Dr Archibald Campbell Clark FFPSG (1852–1901) was a nineteenth-century Scottish physician who made major advances in mental health care philosophies.

Life

He was born at

Tarbert Tarbert () is a place name in Scotland and Ireland. Places named Tarbert are characterised by a narrow strip of land, or isthmus. This can be where two lochs nearly meet, or a causeway out to an island. Etymology All placenames that variously s ...

, Loch Fyne, the son of Donald Clark, a merchant, and his wife Margaret Campbell. His father died when he was young and they then moved to

Lochgilphead Lochgilphead (; ) is a town and former burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, with a population of around 2,300 people. It is the administrative centre of Argyll and Bute Council. The village lies at the end of Loch Gilp (a branch of Loch Fyne) an ...

. He was educated there at the Free Church School. From around 1867 he assisted at the local asylum, where he learnt an empathy for the patients. He worked for some years as a warehouseman in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

then studied medicine at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

graduating MB ChB in 1878 and gaining his doctorate (MD) in 1886.Obituary,

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...

, 14 December 1901 He was assistant medical officer at the Melrose Asylum in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

before joining the Edinburgh Asylum under Dr Thomas Clouston. Around 1890 he became Medical Superintendent of the Glasgow District Asylum at Bothwell. In 1895 he was appointed Chief Medical Superintendent of the newly completed asylum -

Hartwood Hospital Hartwood Hospital was a psychiatric hospital located in the village of Hartwood near the town of Shotts in Scotland. History The hospital was designed by John Lamb Murray to accommodate 500 patients and opened as the Lanark District Asylum in 18 ...

, serving Lanark. With over 2500 patients it was later the largest asylum in Europe. Controversially by today's standards (but acceptable at the time) he employed

electroconvulsive therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatry, psychiatric treatment that causes a generalized seizure by passing electrical current through the brain. ECT is often used as an intervention for mental disorders when other treatments are inadequ ...

and was the first person in Scotland to perform a

lobotomy A lobotomy () or leucotomy is a discredited form of Neurosurgery, neurosurgical treatment for mental disorder, psychiatric disorder or neurological disorder (e.g. epilepsy, Depression in childhood and adolescence, depression) that involves sev ...

in attempts to control behaviour. He was the first to advocate professional training of all staff, and had a strong reputation for improving the actual conditions of the inmates. He lectured at

St Mungo's College The Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) is a large teaching hospital. With a capacity of around 1,000 beds, the hospital campus covers an area of around , and straddles the Townhead and Dennistoun districts on the north-eastern fringe of the city cen ...

in Glasgow and was president of the

Caledonian Medical Society Caledonian is a geographical term used to refer to places, species, or items in or from Scotland, or particularly the Scottish Highlands. It derives from Caledonia, the Roman name for the area of modern Scotland. Caledonian is also used to refer t ...

. He died of

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

on 28 November 1901 at his house in Hartwood Village near the hospital. He was buried in the hospital cemetery in Hartwood. Hartwood closed in 1998 following the rolling out of

care in the community Care in the Community (also called "Community Care" or "Domiciliary Care") is a British policy of deinstitutionalisation, treating and caring for physically and mentally disabled people in their homes rather than in an institution. Institutional c ...

Recognition

He is remembered on the Pinel Memorial (1926) at the

Royal Edinburgh Hospital The Royal Edinburgh Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Morningside Place, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Lothian. History The "foundational myth" has it that the hospital was founded by Dr Andrew Duncan, following the death of ...

Family

He was twice married and had two sons and one daughter.

Publications

*''The Special Training of Asylum Attendants'' (1884) *''Essays on Hallucinations by Asylum attendants'' (1884) *''Handbook for Instruction of Asylum Attendants'' (1885) *''Experimental Dietetics in Lunacy Practice'' (1887) *''The Sexual and Reproductive Functions, Normal and Perverted, in Relation to Insanity'' (1888) *''

Etiology Etiology (; alternatively spelled aetiology or ætiology) is the study of causation or origination. The word is derived from the Greek word ''()'', meaning "giving a reason for" (). More completely, etiology is the study of the causes, origins ...

, Pathology and Treatment of Puerperal Insanity'' (1888) *''The Future of Asylum Service'' (1894) *''A Clinical Manual of Mental Diseases'' (1897) *''The Therapeutic Value (on Mental Health) of

Spleen The spleen (, from Ancient Greek '' σπλήν'', splḗn) is an organ (biology), organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The spleen plays important roles in reg ...

Removal'' (1898) *''On Epileptic Speech'' (1899)

References

1852 births 1901 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Heads of psychiatric hospitals 19th-century Scottish medical doctors {{Scotland-bio-stub