John Derg Sutherland (23 April 1905 – 14 June 1991), also known as Jock Sutherland, was a Scottish physician,

psychoanalyst 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 th ...

and theorist, notable also for his role as Medical Director of 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 ...

Life and career

John "Jock" Derg Sutherland was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on 23 April 1905, the sixth of eight children. He studied medicine at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

and the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. As a psychiatrist in Edinburgh, Sutherland undertook a training analysis with

Ronald Fairbairn William Ronald Dodds Fairbairn (; 11 August 1889 – 31 December 1964) was a Scottish psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and a central figure in the development of the object relations theory of psychoanalysis. He was generally known and referred to a ...

. In 1935, aged 30, he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. His proposers were

James Drever James Drever FRSE (29 January 1910 – 5 November 1991) was a Scottish academic who served as the first Principal of the University of Dundee. He has been described as 'one of the most pivotal figures in the university's history'. Early life ...

, Sir Godfrey Thomson, W. R. D. Fairbairn and

Francis Albert Eley Crew Francis Albert Eley Crew (2 March 1886 – 26 May 1973) was an English animal geneticist. He was a pioneer in his field leading to the University of Edinburgh’s place as a world leader in the science of animal genetics. He was the first Dire ...

. At the onset of

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 ...

he moved to a psychiatric unit 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 ...

, expecting a wave of mentally scarred soldiers. In 1941 he briefly joined the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

. In 1942 he moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to work at the

, serving as its Director from 1947 to 1968. From 1968 to 1974 he worked 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 ...

, contributing psychodynamic principles to the general psychiatric training. He published a number of articles on psychoanalytic subjects, from

object relations theory Object relations theory is a school of thought in psychoanalytic theory and psychoanalysis centered around theories of stages of ego development. Its concerns include the relation of the psyche to others in childhood and the exploration of re ...

to group therapy, both singly and co-authored; as well as having an extensive private practice. Among the colleagues he worked with, and whose careers he fostered, were

Harry Guntrip Henry James Samuel Guntrip (29 May 1901 – 1975) was a British psychoanalyst known for his major contributions to object relations theory or school of Freudian thought. He was a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a psychotherapist ...

Charles Rycroft Charles Frederick Rycroft (; 9 September 1914 – 24 May 1998) was a British psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. He studied medicine at University College London, and worked briefly as a psychiatrist for the Maudsley Hospital. For most of his caree ...

and R. D. Laing. His work in the United States played a significant part in opening up

ego psychology Ego psychology is a school of psychoanalysis rooted in Sigmund Freud's structural id-ego-superego model of the mind. An individual interacts with the external world as well as responds to internal forces. Many psychoanalysts use a theoretical c ...

to the object relations tradition. After his return to Edinburgh in 1968, he was instrumental in the formation in 1972 of the Scottish Institute of Human Relations, SIHR, which became a sister 'outpost' north of the border, of the Tavistock Clinic, London, and was sometimes referred to as the 'MacTavi'. The Scottish Institute had offices in Edinburgh and Glasgow and was finally dissolved in 2013 after over forty years of operation as a professional body. Sutherland died in Edinburgh on 14 June 1991.

Publications

*''Fairbairn's Journey into the Interior'' (1989) *''The Autonomous Self'' (1994) Sutherland's biography of

John Buchan John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, British Army officer, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation. As a ...

examines the theme of autonomy and compliance as explored in Buchan's writings.

References

External links

J. D. Sutherland in memoriam

John Derg Sutherland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutherland, John Derg Scottish psychiatrists British psychoanalysts Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Object relations theorists Commanders_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire

Life and career

Publications

See also

References

External links