The Cassel Hospital is a

psychiatric facility A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe mental disorders. These institutions cater to patients with c ...

in a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

at 1 Ham Common,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...

in the

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in south-west Greater London, London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London boroughs, London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller ...

. It is run by the

West London NHS Trust West London NHS Trust is an NHS trust which provides mental and physical health services to the London boroughs of London Borough of Ealing, Ealing, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, Hammersmith and Fulham and London Borough of Hounslow ...

History

The hospital

The hospital was founded and endowed by

Ernest Cassel Sir Ernest Joseph Cassel, (3 March 1852 – 21 September 1921) was a British merchant banker and businessman. Born and raised in Prussia, he moved to England at the age of 17. Life and career Cassel was born in Cologne, in the Rhine Provinc ...

in England in 1919. It was initially for the treatment of "

shell shock Shell shock is a term that originated during World War I to describe symptoms similar to those of combat stress reaction and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which many soldiers suffered during the war. Before PTSD was officially recogni ...

" victims. Originally at

Swaylands Swaylands is a private parkland estate set high upon the Weald, Kentish Weald, on the edge of the village of Penshurst in the Sevenoaks District, Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. The Estate is situated between the market town of Tonbridge a ...

Penshurst Penshurst is a historic village and civil parishes in England, civil parish located in a valley upon the northern slopes of the Weald, Kentish Weald, at the confluence of the River Medway and the River Eden, Kent, River Eden, within the Seveno ...

, Kent, it moved to

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1948 it relocated to its present site at No. 1 Ham Common,

The building

The present hospital was originally a late 18th-century house known as ''Morgan House'' after its owner, philanthropist and writer, John Minter Morgan. Morgan died in 1854 and is buried in nearby

St Andrew's Church, Ham St Andrew's Church, Ham, is a Grade II listed Church of England church on Church Road, Ham Common in Ham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Architecture The church was built in grey brick in 1830–31; the architect was Edward Lap ...

. In 1863 it became home to the newly married Duc de Chartres. The Princess Marie of Orléans was born here in January 1865, the first of his four children born here. In 1879 it became

West Heath Girls' School West Heath Girls' School was an English girls' private school established in 1865, initially in London and from 1932 near Sevenoaks, Kent. It closed in 1997. History Philip Bennet Power and his wife, Emma, undertook the education of their dau ...

. The school moved to its present site in

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

, Kent in the 1930s, and the building became the Lawrence Hall Hotel until its purchase by the Cassel Foundation in 1947. The building was

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in 1950. In 2023, the West London NHS Trust indicated that it planned to vacate the site and allow its redevelopment at a future date.

Facilities

The hospital developed approaches informed by

psychoanalytic PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious processes and their influence on conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on dream interpretation, psychoanalysis is also a talk the ...

thinking alongside

pharmacological Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between ...

interventions, techniques of

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

and individual

psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

. It was here that

Tom Main Thomas Forrest Main (1911–1990) was a psychiatry, psychiatrist and psychoanalysis, psychoanalyst who coined the term 'therapeutic community'. He is particularly remembered for his often cited paper, ''The Ailment'' (1957). Life Thomas Main ...

, along with Doreen Wedell (the hospital's Matron from 1946 to 1963), pioneered the concept of a

therapeutic community Therapeutic community is a participative, group-based approach to long-term mental illness, personality disorders and drug addiction. The approach was usually residential, with the clients and therapists living together, but increasingly resident ...

in the late 1940s. Together they pioneered and developed the concept of

psychosocial The psychosocial approach looks at individuals in the context of the combined influence that psychological factors and the surrounding social environment have on their physical and mental wellness and their ability to function. This approach is ...

nursing. By promoting and being proud of the role of the nurse – rather than try to imitate therapists; working alongside the patient in everyday activities, Weddell & Main developed a whole new way of working that reduced dependence upon services and fostered patients' working collaboratively. Nurses were supported and taught to understand their reparative need, to challenge their sense of omnipotence and to rely on the patient group as the most useful resource. In 1948 Eileen Skellern came for her training and joined the staff in 1949. The hospital formally established a research department in 1995 and has collaborative relationships with

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

Imperial College Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a cultural district in South Kensington that included museums ...

and the Centre for the Economics of Mental Health at the

Institute of Psychiatry The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) is a centre for mental health and neuroscience research, education and training in Europe. It is dedicated to understanding, preventing and treating mental illness, neurological co ...

, London. It is now a psychotherapeutic community which provides day, residential, and outreach services for young people and adults diagnosed with severe and enduring

personality disorders Personality disorders (PD) are a class of mental health conditions characterized by enduring maladaptive patterns of behavior, cognition, and inner experience, exhibited across many contexts and deviating from those accepted by the culture. T ...

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control 1919 establishments in England Grade II listed buildings in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames History of mental health in the United Kingdom Ham, London Hospitals in Richmond upon Thames NHS hospitals in London Penshurst Psychiatric hospitals in England Stoke-on-Trent Therapeutic community