Eric Graham Howe (3 February 1897 – 8 July 1975), known as Graham Howe,Laing, Adrian (2006)

994 Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish general Manjutakin (also the governor ...

br>''R.D. Laing: A Life''
Sutton Publishing. pp. 54, 59, 78–80. . . was a British psychiatrist notable for his early, interdisciplinary approach to

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 ...

in the 1930s, featuring elements of psychodynamic psychology,

existential phenomenology Existential phenomenology encompasses a wide range of thinkers who take up the view that philosophy must begin from experience like phenomenology, but argues for the temporality of personal existence as the framework for analysis of the human condi ...

Eastern philosophy Eastern philosophy (also called Asian philosophy or Oriental philosophy) includes the various philosophies that originated in East and South Asia, including Chinese philosophy, Japanese philosophy, Korean philosophy, and Vietnamese philoso ...

and

Christian spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

. After serving in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he became interested in

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...

and decided to study

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior. ...

. Following medical school, he worked at the

Tavistock Clinic The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health trust based in north London. The Trust specialises in talking therapies. The education and training department caters for 2,000 students a year from the United Kin ...

in the 1920s and 1930s, and established the Open Way Clinic in the 1950s, later renamed the Langham Clinic. Towards the end of his life, he was known as a practicing

Druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking priestly class in ancient Celtic cultures. The druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no wr ...

. He was the author of more than a dozen books, and was influential among writers and psychiatrists including

Israel Regardie Francis Israel Regardie (; né Regudy; November 17, 1907 – March 10, 1985) was an English and American occultist, ceremonial magician, and writer who spent much of his life in the United States. He wrote fifteen books on the subject of occultis ...

, Jean Lucey Pratt,

Alan Watts Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was a British and American writer, speaker, and self-styled "philosophical entertainer", known for interpreting and popularising Buddhist, Taoist, and Hinduism, Hindu philosophy for a Wes ...

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, so ...

, and

R.D. Laing Ronald David Laing (7 October 1927 – 23 August 1989), usually cited as R. D. Laing, was a Scottish psychiatrist who wrote extensively on mental illnessin particular, psychosis and schizophrenia. Laing's views on the causes and treatment o ...

Early life and education

Eric Graham Howe was born in London on February 3, 1897, the twelfth child of his father John Foster Howe and his mother Caroline. Of his eleven other siblings, he had only one sister, Dora. Four of his brothers died before he was born while two more died later in

. His unpublished autobiography, ''The Autobiography of an Unwanted Man'', details much of his early life. As a child, he had fond memories of the family dog and of "Clara", a sickly, adopted girl he referred to as his auntie. Clara was likely an orphan taken in as a promise by his family to a dying member of their church. Howe planned on receiving a scholarship to study mathematics when he came down with

scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'', a Group A streptococcus (GAS). It most commonly affects children between five and 15 years of age. The signs and symptoms include a sore ...

which ended his educational goals. Instead of school, he began working for an accounting firm at the age of 14.Stranger, William (Ed.). (2012). ''The Druid of Harley Street: Selected Writings of E. Graham Howe''. Cobb: Dharma Café; Berkeley: North Atlantic Books. pp. 27, 30–35. . . Britain was plunged into World War I in July 1914, leading Howe to lie about his age to join the army at the early age of 17.5. He enlisted in the

Artists Rifles The 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve), historically known as The Artists Rifles, is a regiment of the British Army Reserve. Its name is abbreviated to 21 SAS(R). Raised in London in 1859 as a volunteer light infantry unit, ...

regiment of the British Army Reserve, where he served for the next six years. After the first six months, he became a commissioned officer in India, reaching the rank of Major in just a few years. By the end of the war, he was deployed to

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

as part of the Siberian intervention during the

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

, where he learned the language. He returned home in 1920 and went to work for his brother in the shipping industry for several years. At some point he read the ''Collected Papers of Sigmund Freud'' (1924–1925), and decided to follow the same path as

Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies seen as originating from conflicts in t ...

