Vivian E. Garrison (August 28, 1933 – April 2, 2013) was an applied

medical anthropologist Medical anthropology studies "human health and disease, health care systems, and biocultural adaptation". It views humans from multidimensional and ecological perspectives. It is one of the most highly developed areas of anthropology and applied ...

who researched mental health care among low-income, minority, and migrant communities in the

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

Early life

Garrison, known as "Kelly" to friends and family, was born on August 28, 1933, in

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the 2 ...

. She earned a B.A. in Spanish and psychology from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1961 and a Ph.D. in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1972. She completed her dissertation, ''Social Networks, Social Change and Mental Health among Migrants in a New York City Slum'', in 1971. Garrison married anthropologist Conrad M. Arensberg in 1973.

Career

Garrison was an applied medical anthropologist who researched the cultural understandings of, and community treatment structures surrounding, mental illness and health care among low-income, minority, and migrant communities in the New York metropolitan area. She worked predominantly with African American, Hispanic, and Caribbean migrant populations in the

South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...

and in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. The majority of Garrison's research was completed at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, at the College/University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and at Columbia University. A number of her projects were supported by the

National Institute of Mental Health The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH, in turn, is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primar ...

(NIMH). Throughout her career, Garrison acted as a consultant for projects on folk healing and community health care. Garrison published frequently on folk healing, ''

espiritismo Espiritismo ( Portuguese and Spanish for "Spiritism") is a Latin American and Caribbean belief system that evolved and less evolved spirits can affect health, luck and other aspects of human life.

'', psychiatry, and psychiatric methodology. She taught intermittently, including teaching a semester of

Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist, author and speaker, who appeared frequently in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s. She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard Col ...

's ''Problems and Methods in Anthropology'' course at Columbia University (1979). She also contributed to the

President's Commission on Mental Health The Mental Health Systems Act of 1980 (MHSA) was legislation signed by American President Jimmy Carter which provided grants to community mental health centers. In 1981 President Ronald Reagan, who had made major efforts during his governorship ...

in 1977–1978.

Death and legacy

Garrison died in April 2013 at age 79. Her papers were donated to the Smithsonian's

National Anthropological Archives The National Anthropological Archives is the third largest archive in the Smithsonian Institution and a sister archive to the Human Studies Film Archive. The collection documents the history of anthropology and the world's peoples and cultures, ...

with support from the

Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Axel Lennart Wenner-Gren (5 June 1881 – 24 November 1961) was a Swedish people, Swedish entrepreneur and one of the wealthiest men in the world during the 1930s. Early life He was born on 5 June 1881 in Uddevalla, a town on the west coast ...

in 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garrison, Vivian Created via preloaddraft 20th-century American anthropologists American women anthropologists New York University alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni 1933 births 2013 deaths 21st-century American women