Our Proud Tradition

Psychiatry in Worcester has a long history, and the UMMS Department of Psychiatry is proud to be on the forefront of cutting-edge mental health care in Massachusetts.

Please check this site frequently for updates.

The following information is provided by the UMMS Office of Medical History and Archives.  This and additional information can be found on the UMMS Lamar Soutter Library website.

UMMS Office of Medical History and Archives Special Exhibit on Worcester State Hospital:

Worcester State Hospital's first superintendent, Dr. Samuel B. Woodward, was a leader in the burgeoning practice of American psychiatry, and one of the founders and first president of the organization that is today the American Psychiatric Association.

A poster from 2005 by Len Levin, Lisa Palmer, and Janet Dadoly, "Dr. Samuel B. Woodward: A Nineteenth-Century Pioneer in American Psychiatric Care," has appeared at the annual meetings of the Medical Library Association and the North Atlantic Health Science Libraries, Inc.

Worcester State Hospital – Before and After the Fire of 1991 - (PowerPoint slideshow)

This slide show was designed by Kim Smith of the Department of Psychiatry’s Center for Mental Health Services Research at UMMS, and adapted for the Office of Medical History and Archives web site by Dr. Ellen More, of the UMMS Office of Medical History and Archives. Photographs #1, 3, 4, and 6 are taken from old postcards. The rest were photographed by Paul Mange Johansen in 1991 and are used by permission. ©www.IguanaPhoto.com.