. Although he never completed secondary school, he convinced the dean of

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, together with Guy's Hospital, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospita ...

to admit him conditional upon passing several exams. Howe received his

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education trad ...

and a degree in

medical psychology Medical psychology or Medicopsychology is the application of psychological principles to the practice of medicine, sometimes using drugs for both physical and mental disorders. A medical psychologist must obtain specific qualification in psych ...

St Thomas's Hospital Medical School St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in London was one of the oldest and most prestigious medical schools in the UK. The school was absorbed to form part of GKT School of Medical Education. History It was part of one of the oldest hospitals in ...

(

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

) in 1927.

Career

After a residency at

Bethlem Royal Hospital Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in Bromley, London. Its famous history has inspired several horror books, films, and television series, most notably ''Bedlam (194 ...

and Bowden House Clinic, Howe became an early founding member of the

(1926–1935) where he was also an instructor. Howe was a supporter of the work of

Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. A prolific author of Carl Jung publications, over 20 books, illustrator, and corr ...

(1875–1961). In 1935, Jung was invited by the Institute of Medical Psychology to give a lecture series at the clinic, which became known as the "London Seminars" or the "Tavistock Lectures". During the series, which occurred on five separate days from 30 September to 4 October, Howe and Jung got into a lively debate about the nature of intuition and other topics. After leaving Tavistock, Howe later established the Open Way Clinic (1953) in a centralized area of the West End. The clinic was adjacent to the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society based at 1 Wimpole Street, London, UK. It is a registered charity, with admission through membership. Its Chief Executive is Michele Acton. History The Royal Society of Medicine (R ...

and its community of psychoanalysts, and

Harley Street Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

and music therapies.Marshall, Janet (2016). ''Norman Motley: Portrait of a Man of Vision''. Leicestershire: Matador. p. 33. . . In contrast, conventional biomedical psychiatry at the time treated patients with various forms of shock therapies, including insulin coma therapy, electroshocks, and other treatments, such as the

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 ...

. Open Way later changed its name to the Langham Clinic, a psychotherapy treatment center featuring lectures, training, and workshops for therapists and analysts, and

low-cost A no-frills or no frills service or product is one for which the non-essential features have been removed to keep the price low. The term "Ruffle (sewing), frills" originally refers to a style of fabric decoration. Something offered to customers f ...

therapy sessions for patients. Notable participants included psychotherapists John Heaton,

Joseph Berke Joseph H. Berke (January 17, 1939 – January 11, 2021) was an American–born psychotherapist, author and lecturer. Berke studied at Columbia College of Columbia University and graduated from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York ...

, and Leon Redler, among others. Howe was a mentor to R. D. Laing (1927–1989), who became clinical director of Open Way in 1962.Edwards, Ian Charles. (2006)
''Truth as Relationship: The Psychology of E. Graham Howe''
(PhD thesis).

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...

. As the

counterculture of the 1960s The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon and political movement that developed in the Western world during the mid-20th century. It began in the early 1960s, and continued through the early 1970s. It is ofte ...

progressed, Howe disagreed with Laing's use of

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...

psychedelic therapy Psychedelic therapy (or psychedelic-assisted therapy) refers to the proposed use of psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin, ayahuasca, LSD, psilocin, mescaline (peyote), DMT, 5-MeO-DMT, Ibogaine, MDMA, to treat mental disorders. As of 2021, psych ...

and had him removed from the Langham Clinic in 1965. Cooper et al. of the

Philadelphia Association The Philadelphia Association is a UK charity concerned with the understanding and relief of mental suffering. It was founded in 1965 by the radical psychiatrist and psychoanalyst R. D. Laing along with fellow psychiatrists David Cooper, Joseph ...

summarize Howe's position: "Although Laing did not take up the view that psychedelics ''should'' be used in psychiatry, Howe believed LSD could be dangerous, even a cheap con, and that Laing's interest in it was misplaced."Cooper, Robin; Gans, Steven; Heaton, J.M.; Oakley, Haya; Zeal, Paul (1989). "Beginnings"
''Thresholds between Philosophy and Psychoanalysis: Papers from the Philadelphia Association''
London: Free Association Books. p. 17-19. . . The

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

Ian C. Edwards believes that Howe's opinion of psychedelics was informed by

Jiddu Krishnamurti Jiddu Krishnamurti ( ; 11 May 1895 – 17 February 1986) was an Indian Philosophy, philosopher, speaker, writer, and Spirituality, spiritual figure. Adopted by members of the Theosophy, Theosophical tradition as a child, he was raised to fill ...

