was denounced by the Church for being antagonistic towards it. In 1997, Professor Browne was censured by the Irish Medical Council
for publicly confirming Hamilton's story. The council accepted that he had acted in the best interests of his patient, but found that he had gone beyond what was ethically permissible. Phyllis Hamilton said that she believed that he had acted properly when disclosing information about her relationship with Michael Cleary.
, which worked to try to turn it into a thriving community.
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
, author, former Chief Psychiatrist of the Eastern Health Board, and Professor emeritus of psychiatry at University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
. He is known for his opposition to traditional psychiatry, and his scepticism about psychiatric drugs.
Early life and education
Ivor Browne was born in 1929 to a middle class family from SandycoveSandycove
Sandycove is an area of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Dún Laoghaire and Glasthule, but north of Dalkey.Sandycove is well-known for its gentlemen's bathing place, the Forty Foot, which in the past afforded a quiet swimming haven for males only...
, Dublin. He said that he was a dreamy, often miserable child. He attended secondary school at Blackrock College
Blackrock College
Blackrock College is a Catholic voluntary secondary school for boys aged 14–18, located in Williamstown, Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland. The College was founded by French missionaries in 1860, to act as a school and civil service training centre. Set in of grounds, it has an illustrious...
, where he discovered jazz music, and began playing the trumpet. After Blackrock College, he went to a secretarial school, and gained admission to the Royal College of Surgeons
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland , is a Dublin-based medical institution, situated on St. Stephen's Green. The college is one of the five Recognised Colleges of the National University of Ireland...
. He said that his intention was to become a jazz musician and that he only took up medicine to please his parents. During his time in the college of surgeons, he had several bouts of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, which diverted him from being a musician.
Career
In 1955, he became a qualified doctor. According to Browne, his professor of medicine in the Richmond Hospital told him that: "You're only fit to be an obstetrician or a psychiatrist." He had little interest in general medicine, and decided to become a psychiatrist. He started his internship in a neurosurgicalNeurosurgery
Neurosurgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spine, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and extra-cranial cerebrovascular system.-In the United States:In...
unit, where he assisted a surgeon. He said of his work there:
Browne went on to work both in the UK and in the US; He was awarded a scholarship to study public and community mental health in Harvard. After returning to Ireland, he became the fifth Medical Superintendent of Grangegorman Mental Hospital (St. Brendan's)
St. Brendan's Hospital (Grangegorman)
St. Brendan's Hospital is a psychiatric facility located in the north Dublin suburb of Grangegorman. It forms part of the HSE mental health services of Dublin North East. Its catchment area is North West Dublin...
and he was made Professor of psychiatry at University College Dublin and Chief Psychiatrist of the Eastern Health Board.
Attitude to drugs
Browne experimented with LSDLSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
as a means to encourage regression experiences both in his personal life and professionally. He has campaigned against what he sees as an overuse of medications in modern psychiatry. He said:
He has used psychiatric medications with his patients, but he says that he uses a fraction of the drugs prescribed by modern psychiatrists.
Notable patients
Colm TóibínColm Tóibín
Colm Tóibín is a multi-award-winning Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, playwright, journalist, critic, and, most recently, poet.Tóibín is Leonard Milberg Lecturer in Irish Letters at Princeton University in New Jersey and succeeded Martin Amis as professor of creative writing at the...
, award-winning author and friend of Browne's late wife, June Levine
June Levine
June Levine was an Irish journalist, novelist and feminist, who played a central part in the Irish women's movement. She was born and raised in a Jewish family in Dublin, and wrote her first articles for The Irish Times when she was still a teenager. At the age of eighteen she married Kenneth...
, attended a group therapy session with Browne in St. Brendan's Hospital, Grangegorman. Tóibín says that: "He's just a good doctor, a kind man who would get up in the middle of the night for people. There's an aura off him which is almost holy."
Phyllis Hamilton was a patient of Dr. Browne in St. Loman's hospital. Later, she conceived two children with Fr. Micheal Cleary while she was living as his housekeeper. When the story broke after Cleary's death in 1993, Dr. Browne came out in support of Phyllis Hamilton and her children after the Catholic church denied that they were Cleary's family. He was denounced by the Church for being antagonistic towards it. In 1997, Professor Browne was censured by the Irish Medical Council
Irish Medical Council
Comhairle na nDochtúirí Leighis - Medical Council is the regulator of the medical profession in the Republic of Ireland. It licenses medical practitioners to practise, and has the power to place restrictions on or revoke such licences, in cases of questions about a doctor's fitness to practise...
for publicly confirming Hamilton's story. The council accepted that he had acted in the best interests of his patient, but found that he had gone beyond what was ethically permissible. Phyllis Hamilton said that she believed that he had acted properly when disclosing information about her relationship with Michael Cleary.
Community work
Browne set up the Irish Foundation for Human Development, and started the first community association in Ireland in BallyfermotBallyfermot
Ballyfermot is a suburb in the city of Dublin.Celebrities such as the famous Furey Brothers and the brilliant Keenan family have all resided in Ballyfermot.Ireland, located 7 kilometres due west from the city centre, and to the south of the Phoenix Park...
, which worked to try to turn it into a thriving community.