's strict, anti-psychedelic drug position, which viewed drugs as only making people comfortable, not truly free.

Work

Howe's early work, ''Motives and Mechanisms of the Mind'' (1931), is based on a series of lectures he delivered the previous year. The material is derived from patient case studies and clinical work Howe performed at the Tavistock Square Clinic and St. Thomas's Hospital.Howe, E. Graham (1931)
''Motives and Mechanisms of the Mind: An Introduction to Psychopathology and Applied Psychology''
London: The Lancet. . The book is unusual for its time as an academic publication as it deliberately avoids citing sources or using footnotes and only contains an index for reference. Howe's ideas are rooted in psychodynamic psychology and informed by the theories of Freud,

Alfred Adler Alfred Adler ( ; ; 7 February 1870 – 28 May 1937) was an Austrian medical doctor, psychotherapist, and founder of the school of individual psychology. His emphasis on the importance of feelings of belonging, relationships within the family, a ...

, and Jung, but his style is classified as existentialist and phenomenological. The book was later serialized by ''The Lancet''. According to Ian C. Edwards, it is a significant work for Howe, as it shows him attempting to describe psychoanalytic theory while also pursuing nontraditional methods for treating psychological disorders. ''Morality and Reality'' (1934), a book about

parenting Parenting or child rearing promotes and supports the physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and educational development from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively for a biologica ...

, was originally given as a series of five lectures in 1934 to the Home and School Council of Great Britain. It was later rewritten and republished in several revised editions (1935, 1938) with the title ''Time and the Child''. In the book, Howe identifies as a medical psychologist, not as a philosopher, while discussing the limits of descriptive science, but also upholding its necessity. "Of all the sciences," writes Howe, "That of psychology stands most in danger of being imprisoned within the artificial boundaries of its own conventional moralities. The phenomena of mind are as large as life, and it is much to expect of any science that it should be big enough to include all life within its scope." The book was well received by reviewer M. Hamblin Smith in the ''Journal of Mental Science'' and in the ''Postgraduate Medical Journal''. ''Where this War Hits You: Four Broadcast Talks'' (1941) was originally broadcast by the BBC during

World War II 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 ...

as a series of four episodes: "Cross Purposes", "Create and Share", "How Long", and "The Great Unseen". After it was compiled into a book, it was reviewed favorably. J. Kruisheer found "How Long" to be the best in the series. Focusing on the philosophy of time, "How Long" reiterates the popular notion of the "Eternal Now", a kind of timelessness where past, present, and future are all contained in the present moment. Helen Liddell notes that Howe's themes of creativity and democracy in the book share the same sentiments in similar works by

Peter Drucker Peter Ferdinand Drucker (; ; November 19, 1909 – November 11, 2005) was an Austrian American management consultant, educator, and author, whose writings contributed to the philosophical and practical foundations of modern management theory. H ...

and

Julian Huxley Sir Julian Sorell Huxley (22 June 1887 – 14 February 1975) was an English evolutionary biologist, eugenicist and Internationalism (politics), internationalist. He was a proponent of natural selection, and a leading figure in the mid-twentiet ...

. Victor White, an English Dominican priest and collaborator with Jung, reviewed Howe's ''The Triumphant Spirit. A Study of Depression'' (1944) for the theological journal '' Blackfriars'', criticizing it as a form of pseudo-psychology that deviated from Jung's ideas. Quotes about Buddhism from Howe in his book ''Invisible Anatomy'' (1944) were later incorporated into

Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...

Buddhist outreach literature. In the late 1940s, Anglican theologian J. Stafford Wright characterized Howe as a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

in ''The Churchman'', but Howe took issue with this description and denied it, leading

Frank Colquhoun Frank Colquhoun (28 October 1909 – 3 April 1997) was a British Church of England priest and author. Life and career Born in 1909 into a clergy family, Frank Colquhoun was educated at Warwick School and Durham University. A member of University ...

to issue a retraction. In the 1950s, Howe lectured at the

Buddhist Society The Buddhist Society is a UK registered charity which aims to encourage the study and practice of Buddhist principles. The Buddhist Society is an inter-denominational and non-sectarian lay organisation. It offers talks and classes on the teach ...

and was acquainted with Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist

Nyanaponika Thera Nyanaponika Thera or Nyanaponika Mahathera (July 21, 1901 – 19 October 1994) was a German–Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist monk and scholar who, after ordaining in Sri Lanka, later became the co-founder of the Buddhist Publication Society and a ...

. Howe wrote the forward to the first English language edition of Thera's book ''The Heart of Buddhist Meditation'' (1956). According to

Christmas Humphreys Travers Christmas Humphreys, QC (15 February 1901 – 13 April 1983) was a British jurist who prosecuted several controversial cases in the 1940s and 1950s, and who later became a judge at the Old Bailey. He also wrote a number of works on Maha ...

, Howe was partially responsible for bringing

Edward Conze Edward Conze, born Eberhard Julius Dietrich Conze (1904–1979), was a scholar of Marxism and Buddhism, known primarily for his commentaries and translations of the Prajñāpāramitā literature. Biography Conze's parents, Dr. Ernst Conze (1872 ...

to Buddhism. Howe's book, ''Cure or Heal?'' (1965), focused on

Hindu philosophy Hindu philosophy or Vedic philosophy is the set of philosophical systems that developed in tandem with the first Hinduism, Hindu religious traditions during the Iron Age in India, iron and Classical India, classical ages of India. In Indian ...

and the use of

Chakra A chakra (; ; ) is one of the various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, part of the inner traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. The concept of the chakra arose in Hinduism. B ...

psychology and its potential applications in psychotherapy and

psychosomatic medicine Psychosomatic medicine is an interdisciplinary medical field exploring the relationships among social, psychological, behavioral factors on bodily processes and quality of life in humans and animals. The academic forebearer of the modern field o ...

. Richard W. Crocket positively reviewed the book for the ''British Journal of Psychiatry''.

Later life

In his later years, Howe was known for his practice of modern

Druidry A druid was a member of the high-ranking priestly class in ancient Celtic cultures. The druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no wri ...

, and was said to conduct ceremonies in his barn at his property in Wales. In the early 1970s, he wrote ''The Mind of a Druid'' (1973), just a few years before he died, with

's "The Wisdom of the Heart" as a preface. The work reached a wider audience with its posthumous publication by Skoob in 1989, adding a new foreword by David Loxley of

The Druid Order The Druid Order is a Neo-Druidism, contemporary druidry fraternal order, founded in 1909 by George Watson MacGregor Reid in the United Kingdom. At various times it has also been known as The Ancient Druid Order, An Druidh Uileach Braithreachas, a ...

Personal life

In March 1927, Howe married Nora H. Blaxill. Nora gave birth to two sons that died in early childhood and two daughters, Gillian and Carolyn. The family also adopted a son who later died while flying as a test pilot for the RAF during WWII. Howe and Nora were a poor fit as a couple and they eventually divorced in the early 1950s. With the marriage over, Howe closed his practice and left the country to study meditation for three months in Ceylon (now

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

), Burma (now

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

), and northern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He received instruction in meditation practices from

Mahasi Sayadaw Mahāsī Sayādaw U Sobhana (, ; 29 July 1904 – 14 August 1982) was a Burmese Theravada Buddhist monk and meditation master who had a significant impact on the teaching of vipassanā (insight) meditation in the West and throughout Asia. In ...

, and

Sivananda Saraswati Swami Sivananda Saraswati (; 8 September 1887 – 14 July 1963), also called Swami Sivananda, was a yoga guru, a Hindu spiritual teacher, and a proponent of ''Vedanta''. Sivananda was born in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of mode ...

, among others. When Howe returned home, he soon remarried. He would remain with Doris, his second wife, until the end of his life. Together, they ran Open Way as a couple and attracted a diverse number of experts to study, what Howe called, the "spiritual nature of man". Howe's interest in eclectic subjects outside his original field led to a mixed reputation among his former colleagues, with some declaring he had gone "mad", while still others refused to appear at the same events with him. By the 1970s, his health began to decline and a blood clot led to the loss of one leg. Pursuing his keen interest in Druidry, Howe and his wife moved to

Bala, Gwynedd Bala () is a town and community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, Wales. Formerly an Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland), urban district, Bala lies in the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merionethshire, at the north end of Bal ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, for a time, before finally moving back to London. Howe died on July 8, 1975, just one day after completing his last work, ''Consciousness: A Western Treatment of Tibetan Yoga''.

Influence

The occult nonfiction writer

(1907–1985) became friends with Howe in 1932, after an editor for the '' Saturday Review'' gave Regardie's second book, ''The Tree of Life: A Study in Magic'' (1932), a hostile, poor review. Howe responded to the bad review in the newspaper with his own positive, glowing review of Regardie's book, defending him and promoting the book.

Gerald Suster Gerald Suster (2 August 1951 – 3 February 2001) was a British revisionist historian, occult writer, and novelist. He was best known for his biographies of Aleister Crowley (''The Legacy of the Beast'') and Israel Regardie (''Crowley's Appre ...

believes this relationship led Regardie to pursue his study of

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

in the 1930s. Both Regardie and Howe became initiates of the

Stella Matutina The Stella Matutina (Morning Star) was an initiatory magical order dedicated to the dissemination of the traditional occult teachings of the earlier Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Originally, the outer order of the Stella Matutina was known ...

Hermes Temple in Bristol. In an unusual turn of events, Regardie would later become a critic of Howe's nephew, Ellic Howe, who made a career of publishing books about the '' Golden Dawn'' that Regardie felt were "anti-magic". Suster also notes that Gerard Noel, the co-founder of the

Witchcraft Research Association The Witchcraft Research Association was a British organisation formed in 1964 in an attempt to unite and study the various claims that had emerged of surviving remnants of the so-called Witch-Cult, such as those of Gerald Gardner, Robert Cochra ...

, was an admirer of Howe, saying that "Everything I am today, I owe to him". Jean Lucey Pratt (1909–1986), famous for her

Mass-Observation Mass-Observation is a United Kingdom social research project; originally the name of an organisation which ran from 1937 to the mid-1960s, and was revived in 1981 at the University of Sussex. Mass-Observation originally aimed to record everyday ...

diaries, was a patient of Howe's during this time, becoming interested in his work after reading ''I and Me: A Study of the Self'' (1935). She wrote about him throughout her diary and continued to see Howe as an analyst for several decades. Alan Watts painted on mural

The writer

(1915–1973), while attending

The King's School, Canterbury The King's School is a public school in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's oldest public school and is considered to be the oldest continuously op ...

in the late 1920s, decided upon modern history as his specialty, planning for a scholarship to

Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...

. He soon lost interest in modern history and began pursuing

instead; his scholarship essay for Oxford was denied. Watt's family did not have the money to send him to college. Determined to continue his self-education, he sought out teachers on his own. Watts, Alan (2007)

972 Year 972 ( CMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor John I Tzimiskes divides the Bulgarian territories, recently held by the Kievan Rus', into six ...

br>''In My Own Way: An Autobiography 1915–1965''
2nd ed. Novato: New World Library. pp. 91–97, 101–102, 108–111. . . Watts pursued Howe to learn more, and although Watts was not a patient of Howe's, from 1936 to 1938, Howe was his self-appointed tutor in psychology. Watts described him as a "genial, dignified, and reassuring doctor". He met with Howe for lunches and attended his weekly discussion groups, along with astronomer

Richard Gregory Richard Langton Gregory, (24 July 1923 – 17 May 2010) was a British psychologist and Professor of Neuropsychology at the University of Bristol. Life and career Richard Gregory was born in London. He was the son of Christopher Clive Lan ...

, psychologist Philip Metman, Prince Leopold Loewenstein, and

Frederic Spiegelberg Frederic Spiegelberg (May 24, 1897 – November 10, 1994) was a Stanford University professor of Asian religions. Education and career Spiegelberg was born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1897 and earned his doctorate at the University of Tübingen in 1922 ...

. Howe invited

to speak to the group in 1936, which profoundly influenced Watts. Howe, along with Laing and Watts, were notable for their shared interest in the synthesis of Asian and

and practices. The American writer Henry Miller (1891–1980), who was in Paris in 1939, read a copy of Howe's ''War Dance: A Study in the Psychology of War'' (1937). This so impressed Miller that he travelled to London to discuss it with Howe at his office. Miller published an essay about Howe's ideas titled "The Wisdom of the Heart", first publishing it in ''The Modern Mystic'' in April 1939, followed by its inclusion in ''The Fortune Anthology'' in 1940, and a book of essays by the same name in 1941. Miller's essay brought Howe renewed attention in the United States, but little interest was shown in publishing his work there.

Legacy

Howe's refusal to join the

British Psychoanalytical Society The British Psychoanalytical Society was founded by Ernest Jones as the London Psychoanalytical Society on 30 October 1913. It is one of several organisations in Britain training psychoanalysts. The society has been home to a number of psych ...

and his holistic, anti-systematic approach to his work seriously impacted his career and reputation. Writers like

Eric Trist Eric Lansdown Trist (11 September 1909 – 4 June 1993) was an English scientist and leading figure in the field of organizational development (OD). He was one of the founders of the Tavistock Institute for Social Research in London. Biograp ...

largely ignored him in historical works about the field, and

dismissed his work as unscientific. The historian Rhodri Hayward describes Howe as an "eclectic Freudian" and an "aristocratic theosophist and Honorary Physician" who "set up one of the first postgraduate

courses for general practitioners" at Tavistock. Hayward notes that Howe was viewed at the time as an "eccentric...therapist who later defected to Buddhism and Druidism".Hayward, Rhodri (2014). ''The Transformation of the Psyche in British Primary Care 1880–1970''. London: Bloomsbury. pp. 55, 106. . . The Philadelphia Association described Howe as a "distinctly original voice within psychotherapy and psychiatry". The writer Roberta Russell argues that Howe was uniquely responsible as the psychiatrist who "introduced Eastern philosophy to psychotherapy in England."

Books

* ''Motives and Mechanisms of the Mind: An Introduction to Psychopathology and Applied Psychology'' (1931) * ''Morality and Reality: An Essay on the Law of Life'' (1934) **''Time and the Child'' (1935 Rev., 1938 Rev.) * ''I and Me: A Study of the Self'' (1935) * ''War Dance: A Study in the Psychology of War'' (1937) * ''The Open Way: A Study in Acceptance'' (1939) * ''Where this War Hits You: Four Broadcast Talks'' (1941) * ''The Triumphant Spirit'' (1943) * ''Invisible Anatomy: A Study of 'Nerves', Hysteria and Sex'' (1944) * ''Mysterious Marriage: A Study of the Morality of Personal Relationships and Individual Obsessions'' (1949) * ''A Psychologist at Work'' (1950) * ''Cure or Heal? A Study of Therapeutic Experience'' (1965) * ''The Mind of the Druid'' (1973) * ''She and Me: A New Restatement of an Old Problem'' (1974) * ''Consciousness: A Western Treatment of Tibetan Yoga'' (1975)